The church where people go when they leave Big Ugly

A church in rural Alabama is named "Original Church of God," but underneath the sign are the words "Number Two." This isn't the only church with an original name, however. Here are some other unique church names I've heard about:
Little Hope Baptist Church (in Little Hope, Texas)
Too Blessed to Be Stressed Church in Drew, Mississippi (relaxing place to worship, I'm sure).
Left Foot Baptist Church and Right Foot Baptist Church (the result of a split over foot washing in a town in Georgia).
The First Church of the Last Chance in Dade, Florida (better not wait until the last verse of the invitation to come forward at that church).
Flippin Church of God (in Northern Arkansas).
Accident Baptist Church (apparently not a Calvinist church).
The Holy and Overcoming Apostolic Church in the Name of Jesus Only (try to fit that on a church sign).
Rock Star Baptist Church, Brandon, Mississippi (I wonder if Elvis visited).
Big Ugly Baptist Church in Big Ugly, West Virginia (a visiting preacher said, "It sure is nice to be with you Big Ugly folks tonight.")
The Lovely Freewill Baptist Church in Lovely, Kentucky (where people go when they leave Big Ugly).
Thank God, a congregation is not defined by the name over their door, but by the Lord over their hearts! After all, whenever you find the words "church" and "name" together in the same Bible verse, the emphasis is on the name of the Lord, not the name of the church (see 1 Corinthians 1:2, James 5:14). So whatever the name of your church is, find one that honors the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and God will bless it.

Copyright 2010 by Bob Rogers.

Taking it to the bank

When I went off to seminary, I moved from Woodville, Mississippi, to New Orleans, Louisiana. It was only a few hours’ drive, but the two cultures were light-years apart.

I had been serving Woodville Baptist Church as their youth minister. Woodville was, and still is, a small county-seat town located south of Natchez in the extreme southwest corner of the state. Woodville’s claim to fame was that it was the boyhood home of Jefferson Davis. Woodville also boasts the first standard-sized railroad line ever built in America, which once was used to ship cotton down to the Mississippi River at St. Francisville, Louisiana. Although it was a tiny town, they had very active Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Catholic churches, each one claiming to be the oldest of their denomination in the state. You could leave your house unlocked in Woodville and not worry about anybody breaking in.

I took my new bride and settled into an apartment belonging to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and I promptly went to a big New Orleans bank to open a checking account.

The bank clerk took one look at my check from Woodville, and said, “I can’t deposit this check. It doesn’t have an account number.” I said, “That bank doesn’t use account numbers. They go by your name.” The clerk sarcastically replied, “This is 1980. Nobody does that anymore.”

I just shrugged and said, “They do. Why don’t you call them and ask them?”

So the bank clerk took my challenge and left me sitting at his desk while he went off to another room and called. In a few minutes, he came back with a sheepish grin on his face.

I asked, “Well, did they tell you that my check was good?”

He said, “Yeah, and the fellow also said to tell you hello.”

It’s nice to be known by your name rather than just a number, isn’t it?

God knows your name. Revelation 10:15 tells us that he has the names of all who believe in Jesus Christ written in his Book of Life. And beside the name of each believer, that book has these words written: “Paid in Full,” because Christ made full payment for our sins upon the cross (1 Corinthians 6:20). That’s one book that I’ve made sure has my name. And you can take that to the bank!

Copyright 2009 by Bob Rogers