My wife and I went on a recent vacation to Eureka Springs, AR. And we had a blast! No children, no work, no worries.
When talking to people about Eureka Springs, a frequented comment is “they have gay pride parades there”. It almost sounds like a warning, and it might be. But something interesting that Pat and I found out about the earthy/hippy folks of Eureka Springs is that they are a community! And they share life together in a powerful way. And, yes, they also have gay-pride parades. But that got me thinking…
When was the last time the Christians in your community packed the main streets to passionately celebrate their King? Is he not worth celebrating? Is he not worth the recognition? I guess we’re all too worried that we might offend somebody! That sure hasn’t stopped other groups.
I’m not exactly certain of this, but maybe as Christians we’re offended because homosexuals show more public celebration about their lifestyle than we do about our reason for living.
Wow. That goes well with brads message a couple months ago about people at professional sporting events who cheer and scream and yell in praise of an athlete. I found the same thing true at concerts. As a society we put a lot of emphasis on glorifying worldly things but yet we don’t frequently band together with the same enthusiasm as OU fans to show our love for Christ. Can you imagine that? Thousands of people gathered just to give Him praise? To show others how strong we are united? We wear jeaseys and concert tshirts and ballcaps and we have fights over whose quarterback is best, but how often do we publicly display our love as a whole??
What about Christmas Parades?
Great point Ryan. Thanks for the input. I totally agree.
There are Christmas Parades. It’s always appeared to me though that Santa is the most celebrated guest and there isn’t much worship of Jesus going on. Could be wrong. It’d just be great to see Christians pack out the streets during a random time of year, not a holiday, to show their community that they’re passionate about their God.
Actually, Eureka Springs does not have gay pride parades. What we do have is three “Diversity Weekends” each year to promote and celebrate tolerance, acceptance and respect for all members of our community, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity or faith.
It is a great place to vacation or live. I’m glad your enjoyed your visit and hope that you’ll come back again.
Michael-
Thank you for the correction! And I probably could have chosen a better use of words to describe the events. My apologies. I definitely respect all the members of your community. The EurekaPride.com website was aslo helpful.
My wife and I stayed at 66 Center Street in the Cottage House, and it was incredible! And we’d love to come back. We also enjoyed mixing with the locals watching an outdoor movie at the Lucky 13 Starlight Cinema.