It seems a man in Topeka, Kansas, decided to write a book about churches
around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco, and started working east from
there. He went to a very large church and began taking photographs, etc. He spots a golden
telephone on a wall and is intrigued with a sign which reads "$10,000 a minute."
Seeking out the pastor he asks about the phone and the sign. The pastor answers that this
golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he pays the price he can talk
directly to God.He thanks the pastor
and continues on his way. As he continues to visit churches in Seattle, Boise,
Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, Atlanta, and on around the United States, he
finds more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.
Finally, he arrives in Texas. Upon entering a church in Dallas, lo and behold, he sees the
usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign reads "Calls: 25 cents."
Fascinated, he requests to talk to the pastor. "Reverend, I have been in cities all
across the country and in each church I found this golden telephone, and have been told it
is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in the other churches the
cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads 25 cents a call.
Why?"
The pastor, smiling benignly, replies, "Oh, my son, that's very easy to explain. You
see, you're now in Texas and, of course, it's a local call from here."
So much for Texans being a modest bunch!
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