The following is a report from Jack Cummings of recent events when he and two other elders from the Green Lawn congregation, Robby Rhodes and Charles McGowan, were conducting their regular Sunday worship services in the prison in Lubbock, Texas.
“Just before our assembly began about 15 inmates who have never been to our assembly showed up and asked if they could join us in our worship. Our Christian brothers welcomed them. As one of our brothers (who is an inmate) began the assembly, several in the group (who were Muslim) began to openly and rudely interrupt the assembly by asking questions and challenging the young Christian man who was trying to start the assembly by reading Scripture. It became very apparent that these visitors did not come to listen but to interrupt and indoctrinate. They were starting to become belligerent and finally I stood up and told them that this was a Christian assembly for the purpose of worshipping the Creator of the Universe and His Son, and that they were free to stay, learn and observe, but that it was neither the time nor place for such a public debate.
“This seemed to calm them down only for the moment. The guard, who was outside the room, heard their shouting, stepped in and ordered the men to be quiet or leave. Later, Robby Rhodes had to again address the Muslims because of their constant interruptions of the assembly. Later, when our brothers in Christ began passing the plates for the Lord’s Supper, the leader of the radical group grabbed a plate of bread, dumped it in his lap and told the whole assembly to ‘Eat this.’
“At that point some of the Muslims came over to me and the other elders and started calling us Satan worshippers, white pigs and evil. They vowed to stop our preaching and teaching of Jesus. I thought, ‘How blessed we were to be verbally attacked because of the Name of Jesus.’
. . . I believe that if it were not for the presence of the guard it would have become very violent and possibly deadly.
“. . . Our guard was a female about the age of 50, and it is my firm belief that if those men had wanted to, they could have harmed or even killed us yesterday before she could have received the help needed to squelch the attacks. It is my conviction that yesterday was a glimpse of the future for all Christians in America.”