WWJP?

For four (4) years, the New Beginnings Church of God in Warsaw, Ohio would periodically send some of its number out to protest the neighboring strip club, called "The Foxhole."

The strippers got a little annoyed at this, and started protesting the church.

(This is already an interesting enough turn of events to warrant a blog entry. But wait, it gets better!)

A woman in San Diego, California named Sheri Brown (of The Rock Church) heard about what was going on in Ohio, and had a reaction that might surprise you. "My heart was just grieving for the girls, because I felt like they didn't know that Jesus loved them, and they needed to know that," said Brown.

A lot of church-goers I know would have wanted to go join the church's picket to show that the righteous would not be outdone by the naked. But not Sheri. Sheri and a friend traveled to Ohio to hug the strippers and tell them that Jesus loves them.

She then spoke to the congregation at New Beginnings, saying, "It's not our job to call the girls out of the club. I would like to see you love on the girls as Jesus would love on them. If you want to change that -- if you want to do things differently -- then stand with me." Reportedly the entire congregation stood to their feet.

After the service there was a sniveling hug-fest on the church lawn with the saved and the sexy hugging each other and wiping teary but smiling faces. Ain't love grand?


After Sheri went back to California, the pastor told the local paper he still felt "called" to shut down the club. Of course, that didn't keep him from getting a hug from one of the strippers and asking for her forgiveness.

Would the love have lasted longer if the Pastor led in that direction? We cannot know the answer to this question, but reading the article, it seems like maybe if the Pastor really had had a change of heart, and led in that direction, it might have made a difference. Instead, he acted sorry, then went right back to the protesting.

Now, it's not like I think strip clubs are just peachy-keen or even a healthy way for a woman (or man) to make a living. On the contrary, I personally find it distasteful. But what I find even more distasteful is the self-righteous judgment and facade of Christian love that barely lasted long enough for Sheri to get through security at the airport.

Apparently, they acknowledge that Jesus loves the dancers, but really, mostly, they wallow in their belief that He judges them, and that's what they have chosen to emulate in this earthly realm. So little grace, charity, forgiveness, sacrifice, kindness and love, but so much righteous indignation.

As an evangelical tool, is judgment and animosity doing it for you? "Come join our church and you, too, can act morally superior and feel spiritually fulfilled in the knowledge that you are better than them!"

I am not suggesting that the New Beginners condone something they finds immoral. I am suggesting that they stop obsessing over everyone's level of nudity and sexual activity and MIND THEIR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!

Because ultimately, if you are a Christian, isn't the most important question you have to ask yourself, "What Would Jesus Protest?"