When I was installed as pastor I asked one of the church pillars to say a few words. He told those gathered that I was teaching the congregation how to say Baptist like a Texan.
"Babtist," he said.
I didn't get it.
"Babtist," he said again.
Everyone was laughing, but I had no idea what was going on.
Finally he clued me in. "BaBtist. You say it with two Bs."
Things finally made sense for me a couple of weeks ago when I received a letter from my uncle down in Texas. The letter was addressed to:
The United Babtist Church
You can't make this stuff up.
Oh well, I borrowed a line from Stanley Hauerwas last Sunday and told the church that I'm proud of my accent. It is like my bellybutton; it reminds me that I came from somewhere.
