Phil,
    Thanks for sharing this with us.  I am sorry to hear about the loss but
I'm glad for the times you had with him.  God puts people in our paths for
reasons doesn't he?  I know he does.

Amy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 8:12 PM
Subject: Bomb Shell


> Today I experienced a sudden shock.  Back during the last two years of the
> seventies, I was still traveling and preaching in churches as a guest
> speaker when I was asked to preach in a church camp.  That would have been
> the summer of 1977 I believe.  There were several pastors there and Sandy
> and I had our first son and he was about 8 months old.  He hadn't quite
> learned to walk yet but putting him in a walker, he could push himself
> around.  This was a junior high camp in western Colorado.  A very nice
> pastor by the name of Rayburn Cox befriended us and we spent many hours
with
> him.  The old Assemblies of God camp was nice and had nice cabins and we
> greatly enjoyed our time that week.
>
> During the time spent with Pastor Cox, I told him that Sandy and I had
been
> discussing, and praying, about moving to a smaller town than Denver.
> Perhaps, I suggested, something close enough we could still use the Denver
> airport.  For example, Idaho spring is about 25 miles from Denver up
higher
> on the way into the mountains.  I had preached in a little Baptist church
> there and we really liked the people.  Rayburn turned the conversation
> around and said, "Why don't you consider moving to the western slope.  My
> church is in a town of 800 people and we have about 60 members.  The
nearest
> airports are in Montrose, 40 miles away with 5 trips a day to Denver, and
> Grand Junction is only 60 miles away and they have connections just about
to
> anywhere."
>
> One day, Rayburn invited me to ride with him back to his home.  The little
> town of Hotchkiss wasn't far away, maybe 40 minutes, and he wanted to
check
> on mail and to see if anything was needed at the church.  I went.  We had
a
> wonderful visit.
>
> On the way back, Rayburn flat out asked me to start praying about moving
to
> the western slopes of Colorado.  He booked me for a week of special
revival
> meetings in his church for that next April of 1978.
> Sandy and I had several meetings scheduled during that period of time in
> California but the last one in the group was in Rayburns church.  Flying
out
> of San Francisco, we transferred planes in Salt Lake City, and landed in
> Montrose Colorado.  Rayburn picked us up.
>
> We had one of the most wonderful times that week with Rayburn and his
> family.  Our son became very ill in the middle of the night and was so
hot,
> you could hardly touch him.  As Baptist, we weren't too sure what we
> believed about healing but we believed enough to lay hands on our son and
> pray and ask for the fever to go down.  In moments, his fever went down
and
> he was able to rest that night.
>
> During the week, Rayburn began talking to me about if I had been praying
> about moving to the western slope.  I had, of course, but not seriously.
> Rayburn asked me to consider becoming his assistant pastor.  He said the
> church could not pay me a lot but I could continue traveling, if I wished,
> and I likely would find other support from other western slope meetings.
I
> had a lot of money from all the weeks of meetings we had been in and so I
> could easily put 500 dollars down as security or a good faith promise.  A
> man in the church was a builder and he had a vacant six month old house he
> had to let go and he was willing to sell it at cost.  We needed a little
> over 3,000 for a down payment, which we didn't have, but when the meeting
> was over, we flew home and within days, the money came in.  Thirty days
> later, we moved to Hotchkiss, Colorado.
>
> Rayburn was a man who taught me just about every thing one needed to know
> about church ministry.  He let me participate in everything.  I soon
became
> their youth pastor and discovered just how much fun working with teenagers
> really was.
>
> Many other good things happened in that little town and church to Sandy
and
> I but unfortunately, some bad things happened as well.
>
> Rayburn was a church builder.  He could win people to Christ faster than
> anybody because he honestly loved people and they could feel it.
Resigning
> his church where we lived, he moved two another small town, built a church
> to about 150 members, and personally led nearly every single person in
that
> church to the Lord in the process.  I personally learned more about the
> ministry from Rayburn than any other pastor.  By the way, he was about 8
> years older than me.
>
> A number of years ago, Rayburn became involved with a multi level
networking
> program that nearly ruined his life.  It took him out of the ministry for
a
> few years but he eventually gave it all up and moved to Michigan and
started
> a church there which he pastored for 8 years.  In 2002, he and his family
> moved back to Meeker, Colorado where the 150 member church was he had
> pastored back in the late
> eighties and early nineties.
>
> I have a letter on my website which I wrote to Rayburn when he became
> involved with the multi level outfit.  He and his wife did not receive my
> letter well.  My letter has been on the internet since about 1991 or 92 I
> believe.  I get at least one email a year from people who have read it and
> believe it helped them make the right decision concerning MLN involvement.
> It is also on a Finland website and I gave my permission for it to be
> translated into Finish four or five years ago.  It is still on that
website
> and many others, including the first one I learned about in Australia.
>
> Since I have not heard from Rayburn for close to 15 years, I often hunt
for
> him on the internet.  I also have prayed for him hundreds of times.
Nearly
> every time I think of him, which is nearly weekly, I ask the Lord, Do you
> want me to call him?  The Lord never answered and I never felt the feeling
> that I should make contact with him for some reason.  The truth is, I was
> closer to this man than any man I have ever known.  I knew he loved me but
> I'm not too sure how much he loved me after getting my letter begging him
to
> reconsider giving up his church and ministry.
>
> Today, I logged on to google and typed in his name.  A western slope
> newspaper was the first hit and it was Rayburns obituary.  He was out in
the
> mountains hunting not far from his home and had a massive heart attack and
> died.  He was 57 years old.  He had 5 or 6 children, all grown, and 18
> grandchildren.  Over the last 15 years, he had blood pressure problems but
I
> sure didn't want him to die that young.  At least I'll get to see him
again.
> Fortunately, when I see him again, he won't be mad any more.
>
> Phil.