{"id":6044,"date":"2011-01-31T22:05:30","date_gmt":"2011-02-01T04:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jesusneedsnewpr.net\/?p=6044"},"modified":"2011-05-03T16:55:34","modified_gmt":"2011-05-03T16:55:34","slug":"how-one-church-is-helping-chick-fil-a-fight-the-gays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesusneedsnewpr\/2011\/01\/how-one-church-is-helping-chick-fil-a-fight-the-gays.html","title":{"rendered":"How one church is helping Chick-Fil-A fight the gays"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Unlike most of my friends, I rarely get a Chick-fil-A craving. And normally when I do get one it happens on a Sunday when I’m walking through a mall food court and I see the darkly lit (closed!) Chick-fil-A booth. The craving passes, which is good because I generally choose a healthier option.<\/p>\n

Well, as you probably have heard, the Christian-owned poultry chain known best for its pickle-blessed fried chicken sandwiches and its waffle fries, has been receiving some high-profile grief in the media this past week…
\n
\nWhy? Well according to this Yahoo! news article…<\/a><\/p>\n

…the chicken sandwich giant Chick-fil-A has come under fire over the past week for sponsoring anti-gay marriage seminars. The New York Times reports a local restaurant in Pennsylvania donated some lunch baskets to a program called “The Art of Marriage” in Harrisburg, Pa. The seminar is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a conservative Christian group which sponsors programs and promotes policies regarding Christian values such as right to life and anti-gay marriage.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don’t know all of the details, but I must say that this particular complaint seems a bit extreme to me. I mean, we’re talking about one Chick-fil-A store in Pennsylvania donating some boxed lunches to one church’s Art of Marriage <\/strong>event (that church is one of hundreds promoting and hosting the satellite event). To me, this complaint seems petty… I mean, It’s not like it’s a full-on sponsorship, you know? It’s not like it’s: CHICK-FIL-A presents ‘The Act of Marriage and We Hate the Gays’ extravaganza. Now, truth be told, the folks at FamilyLife (the folks putting on the marriage event nationwide) don’t have greatest track record at loving their gay neighbors. Still, we’re talking about some boxed lunches from one store in PA supporting one location of a nationwide event…<\/p>\n

I’d think that GLBT activists would have bigger breasts to broil (so to speak…).<\/p>\n

BUT according to the activists and bloggers who believe that Chick-fil-A is anti-gay, they suggest that this incident in Pennsylvania is just the tip of the iceberg! And maybe it is–again, I don’t know. They say that C.F.A. has committed a lengthy list of discriminatory against GLBT Americans.\u00a0 And perhaps they believe enough is enough…<\/p>\n

BUT… <\/strong><\/p>\n

THAT’S NOT WHY I’M POSTING ABOUT CHICK-FIL-A….<\/strong><\/p>\n

This afternoon I received an email-forward. The email was sent out by a Baptist church in Arkansas (I won’t name names). It appears that one member of the church (a man named Lawrence) alerted the church staff that Chick-fil-A was getting deep fried by gay and lesbian groups. When the church received this urgent news, I’m assuming they simply copied and pasted the message into an email and sent it out to all of the church’s members and friends (and no, they didn’t “blind copy” them… )<\/p>\n

Here is Lawrence’s and Unnamed Baptist Church’s email in its entirety.<\/p>\n

Subject: <\/strong>Chick-fil-a under fire<\/em><\/p>\n

From Lawrence
\nPlease send word to Second Baptist Church that Chik-fil-a has come under fire for giving\u00a0finanical support to a group that opposes gay marriage and gay rights….We must stand by them with our support as they refuse to fold under pressure\u00a0from these homos and such…..Chik-fil-a is not open on Sunday and the owner supports Christian values…..The company helps young people with a scholarship program aimed toward college completion for all their employees……Shame on America……Are we going to let this kind of stuff bring down Right and Wrong?????\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Please support Chik-fil-a with purchase and with your voice…….let your voice be heard…….<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The email is then signed….<\/p>\n

Serving HIM Together, <\/em><\/p>\n

Unnamed Baptist Church <\/em><\/p>\n

(Address, phone, website)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So there you have it folks: That’s how you can help God help this church help Chick-fil-A fight the “homos”…<\/p>\n

Seriously… who needs enemies of God with followers like Lawrence?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unlike most of my friends, I rarely get a Chick-fil-A craving. And normally when I do get one it happens on a Sunday when I’m walking through a mall food court and I see the darkly lit (closed!) Chick-fil-A booth. The craving passes, which is good because I generally choose a healthier option. Well, as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":412,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-glbt"],"yoast_head":"\nHow one church is helping Chick-Fil-A fight the gays - Jesus Needs New PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesusneedsnewpr\/2011\/01\/how-one-church-is-helping-chick-fil-a-fight-the-gays.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How one church is helping Chick-Fil-A fight the gays - Jesus Needs New PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlike most of my friends, I rarely get a Chick-fil-A craving. 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