Evangelism, Young Earth Creation

Fast Food Evangelism

Kathi

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Kathi digests dissects an “evangelism” video.

 

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This “how to” video on evangelism caught my attention not too long ago. Oh, there’s so much about this video….Where to begin?

Before we get into the video itself, let’s look at the man in front of the camera. This is Eric Hovind of Creation Today. Eric is the son of Kent Hovind, a young earth creationist who established Creation Science Evangelism in 1991. Kent Hovind is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of multiple federal offenses, mostly involving tax fraud and illegal cash transactions. Eric Hovind took over Creation Science Evangelism and renamed it Creation Today.

Creation Today seems to exist primarily as an apologetics ministry. There are plenty of seminars and classes being taught around the country. Most seem to focus on creationism, apologetics, atheism, evolution, and scientific teaching. Eric became well known in the critical thinking community when he seemed to be flustered by questions from an 11-year-old boy during a debate at Portland State University.

Back to the video. At the beginning, Eric states that because restaurants are asking for your name to make sure they get your order to you, this is a “great opportunity to witness.” When the employee behind the register asks for his name, he says, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Then adds, “Say it nice and loud. I want to make sure I hear it. I’m way in the back over there.” After paying for his food, Eric looks into the camera and says, “Now, all you gotta do is sit back and let them witness for ya. Pretty cool.”

Cut to receiving the food. Two employees shout out, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Eric says, “That’s a true statement right there!”

My immediate thoughts after watching this video are:

Eric is a lazy person if he can’t do his own evangelism.

Eric is a very smug person. I find his cockiness and demeanor in this video gross.

Add to that cockiness the insensitivity of having someone make a religious statement that they may not agree with just so he can make his “statement.” If I were the worker, I would have looked at the ticket number and said, “Right. You’re #218.”

One final note. Did you notice the description of the video?

Fine dining establishments are now asking for your name when you order. This turns out to be a great time to share the gospel!

This is Taco Bell for goodness sake! I’m not a fine dining connoisseur, but I do know that fine dining places do not ask for your name except for the reservation and that Taco Bell is not considered “fine dining.”

51 thoughts on “Fast Food Evangelism”

  1. That was just plain “dumb”. Taco Bell is not fine dining. If you want to witness to someone, strike up a conversation with a person at another table. What he did was weird.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. This is appalling. 😡 How dare he call this “evangelism.” This is hijacking and forcing “confession” from someone. What’s next, baptisms at sword point? What is wrong with these people?!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. It’s the Bart Simpson school of evangelism. On a level with having an off-color fictitious name paged over the PA system.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Loved the Taco Bell thing. “Get the runs at the Border”, right?

    (my apologies to those who like TB, and thankfully, I’ve never had distress from their food–I just don’t like the taste)

    And the calling out the order. Ugh. I remember a young man in college named Jesus, yes his real name, and yes, I had to call out “Order for Jesus” working in the snack shop. Nice guy, I think he liked burgers and fries, but boy did I hate shouting out his order. His middle name was “Abdul”, believe it or not.

    Maybe a hint for evangelism is NOT to embarrass the guys working in fast food if you can avoid it, and then to clean up your place so they don’t have to do too much cleanup. Smile.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. How old is Eric? He is probably at an age where everything is black and white. He feels he knows the truth and loves to appear “clever”. He has probably had a very narrow education and limited life experience. If he could be helicoptered into the middle of a third world country with no money or passport, I bet his whole worldview would quickly change!! I am giving him a break because he is still young and foolish. Thank God there was no Internet when I was young!!! My ignorance was kept private!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Reminds me of a joke we played when I was a child. We pretended someone was visiting royalty, King Wattagu, from Siam, and had the new child to the game greet him properly by saying his name and country. We thought it was hilarious.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Some fast food places do ask for a name. About 15 or more years ago, I went with my parents on a trip. We stopped at a burger place (maybe Whataburger or a Hardee’s, not all states have a Whataburger chain), and the cashier guy did ask for my father’s name.

    My father’s sense of humor being what it is he told the guy his name was “Bill Clinton,” as in former president Bill Clinton. So, when our order came up, the cashier guy asked Bill Clinton to get his food.

    Don’t know why my dad didn’t go with George Bush instead (my dad votes Republican and could not stand Clinton – maybe that added to the humor of it for him).

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  11. About the guy using “Jesus is Lord” as his “name” at a Taco Bell or where ever.

    One other problem I have with it is the New Testament says,
    1Cor 12:3b
    “and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.”

    Seeing as how the Bible says only a true believer will or can say “Jesus is Lord” (by prompting or conviction of the Holy Spirit), it seems twisted, wrong, or dishonest to sort of force another person to say it, not knowing what their beliefs are.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Back when I was in college, there was a Taco Bell restaurant right by campus.
    After weeks of eating in the college’s cafeteria, I came to view Taco Bell as being fine dining. LOL.

    It at least broke up the monotony of eating chicken fried steaks and salad in the University’s cafeteria. I like chicken fried steak and salad fine, but week after week after week? No.

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  13. Here’s a little more info on Eric:

    He was born in 1978 – 36/37 depending on d.o.b. So, Ann, I think he’s well past the age of thinking black/white, but I’m guessing that he still thinks that way. I think he’s also well past the age of being young and foolish.

    He went to Jackson Hole Bible College – founded by Ken Ham and Don Landis.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. “After weeks of eating in the college’s cafeteria, I came to view Taco Bell as being fine dining. LOL”

    LOL missdaisyflower! I don’t know if I ever viewed In n’ Out as “fine dining,” but I sure did appreciate that hamburger over our dining hall food too!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. One of the tenets of evangelicalism is that every believer should be about the business of evangelizing, or witnessing as they call it. This dude is proof positive that evangelism is best left to those who have the gift.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. It is a matter of immaturity and a fair measure of hubris. Of course, common among young men, I cringe when I think of what I did 25 years ago, absolutely cringe. He’d do better to buy $10 worth of food and give to someone who looks like they’re down on their luck rather than playing cutesy pranks. Hopefully he learns and one day cringes at himself, hopefully he doesn’t double up on the hubris and end up like the father, who paid a very heavy price. But having a father who was on the lam from the FBI for years for fraud didn’t exactly doom me, I didn’t follow him down that path.

    Liked by 4 people

  20. Gary, I think every believer is called to share the Gospel somehow, actually. I just think that, per 1 Peter 3: 15 and elsewhere, we ought to do so with (NKJV translation) “meekness and fear”, not “obnoxiousness and manipulation.”

    And I confess, I’m still working out how I ought to be involved. No perfection on my part, but I acknowledge the goal.

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  22. In all seriousness, I am not rejoicing that Kent Hovind is in prison. Although I doubt he will, I hope he learns his lesson. But I can’t help seeing the humor by calling Taco Bell fine dining.

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  24. I also can’t shake the feeling that he’s using someone of a lower status than him to further his agenda. These workers may be high school kids (lower age status) or earn a wage lower than him (lower socio-economic status). Maybe that’s just me and I’m reading more into it than I should.

    Liked by 2 people

  25. TB is not even decent TexMex or Mex. It may be MexiCali. But it is the 2nd worst chain food in that category in Central Texas, the worst being Taco (No) Bueno. Even the local TexMex or Mex greasy spoons serve better food, and generally at better prices. And this former Northerner has dined all over the state of Texas and in N. Mexico, and generally likes spicy TexMex and Mex cuisines.

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  26. This weird idea of evangelism is disgusting. If he wants to say, “Jesus Christ is Lord,” no one has put a cork in his mouth – HE should be the one to say it and the rest of his diatribe – – and yes, I call it a diatribe when you go on babbling words just because they are the approved words of a specific gospel message. If this is his deal, it should come to him, not by means of using someone else’s evangelism formula. (edited to clarify)

    I admit, I do have an attitude about evangelism now after having gone to a church that shoved a specific type of evangelism in people’s faces, in the privacy of people’s homes, even on doors that said, no trespassing, no soliciting, etc. When you disrespect people, the message is lost.

    BTW, sorry, I’ve been out of commission here. Schoolwork has really been tough this week.

    Liked by 3 people

  27. Kathi, Thanks for the info. Thirty-six or seven is pushing it. I assume he is single/no kids, because he acts so immature. He does that privileged attitude going on though, like he is throwing one over on the employees. JA, good luck with your course work!

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  28. Are the Hovinds IFB? I know the IFB folks revere the elder, to the point of endless windy posts proclaiming his status as martyr to the faith (yes, for going to prison for tax evasion).

    If so, he’s likely quite happy in his smug offensiveness. I’ve see far too many videos are Stuff Fundies Like to believe any of those guys will likely ever change. They’re too happy as they are.

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  29. I’m pretty sure he didn’t get everyone who was there’s permission to video record them or let them know he was posting it on the internet. To me, it’s just plain rude. And he can check with CON and Miano, and I’m pretty sure even They would say his message needs work.

    Liked by 3 people

  30. Ann said,

    Kathi, Thanks for the info. Thirty-six or seven is pushing it. I assume he is single/no kids, because he acts so immature.

    As a never married woman, early 40s, who desired marriage but it did not happen, I can tell you that I do sometime see very immature, frat bro dudes or snotty women who manage to get married.

    I stand back in wonder and can’t figure out how I remain single but these type of people get mates.

    It may be that being immature, rude, or stuck up can keep a person single longer than most, but getting married is also not a guarantee of making a person mature or sensitive.

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  31. Aw, I’m seeing a lot of hate for Taco Bell on here. I kind of like their food. I recognize it’s not gourmet but that is part of its appeal for me, I guess. !Yo quiero Taco Bell!

    Remember their little spokes-dog they had in the TV commercials? He was so cute. Anyway.

    Gary W said,

    One of the tenets of evangelicalism is that every believer should be about the business of evangelizing, or witnessing as they call it. This dude is proof positive that evangelism is best left to those who have the gift.

    Something else that can go wrong with this is that some Christians and entire churches are so keen to make converts, they treat each person they meet as a project, not as a full fledged human being.

    I had something similar happen a few years ago at my Dad’s new church. Some older lady there got to know me.

    At first, I thought she was genuinely interested in caring about me, but the longer I was around her, the more I got the feeling she was only helping me (doing kind gestures) because she was ordered to in the Bible.

    Not that she really wanted to help me but she felt like she HAD TO, or God would frown on her. That made me feel even worse.

    I’m afraid some Christians take the same approach when spreading the Gospel. They view people as objects to conquer.

    Some mega church wealthy pastors only care about how many converts they get into the pews because more rear ends in the pews usually translates into more tithing money. So there’s that.

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  32. Persephone, plenty of nonsense in IFB land, and yes, Hovind does appear to be that, but it’s worth noting that a certain portion of “stuff fundies like” is actually other groups.

    Being FB myself, I’d love it if it were only “my tribe’s” problem, but alas, it is not.

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  33. “some Christians and entire churches are so keen to make converts . . .”

    Bingo, bingo, bingo. Jesus commissioned the apostles (and only the apostles) to make disciples, not converts. There is a difference. Evangelicalism is good at securing converts. However, because these converts are not made into disciples, huge numbers of them are counted as amongst the seeds that fall on stony soil, and so die.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Daisy,
    Although it is not fine dining, I personally like Taco Bell. ( I did not like the way this man handled himself in TB and put it out there for the world to see) I go through the drive-thru at least once a week. My idea of fine dining is Outback or TGIF. I’m not big on getting all dressed up to go have a meal and still spill something on myself. I can’t take me no place nice!!

    Have you ever read Shanna Schutte? She was writing for Blueprint for Life blog, but has her own now. She wanted the same things that you do; Marriage and kids. She is a 40+ who just got married a couple of months ago after years of praying for those things. She has a ready made family, but seems content with it. There is always hope with God and you don’t know who you might meet at Taco Bell.

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  35. What if Jesus Christ doesn’t want his name spewed out into a fast food order and forcibly repeated by people who don’t believe in Him? I never saw Jesus coercing anyone in the bible. I’ll bet Eve Jesus is offended by this.

    This is so pathetic. If this is evangelism, God help us all.

    Liked by 2 people

  36. Question:

    So, if a woman calls in and leaves “Jesus Christ is Lord” as her name, can she be harassed by Tony Miano for evangelizing to men? That wouldn’t be allowed at all, would it?

    I’m just so confused.

    Liked by 3 people

  38. donteatthecrayons:

    I love your question and I love snarcasm. I’m going to steal it 🙂

    Oh, and we like Taco Bell here – – on occasion. My kids love it – especially the younger kids. It’s funny, the other week, the older kids and I went out to “fine dining” Mexican restaurant while we were out and about. The younger kids asked me to bring them home Taco Bell 🙂

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  39. JA

    We live about a block away from a Taco Bell and have never eaten from it. I guess when you’re a large, loud, Red-nex-ican (yes, I’ve coined that phrase) family like ours, you just know anything resembling Mexican food will taste so much better at home. We live on beans and rice here.

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  41. donteatthecrayons – Good question! The second person who called out “Jesus Christ is Lord” was a woman. She should not preach!

    I lived in So. Cal. for 11 years and spent many weekends and summers in Mexico eating off of taco trucks. I got spoiled by good Mexican food. We have finally found a couple of great places around where I live.

    Liked by 1 person

  42. @Kathi:

    Here’s a little more info on Eric:

    He was born in 1978 – 36/37 depending on d.o.b. So, Ann, I think he’s well past the age of thinking black/white, but I’m guessing that he still thinks that way. I think he’s also well past the age of being young and foolish.

    Never underestimate the arrested development of highborn royalty.

    He went to Jackson Hole Bible College – founded by Ken Ham and Don Landis.

    Highborn Christianese Royalty…

    Liked by 3 people

  44. Perhaps Eric Hovind should read the YouTube comments and find out just how “effective” his little game is on winning people to Christ.

    Liked by 1 person

  45. The “Jesus is Lord” was an emotional trigger for me. I’ve been reading this blog for probably a year or so now, but finally feel compelled to tell a little of my story. Raised in a formal, ritualistic denom. As a young (20) Army wife, met another Army wife at the post Laundromat, we became friends and she invited us to her church. And to dinner. Our husbands knew each other a little, they were previously stationed overseas together. The church had a revival going on, fire and brimstone preacher, a totally new experience for us being raised in the church mentioned above! The pressure was on for decisions. I then attended a kitchenware selling party given by one of the church members, she was very “on fire” and overbearing, I needed to make a commitment NOW and finally, yielding to pressure, I said a prayer just to be left alone and allowed to go home. I was baptized soon after, no explanation on the step I was taking, looking back it was just a number to be added to the success of the revival. We started to attend regularly, but the light didn’t really come on for me until months later, reading at home, that I realized Jesus really did love me and cared for me. We were moved to another duty station with our friends, and since we were the newbies in the Faith, we allowed them to choose the new church. Oh boy! This truly was unlike anything we had ever seen. You were to answer your home phone with “Jesus is Lord” If a church member called and you said the ordinary hello, your sincerity as a believer was truly in question. There were regular showings of the movie “a Thief in the Night” We had our first child while there and after missing Sunday School for a while, we were given a lecture about that…..after all, we were always going to have the baby from now on, so we need to get used to bringing him to all the church functions. One time after missing due to baby’s sickness I was admonished that if I missed for a child’s illness, I would never be at church. Legalistic rules about lots of things and witnessing at any and all times was expected for all. Unfortunately, the groundwork laid by this church kept us in bondage for years at other churches as we moved around the country. We have had a tendency to join churches that are legalistic and require a lot of “works” to prove our faith. Now we are not attending church at all, and while it is freedom, it also at times has led to a lot of guilt feelings that I still struggle with to this day.

    Liked by 3 people

  46. Shannon H. – Funny that you mention the comments on YouTube. I noticed this one when I watched it the first time:

    tristanhnl said: That is funny, awesome, and glorifies Yeshua all at the same time. Very clever! I’ll have to try that the next time 😉 Eric, the fact that you’re being villified shows the truth of Scriptures. They stoned the prophets, they crucified Adoneinu, we are not exempt…..

    John 15:18-20-If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

    Yes, because Eric is being smug and insensitive he is showing the “truth of Scriptures.”

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  47. You were to answer your home phone with “Jesus is Lord” If a church member called and you said the ordinary hello, your sincerity as a believer was truly in question.

    I have always marveled at those who recognize the Lordship of Jesus, yet cannot seem to allow Him the right to attend the lives of His own people. If Jesus is Lord, then why must you do what they say?

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  48. @Longtime Lurker

    Sounds like you experienced some very controlling “churches.”

    “You were to answer your home phone with “Jesus is Lord” If a church member called and you said the ordinary hello, your sincerity as a believer was truly in question.”

    I had some people “tell on me” to my minister if I let the answering machine get the call instead of answering it. This was when I had a house full of little ones, too. When I read your comment, I’m thinking “some people just don’t have enough to keep them busy!”

    “One time after missing due to baby’s sickness I was admonished that if I missed for a child’s illness, I would never be at church.”

    I got this, too. It was a no-brainer why my kids always came down with every illness. They were constantly exposed to a church full of sick people who were too afraid to stay home. They don’t get sick near as much now.

    “Now we are not attending church at all, and while it is freedom, it also at times has led to a lot of guilt feelings that I still struggle with to this day.”

    I understand the guilt feelings. I think it comes from the whole “if you’re not in church you’re not a REAL Christian” thinking. I think it can sometimes take awhile to dissipate. It’s amazing you found those type of churches all over. That’s enough to spook you into staying home. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  49. Wow, ugly pharisaical stuff that you folks dealt with, just diabolical. We need to learn to tell nuts (who probably wouldn’t know Jesus if He walked up to them and planted a kiss on their cheeks) like what BTDT and LTL dealt with above to eat our shorts. And maybe throw in some stuff about them being whitewashed tombs and sons of hell and the like–the ways Jesus referred to that crowd. “Niceness” is never mentioned as a spiritual gift, and perhaps the only real kindness such awful-acting people might ever get is someone telling them exactly what they really are and knocking them into stunned silence. I’ve found that when dealing with those types, no matter how mighty and invincible they think they are, if someone really lets loose at them–again, the way Jesus (and Paul) did–and tells them the outright truth, their jaws drop and they start babbling.

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  50. getting others to make the statement “Jesus Christ is Lord” is not Evangelism nor will that necessarily have any impact on the one saying it or others who hear it. The statement is true but Evangelism involves interaction and dialogue by explaining what Jesus Christ is Lord means and how it relates to us as fallen sinful human beings

    Liked by 1 person

  51. OMG I can relate to the admonishment about sickness. I used to get the same stuff all the time. “You should always be at church when the doors are open.” And my church was full of anti-vaxers! My daughter had the chicken pox vaccine and still got them. They wanted me to come and infect the rest of the children. My husband did not get all his vaccines either when he was young, so in order to keep him from going sterile, we had to get him vaccinated. When he started working for the state dept of Social Services, he caught everything! We finally figured out that it was the welfare moms bringing the children in and spreading all manner of sickness.

    Also, I really relate to the legalism in speech. We were not allowed to say “God bless you” or any words to create emphasis, like “I hate this sandwich” or “I love this ___”. And we had tweak around if we needed to go to the store on Sunday. That was God’s day and we couldn’t watch TV or listen to music or mow the lawn or do housework. That’s fine for homeschooling families and people who don’t work, but sometimes Sunday was our only free day. Imagine our shock when we drove past the pastors house on a Sunday, and he was out mowing the lawn, not to mention the fact that he had seven strapping kids. Hypocrisy was astounding.

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