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Why Bubba was on his knees in front of the choir
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The Bible teaches that in worship services, there is a proper place for a prayer, a song, or a sermon, but it should be done in an orderly way (1 Corinthians 14:26-33). Disorder can invite disaster. Just as Bubba.

“Bubba” (not his real name) loved to pray loud prayers at his church in north Georgia. Whenever he was called upon to pray, his voice rang out with authority and passion as he called upon the Lord.

However, Bubba also had a problem. If he turned his head a certain way, he went to sleep. Instantly.

One Sunday, Bubba was seated on the front pew of church, listening to the choir sing. The music was beautiful, but Bubba got his head in the wrong position, and out he went.

A mischievous youth seated behind Bubba decided to play a trick on him. He tapped Bubba on the shoulder, then he shook him, waking him enough to hear the words, “Bubba, they just called on you to pray.”

Without noticing that the choir was still singing, Bubba hit the floor on his knees, and began to cry out to the Lord. “Oh, Lord, we come before you this morning...” The poor choir had to stop singing so Bubba could pray.

If we are honest with ourselves, we all have had times when we were in the wrong frame of mind during worship. Maybe you’ve been singing “Oh Happy Day” while paying no attention to the frown on your face. Or perhaps your mind wandered to the heroes of the ball field while the pastor was preaching on the heroes of the Bible. When it hits you that your mind is not in sync with the worship around you, why not refocus on God. And be glad that at least you’re not Bubba on his knees in front of a silent choir.

Copyright 2008 by Bob Rogers. Read this column each Thursday for a mix of religion and humor. For more “Holy Humor,” go to the Web page of First Baptist Church of Rincon at www.fbcrincon.com.

Is there a church for a big woman with an itch?
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A pastor was called to be guest preacher at a church. He knew this church was different when the congregation ended every line of the hymn with the shout of “yeehah!”


As he stood to preach, he noticed that people were spread out on the pews. He would see a person, then a space, then another person, and another space. He wondered why nobody sat next to another person, when he noticed on the pew beside each person was a cowboy hat.


Another time this same preacher was invited to a new church in the city. He was surprised to see that everybody there looked like they had fallen face first into a tackle box, because they had piercings and earrings on every part of the body imaginable. A rock band was playing alternative music on the stage.


As different as these two churches were, they were both growing and reaching people for Christ.


Years ago I was pastor of a small country church in the backwoods of Mississippi. There was another Baptist church just five miles away in the town (population 600). The pastor’s wife at the town church asked me, “Why don’t our two churches merge?” I said, “There are people in my church who would not feel comfortable or fit in at your town church.” She said, “Oh, come on. We’re a small town church. What could be so different?”


I said, “Well, I got one really big woman in my church who, when she gets to feeling an itch, she pulls her dress halfway up and she scratches herself.”


The eyes of this pastor’s wife got really big and she said, “I see what you mean.”


I forgot to tell her about another woman in my church who saw a roach running across the wood floor, so she stomped on it with her bare foot, laughed and shouted, “Aha! I got him!”


Yep, the culture was definitely different where I was pastor.


Jesus upset the religious establishment because He crossed cultural barriers. He loved to eat with tax collectors and Gentiles and other strange people. Jesus walked into the land of Samaria, full of half-breed Jews who worshiped in weird ways and talked different and smelled different.


Jesus walked right up to a Samaritan woman at a well and started talking her language. He accepted her culture, but he let her know her sinful lifestyle had to change. Soon she had the whole town following Jesus (see John 4).


So what cultural barrier is keeping somebody in your community from hearing the gospel? If you tear down the cultural barriers to share Christ in your neighborhood, you may hear the angels shouting, “Yeehah!”


Copyright 2014 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday in the Herald. Visit my blog at www.bobrogers.me.