Oklahoma's Own: Preacher Uses An Unbroken Horse To Spread The Good Word

Preacher Ted Noland says he didn't get saved until he was in his forties and he hints that prior to that happening he might have been a bit of a rascal. Now, Ted Noland is making up for lost time, spreading the word with the help of an unbroken horse.

His "Sermon On The Mount", truly makes Ted Noland one of "Oklahoma's Own."

Pastor Ted Nolan is his own warm-up act and headliner rolled into one compact cowboy and that's just for starters.

"I break and train horses, I trim horses, I run a ranch, we build fence, you know, we move hay, we cut hay, you know whatever it takes. So, it's more a lifestyle than saying, I'm a plumber or I'm a pipefitter, or I'm a newscaster you know, it's ah, I wouldn't change it for anything," said Pastor Ted Nolan.

On a pleasant fall night at the Southside Baptist Church in Okmulgee, Ted will present the gospel in a unique way, with the help of a horse he's never seen before.

This horse is named Sugar.

"I'm almost sixty years old, I have no reason to be in here with a horse that's never been ridden and trying to get on in an hour or less," said Pastor Ted Nolan.

So, there's the basic premise that Ted has laid out that God's relationship with man is not unlike man's relationship to animals. But halfway through his sermon and he's still not sure he's going to get up on that horse or not.

"As bad as I hate to admit it, sometimes, somebody wants to see the little cowboy get bucked off," said Pastor Ted Noland.

That has only happened once and Ted has preached this message about thirty times before.

"We want a relationship with our horses, we want it to be good, we want it to be right, don't we want to go to the barn and know that when we feed them, they're not going to kick our heads off," said Pastor Ted Nolan.

Nolan has been there. Last June, a horse on his ranch did kick him, shattering most of the bones in his face. As soon as he was able, he was back in the ring.

"We're not so comfortable, we start kicking back, we start bucking, I didn't sign up for this, this is hard," said Pastor Ted Nolan.

First a saddle blanket, then a saddle pad and finally, the saddle itself, one step at a time, Ted earns the horse's trust, before saddling up.

"It's very strange sister, isn't it, very strange," said Ted Noland. "It was a little bit scary, little bit, little bit nerve-racking. I know where the power is from because I cannot do this on my own, I can't. I wish I could. I'd be the best trainer in the world, I'd be a very rich man. But, I can't."

I want to thank Pastor Ted Waller of the Southside Baptist Church in Okmulgee for inviting us out to their Fall Festival.

The people were very kind, the weather was great and a good time was had by all!