That's a weird place -- a remnant of the Old South where a lot of old prejudice live on. They don't like Catholics and they want to keep the races separated.

They don't like a lot of things at Bob Jones.

They used to have a high school as well as a college (may still have), and I have a friend who went to high school at Bob Jones. Actually, he got kicked out of Bob Jones after an "incident" on a class picnic. As a group of students walked over a rough patch of ground to the picnic area, the young woman ahead of my friend stumbled. He reached out to steady her -- and the sponsor saw it. He was accused of touching a female.

Now that was over 30 years ago -- but time makes little difference at Bob Jones. Whatever the year, they are sill in the Dark Ages.

You know, the form of Christianity preached at Bob Jones is so different from what I believe that I don't consider it to be the same faith.

I know that sounds funny. I mean -- the people there read the same Bible I read, and they, too, say they love Jesus.

And I know they do love Jesus.

But the Jesus they love is not the Jesus I love. Even the Jesus that Pat Robertson talks about is not my Jesus. And Jerry Falwell's image of God is definitely not my image of God.

And I thank God for that!

I'm not being divisive here -- just honest. If my only choice were to accept the Jesus Pat Robertson talks about, I couldn't be a Christian.

I find Pat's Jesus narrow, ungracious, unloving -- ready to send people to hell for being a Jew, or a Mormon -- or -- it seems -- a Democrat!

But let me stay serious here. I wonder how many people are kept out of church because the only Jesus they have heard about is Jerry's Jesus.

Listen, Jerry's Jesus is not the one I find in my Bible, and not the one I preach.

I don't want to be hard on people. I expect to see Jerry, and Pat, and even Ol' Bob Jones in heaven with me.

I hope so anyway. I'd like to show them around the place -- pointing out all those people they never expected to be there. I'd like to be the one to tell them: "I told you so!"

*  *  *

For the entire faith community -- Saturday worship beings at St. Matthew on March 18 -- dinner 5:30 -- worship at 6:00. Sunday evening, 6:00 at Eastern Hills.