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.

The preacher's kid and the liquor boxes

Not only am I a preacher, but I'm a PK-- preacher's kid. My father was a pastor before me.

Once when I was a teenager, we were moving out of the pastorium, and mom ran out of packing boxes. She asked me to go to the grocery store and see if I could get some more boxes. When I arrived at the grocery store, the manager informed me that they had just disposed of most of their boxes. Not wanting to return home empty-handed, I asked if he knew someplace else that had boxes. The manager said, "You can try the liquor store-- they have lots of boxes."

So I went to the liquor store in that town, and sure enough, they had plenty of empty boxes that they were glad for me to take. I thought mom would be pleased, since many of the liquor boxes had separate compartments that would be perfect for storing small things. I was wrong.

"You went WHERE?" she softly shouted. She was probably wondering if a deacon saw the Baptist pastor's son going into the liquor store.

When I explained that it was the suggestion of the grocery store manager, she relaxed and told me to put them over in the corner, but she did not plan to use the nasty things.

We continued to pack without using the liquor boxes, but soon we needed them. Finally, mom broke down and asked me to hand her one of those Jack Daniels' boxes to store her glasses in, so they wouldn't break. I guess she finally decided that the devil had used them long enough, and it was time for the Lord to get some good out of them.

God did something similar when he sent Jesus. The perfect, holy, pure Son of God came to earth, wrapping himself in the flesh of the sinful, wicked human race, although He was without sin Himself (Hebrews 4:15). When the angel Gabriel first heard about it, maybe he said to God, "You are sending the Son WHERE?"

God did not become one of us to condone our sin, but to show us the way out, by faith in His sacrifice on the cross. Like my mom with the liquor boxes, God decided the devil had us long enough, and it was time for Him to reclaim us for His purposes. Not only did He wrap Himself in the same flesh as sinful man, but he entrusted to mankind to pass on the gospel message to others. The apostle Paul, speaking about the precious gospel being carried by sinful man, says, "Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7, HCSB).

This is the wonder of the incarnation-- not that God came as a cute baby, but that a holy God took descended into the muck and mire of human sin to save us. The act of God using us as his "clay jars" is not only more shocking than the Baptist preacher's son uses empty liquor boxes, but it was also far more redemptive. Thank God that He loved us that much!

Copyright 2009 by Bob Rogers.