My first

church while I was a student pastor was The First Baptist

Church, Alvaton, Ga.

If you know

where Alvaton is, you are a well traveled individual.

Alvaton is due south on Ga. Highway 85. You go south from

Fayetteville, go through Senoia, then Haralson, and then

cross White Oak Creek and then stay alert or you will

miss Alvaton. If you end up in Gay, Ga. you have gone too

far. Turn around and go six miles North and this time you

will be at the blinking light of down town Alvaton.

These days

as a student pastor were some of my fondest memories. I

can remember "dinner on the grounds." Now this

was an experience that only pastors who have ministered

in rural Southern churches have experienced. I can

remember ladies in our church who on "dinner on the

grounds" days would walk along the long line of food

with their hands behind their backs inspecting all the

food. They would either nod or shake their heads as their

gaze fell on the dishes, but on occasion they would

completely stop and say "Store-bought." This

was truly the "kiss of death" to the dessert

and to the individual who would dare go to the store and

buy a "store-bought" dessert. It was like

calling someone a communist.

Another one

of my fondest memories was the time we decided to have a

country church barbecue. When I said these words to the

congregation, you could feel the electricity in the

sanctuary. Lists started to fill up as to who was going

to do what and when. Someone said that a man named James

Herndon was the best in the Southeast for barbecue. I

called James and we got started.

I had never

seen this particular style of cooking before. The men dug

a small pit and started a fire. Then they found a large

wire screen and brought in some cinder blocks and

elevated the screen off the ground and started laying

large quarters of Pork on the screen. We then all stood

around the fire and had the best time imaginable. The men

would take the hot coals off our fire and shovel them

under the wire screen to cook the meat. You can learn a

lot about a person if you stand around a fire all night.

We laughed and told stories of our families our church

and the old South.

I had

secured a sign that had detachable letters which read

"Church Bar-B-Q." It was amazing how those

words attracted a crowd. There were truck drivers headed

south flying through this little town and when seeing the

"Church Bar-B-Q" sign would lock down on their

brakes and come in to buy barbecue at all hours of the

night and day.

As you read

this, our church would have stayed up all Friday night

Nov. 12 on Charlie Mask's farm cooking two pigs that he

donated for our church barbecue. We will then sell

barbecue plates to you as a church building fund raiser

this Saturday, Nov. 13. We will be set up in the vacant

lot near the new Kroger store between the new Blockbuster

video and the new Kauffman Tire Store.

Come by

between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and experience a Southern

church barbecue. We will leave the fire on for you.

[The Rev.

Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community

Church (SBC) and a substitute school teacher in the

Fayette County school system, and a former Army chaplain.

The church is currently meeting in the American Legion

Log Cabin across from the fountain on the Square in

Fayetteville. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected] ]