Hooters

column supported by other Christians ready to 'go into

the world'

Pastor

Not surprisingly, I

received somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 e-mail

responses to last week's column which asked, "If

Jesus came to our town, would he visit Hooter's, drink a

beer, and eat oysters?"

Very surprisingly, to me at

least, all of the letters were supportive of the position

taken in the column and all of those responses were from

Christians.

The position that I took

speculated that Jesus would probably visit Hooter's,

might have a beer, and might even eat oysters. He would

be a friend to the "sinners" in Hooters, and he

might be even more welcome there than in some churches!

Most of the religious people in Jesus' day didn't much

care for him.

A local minister (whose

identity I will protect) shared, "I remember when,

as a chaplain for the Atlanta Police Department, I used

to accompany the officers on their daily visits to the

strips clubs. I had the opportunity to witness to the

dancers, most of whom I already knew from my visits to

the ... jail. They appreciated my attention to them as

persons and not nude dancers. Perhaps a seed was planted.

I ... tried to love them as children of God and respect

them for that reason."

Chaplain Patrick Stuart

shared, "Your article was a hoot! I've been to

Hooter's and had the opportunity to do some good ministry

there." The Rev. Joe Beckham of Birmingham said,

"Contrary to popular encouragement, I can find no

scripture to back religious protests, be it again Disney

or anyone else."

Father Kenneth Bieber,

Westland, Mich., wrote, "I remember years ago

hearing a television minister state he would never go

into a bar - the implication was that it wouldn't

look good and if people in there needed ministry, they

could come outside or go to church. My thoughts were ...

that this man had misunderstood the gospel of Jesus. He

wasn't being called to go in and get `falling down

drunk.' He was being asked to go where the need was. The

fact of the matter is that I've had some pretty good

theological discussions over a beer and pizza."

The Right Rev. Rick

Painter, bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, wrote,

"During the Jacksonville Convocation, those of us

staying at the Omni had no place to eat except Hooter's

(because) the services went past the closing time of the

downtown restaurants. The first night we met some other

convocation attendees that would not eat there and were

indignant that we would. (But the keynote speaker's)

message challenged us to be out in and among the world as

witnesses. Our experience was interesting.

"When we went in,

there were glances of shock, curiosity, and questioning.

Shortly after we entered, most of the other customers

left ... all those clergy collars and stuff ... and we

had the place virtually to ourselves. The waitresses were

young and attractive and dressed in the regular Hooter's

attire. The food was tasty, the service excellent. The

atmosphere was very upbeat and we were in a party mood

after church. We made it a point to tip generously ...

minimum 20 percent ... as a testimony," Painter

wrote.

"The second night the

reaction was totally different. The other patrons greeted

us, the hostess and waitresses were glad to see us, and

we had a ball! By the third night, we were able to share

the Good News with just about everybody in the place.

Each night, though, we talked with any who had

questions," Painter said.

"Some observations: It

is past time for Christians to lose their `super holy

ghetto' mentality. Nowhere does the Word tell us to bring

sinners to church to get them saved. Rather, it tells us

to `go' where they are. The employees of Hooter's were

amazed that `Christians' could have fun, laugh, enjoy

various styles and tastes of music, give thanks for the

food ... even making the sign of the cross ... and share

their faith fully and freely. More than once, it was

remarked, `You people are different from most religious

folks that we know. You are happy, fun, and real.' As a

result, several were prayed with. Others we spoke with

decided to go back to their church. Still others promised

to go to church for the first time," Painter wrote.

"What would have

happened if we hadn't gone in there? I can't say for

sure. But, I know this - Christ was lifted up.

People were blessed and we had a great time being

"real Christians." Finally, not one of us

backslid, sinned, or were tainted by the world. Greater

is He that is in us than he that is in the world."

Thank you for that

testimony, bishop!

The Rev. Ed Skiba, a priest

in South Carolina, wrote, "If you go into the

secular cesspool of the world to salvage a few souls you

may come out with some bathroom tissue stuck to your

shoe. But think of the satisfaction in knowing you were

protected by the whole armor of God and were able to

share God's love with some people who might otherwise

never know it. I don't mind getting a little soiled in

the process. Jesus got beaten, bloody, and killed doing

it. But soil washes right off with a little holy water

and prayer!"

So, with my wife's

permission, when the new Hooter's opens up, I will put on

my clerical collar, get a table, and order oysters and

Diet Coke (I hope they don't serve that Yankee drink,

Pepsi!). I will leave a generous tip and be available to

share the good news of Jesus to anyone who might be

interested. Anyone want to join me at my table?

[Father

David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic

Episcopal Church which serves the South Atlanta area. He

may be contacted at [email protected] or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com .]