I recently watched the iconic movie, “Walk the Line” depicting the early life of Johnny Cash. His career was successfully moving along and he began receiving large amounts of fan mail from the incarcerated. In my opinion, the best scene of the movie is when Cash pitches his unheard-of idea to the music executives. He expresses his fervent desire to perform a live-concert recording at California’s maximum-security penitentiary. During this meeting, one of the top execs said to Cash, “Your fans are church folk, Johnny — they‘re Christians. They don‘t want to hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and rapists trying to cheer ‘em up!” Cash replies, “Well, they’re not Christians then.”

Cash was thinking outside the box and from his heart and the music executives weren’t.  But The Man in Black was too gutsy to be dissuaded so the execs cut a deal with him. The legendary prison concert on January 13, 1968, was uncharted territory but made music history anyway. The album, “At Folsom Prison” skyrocketed his career and was one of the most-popular recordings of all time. The album received enthusiastic reviews, hit #1 on the country charts, and was certified triple platinum in 2003. The popularity from the Folsom concert prompted ABC to give Johnny Cash his own television show, which was also a huge success. I’m pleased as punch that the Christians in 1968 proved the music executives to be wrong. And I want to believe that the Christians in 2022 are going out on a limb to prove that they love people from all walks of life.

Cash’s Folsom Prison story reaffirms the Word of God.  Jesus spoke to His disciples and the crowds at length and said, “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited Me into your home. I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison, and you visited Me.‘ Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?‘ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!‘” (Matthew 25:34-40 NLT).

Many times an unheard-of idea comes straight from the heart of God. And many times it’s met with boxed-in thinking and the dry-as-dust response: “We’ve never done it like that before, we don’t think it’ll work, and we don’t want to change it.” God is not locked into doing the same thing over and over again. “Behold, I will do a new thing…” (Isaiah 43:19 NKJV). As believers, we should want God to do a new thing in our hearts every day. Walking the line with God is not a humdrum experience! Our God is up to something new and good every day and we should live in unshakable expectation of His guidance and goodness. I challenge you to be gutsy and do what God has put on your heart. The world may consider it a harebrained and unheard-of idea, but what do they know, and who cares anyway?

The Key: Walk the line to avoid that burnin‘ ring of fire.

Business Trends

It is difficult for the average citizen to assess the relative health and growth of the Bourbon County business community because we do not have ready access to sales numbers of private businesses.  We tend to go by feel and whether or not our favorite stores are still open, but what does the data say?  Let us look at two counties in Southeast Kansas that are most comparable in size and complexion to Bourbon County: Neosho County and Allen County.

The simplest way to compare private business activity from county to county is to look at total payroll outlays.  Here is a seven year look at the three counties, ending is 2019, which is the last year available:

Dollars expressed with three zeros omitted.

Like Nevada, Missouri, Neosho County tends to rely upon a single large employer for their growth and future prosperity.  Although we do not have access to the gross sales of the one company, I suspect the lack of growth in Neosho County payroll is reflective of the relative success of the one company.

Allen County has a 2020 population base that is 1,834 less than Bourbon County, but much stronger payroll numbers.  Despite losing a higher percentage of their population over the last 10 years, their payroll growth kept pace with Bourbon County.  Much of this can be attributed to a larger geography draw for their employee base, as the competing cities in other counties are remote. Additionally, Iola draws from a wider geography for retail sales. Recently, a large Bourbon County employer chose Iola for their expansion over adding additional space in Fort Scott, presumably to tap into a new employment base.

It is encouraging that Bourbon County business continues to grow despite our population loss, and housing and infrastructure challenges.  We have a diverse group of strong, independent manufacturers and branch locations of major corporations that bodes well for our future.  We also have a solid group of local retailers and a growing traffic count along 69 Highway as the highway expansion continues, bringing more consumers through Bourbon County.

Our city and county governments continue to support the economic development efforts of Bourbon County REDI.  We are intently focused on health care and housing in order to retain our workforce, and give our employers a chance to attract more to facilitate their growth.  These efforts will be augmented by the launch of a Land Bank in our jurisdiction to deal with blighted properties, which has also garnered support from our government entities.  This will go a long way in helping the curb appeal of our communities and giving responsible owners of adjoining properties the respect they are due.

Of course, we are always on the lookout for new opportunities to introduce business investors to the overall quality of life that Bourbon County affords.  In the end, it is quality of life that business owners and their employees alike value most.