So before the T4G conference last week I posted something about dudes not watching porn in their hotel rooms, and it got a lot of traction. Now I wonder if someone should have posted something about not being idiots at restaurants and cafes, because while I was in Louisville I kept hearing horror stories. One waitress told us that one party she waited on left her a $7 tip on an $80 bill but also left one of those fake million-dollar-bill gospel tracts. Another got "Way of the Master"ed while she served a table. She was in tears relating this to another pastor, who ministered to her more gently. I abominate whoever left the fake money tract. The lines for service were long last week, so there was a lot of sighing and eye rolling and short temperedness from Christians who forgot they were there to serve.AMEN.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Don't Be A Christian Idiot at the Restaurant
Jared Wilson:
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7 comments:
As a former waiter, I'll add a hearty amen as well. Whoever invented the fake million-dollar bill tract should be shot. I still remember having to diffuse fellow servers who got one of those.
Ouch! Why all the hate for the tracts? I agree that demeanor and tipping well are important parts of our witness, but so is a clear and concise explanation of the Gospel. Have people transferred their frustration at hackneyed attempts at evangelism to some of the tools they use? For some people, handing out million dollar bill tracts is the first step in learning to engage people with the Gospel.
I'm currently a waiter, and I distinctly remember a time this happened to me. When I went to pick up the bill, the guests said they didn't need any change. Before I could wish them a nice day and thank them for coming in, the gentlemen at the table reached into his jacket, pulled out a tract, and said, "Here ya go. Read this." It wasn't a very inviting proposition, and it came off as flippant. I looked at it and told him that I was a believer and handed it back to him, thinking he might like to give it to someone else. He seemed offended that I did that and said, "Well read it anyway." Maybe it was best that I kept the tract.
I'm not negating the method of witnessing with a tract. But without any prior conversation with the person, it can come off as propaganda or have the same effect as junk mail- something we write off instantly because we don't have a reason to look at it. Without intention, like the guy I encountered at my work, it's ineffective. Add a bad tip on top of it, and you've actually made regress, not progress, with that person.
In my opinion, leaving a tract behind is effortless, takes no relationship, no talking, no listening, no trust building, …and therefore you’ve earned no right to speak into the person’s life.
We just returned from vacation, and thus ate quite a few meals out. At one fairly trendy restaurant I kidded with the waitress that she was working real hard to earn my "one dollar" tip, and later told her that I might just have to bump it up to "a buck and a quarter". Playing the "tourist hick" role with a smile all the time, as well showing a genuine interest in her as a person.
I did leave a tract, but only after computing a little bit better than a 20% tip on the CC, and tossing an additional "one dollar" in cash into the check folder.
Anyone who leaves a tract without leaving a decent tip must certainly be clueless.
Joe...
Think about what is communicated by the fake-money tracts. You're lost, you're working a tough job waiting tables making $2.13/hour, and your livelihood is completely dependant on the tips you earn. Every check you close out is an idication of how worthwile your night is going to be. You open up the check folder and see some cash - no, wait, that's just some stupid-looking fake piece of money telling you about Jesus.
The whole endeavor has the air of a cheap trick or a bad joke. Ha! You thought that was actual money, didn't you? Every server I saw get one of those, without exception, was so annoyed that the first thing they did was throw it right in the trash and come complain to me about how stupid Christians are. I'm sure the people had good intentions, but that doesn't change the fact that they sullied the gospel.
DJ, I ask this in all sincerity: Would your reaction to the tract be different if it was received with a 20, 25, or even 30% tip?
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