EVERY TUESDAY EVENING AT THE HENDERSON COUNTY MEMORIAL Coliseum in Athens, Texas, about an hour and a half southeast of Dallas, the Living for the Brand Cowboy Church holds a “buck-out,” which is not to be confused with a rodeo. A rodeo entails barrel racing and calf roping and so forth. A rodeo is a competition. The Cowboy Church’s buck-out, on the other hand, is just for fun, and it features bull riding only (though occasionally, it is true, they will buck broncs, too). n Anyone with gravel in his guts and a bull-riding rope is welcome to give it a go, and plenty of folks will lend you the rope if you don’t own one. There is no entry fee. The Cowboy Church simply asks that riders attend a devotion about midway through the proceedings. But the devotion also includes a free meal. As one member put it, “Basically we’re Baptist. But we’re not pushin’ it.” Until recently, Pastor Perry Smith baptized the faithful outdoors in a metal water trough. This meant that winter baptisms could get uncomfortable. So they heated the trough and moved it into the sanctuary, which the church shares with a 4H indoor rifle range. It seemed like the sensible thing to do. —Tim Rogers
