Well, for the moment, the Hooters

controversy in Fayetteville is on the back burner. The management of the

controversial restaurant has decided to withdraw plans to put the establishment

in Fayetteville.

A number of pastors and churches

gathered together to put pressure on city officials in an effort to deny

the restaurant permission to operate in Fayetteville. A number of letters

and articles were exchanged in local newspapers and, again, for the moment,

the coalition seeking to deny Hooters the right to operate seems to have

been victorious. But at what price is the victory?

Certainly, citizens have the

right to be heard on a variety of issues. Citizens have the right to contact

their elected representatives and make their wishes and desires known.

Citizens have the right to petition elected officials for desired results.

If someone wanted to put an establishment near my home that I felt would

damage my property values or my environment, I have the right to say to

my elected officials that I would rather not have that establishment there.

But the Hooters incident was

something more than citizens exercising their individual and collective

rights. The Hooters controversy took on the tone of a moral crusade with

the charge being led by several influential and respected church leaders.

And here is where I had the difficulty.

Certainly, where issues are

clearly in the realm of the moral and ethical, the church, through its

members and leaders, has a right and an obligation to speak and to act.

I believe that abortion is

not a political issue. I believe that abortion is the legalized genocide

of the nation's most powerless citizens. I believe that the scriptures

and church history are both clear in condemning the destruction of innocent

human life, regardless of the modern penchant to minimize this life by

redefining the unborn as a "fetus." I believe the church is

right and just to speak and act nonviolently on behalf of these innocents,

of whom God said, "Before you were formed in the womb, I knew you."

I believe that in Christ there

is no distinction of persons, therefore, I believe that civil rights is

a moral issue, not a political one. I believe that the church is right

to work for justice, opportunity, and dignity for all people. I believe

that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., not be considered a black hero

but an American hero.

I believe that homosexuality

is not a political issue. I believe that the clear witness of scriptures

and church history is that homosexuality is sin and the church has a right

and an obligation to speak out on the dangers and consequences of all

sin, including sexual sin. I believe that the church should also be open

and caring to those struggling with the power and consequences of sin.

There are consequences, some

potentially negative, when the church takes a public stand on moral issues.

I believe that the church should count the cost, determine whether this

"hill is worth dying for," and then proceed.

It is my opinion that when

the church wades into battles that are trivial, it wastes its ammunition

and damages its credibility. In my estimation, and I know that there are

good people, many of them my friends, who disagree with me, the Hooters

battle was a trivial one, not nearly attaining the significance of issues

such as abortion, the oppression of segments of the population, or so-called

"alternate sexual lifestyles."

At some point in time, Hooters

will come to Fayetteville. To me, not only was the battle an eventual

lost cause, it was too trivial an issue for the church to risk its energies

and credibility.

I believe that the citizens,

including Christians and pastors, who wished to speak out regarding the

placement of a Hooters in their community had every right to do so. But

to me, it was a preference or a zoning issue, not a moral one.

To me the church trivialized

itself by organizing opposition and wading into this small fray. And,

if those who have spoken to me on the issue represent the average citizen,

then in the eyes of many, the church has lost credibility.

Would Jesus or the apostles

have involved themselves in this issue had they been present in our day?

Does anybody really think they would? And if not, does anybody really

think their descendants should either?

They were about the business

of the Kingdom of God. We should invest our energies and efforts in issues

worth the time, the risk, and the rewards.

[Father David Epps is rector

of Christ the King Church in Peachtree City. He may be contacted at [email protected]

or at www.ChristTheKingCEC.com.]