The People you See...

When I spend time at a fast food place, I run into a lot of different people. Some of them are truly unique, but there are also some general categories that others fall into. Let me know if you have seen any of these people at your local McDonald's.

• It seems that as often as not, usually in the evenings, there is a group of loud and disrespectful teens. They are usually accompanied by loud swearing, obnoxious talk and inappropriate actions. They are in every town and almost every day.
• On most mornings you will find a group of retirees. This group is almost as noisy as the disrespectful teens, but much more polite. These men and women will be a cup of coffee at 8am and then leave several hours later. I have named them members of the "Golden Arches Social Club."
• There are also lonely and elderly people. These are people who live alone and for whatever reason don't participate in the retiree group. They are in a favorite restaurant almost every day, eating alone and smiling at strangers.
• At lunch time you can spot salesmen and other travelers. They make a pit stop with a day planner, a newspaper and a cell phone. They keep to themselves, but waste no time.
• On weekends it is not unusual to run into dads with their children for their weekend visits. You can find these most often at fast food establishments with playgrounds.

Lorraine at WalMart

Sometimes my fast food stories don't even happen at fast food establishments.

One day awhile back I had to return an item to our local WalMart. This is quite an ordeal, at least to me. First you have to collect your item and your receipt for the item. Then when you arrive at the store, you must speak to the door greeter. By the way, this is almost the only time that the door greeter will speak to you voluntarily. Never mind, if the shop lifter alarm goes off they will run to greet you as well.

Anyway, the door greeter will check your return item and cross reference it to the receipt that you have supplied. If it all passes muster the greeter will place a blank price sticker on your return item. This is to indicate that the greeter is doing his/her job, I guess.

The next step is to go to the customer service desk. After waiting in the line (there is always a line), you usually have to endure a series of questions to verify your worthiness for your exchange or refund. Finally, when you have passed this interview (sometimes it feels like the third degree), your issue can be resolved.

It was at this point in my exchange that Lorraine said something to me- something apart from the standard script. She said, "Are you a pastor, or something."

I don't get that question very often, at least not in the real world. The bad thing is that if you are a pastor, and someone asks you about it, you can't really deny it. I admitted my position and I asked her "What gave me away?"

"Oh," she said. "I have seen you reading your Bible in McDonald's several times. I knew that you had to be a minister."

I learned something that day. You are always on display. People are always watching where you are, what you are doing, and how you speak to others. I didn't know Lorraine before that day. Now I notice her and speak to her each time I am in her store. She may confide in my some day when she needs prayer of counsel. And who knows how many other people have noticed me? Who knows how many people have noticed you.

Golden Arches Social Club

Here is something that I have learned about McDonald's: It is a senior citizens center from about 8-11 am. There are retirees of every sort who gather at McDonald's for their "Senior Coffee" and a time of visiting (gossip) with their fellow retirees.

When I see this phenomenon at work, and I see it often, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand I think, "Look at these people. They should be a lot more productive than wasting their days at McDonald's." That's when reality sets in and I realize that I am wasting my days at McDonald's.

On the other hand, I have a hint of jealousy for the leisure time that affords them the opportunity to gather without regard to time of commitment. I am envious of the social nature of their gathering. I long for similar opportunities with people in my age group.

These seniors are not trying to impress anyone. They are real, natural. They say silly things to one another. They make fun of each other and share opinions no matter what anyone else thinks. They are a real community.

These men and women notice the absence of members from their community. They express concern for ill members or deaths, or children who are getting divorced, or unwed, pregnant grandchildren. They support each other, without artificially agreeing with everything. They are honest and filled with integrity.

In many ways, the Golden Arches Social Club is exactly what a church is supposed to be. They are a body, an organism. This group serves as a "kind of" family. Maybe my congregation and I should take some lessons.

Sue from McDonald's

Sue (not her real name) is a manager at my local McDonald's. She is in her early 20's and attends the local community college. She works hard, but I suspect she plays hard as well. She and I got acquainted because of my frequent and lengthy visits to McDonald's. I go and stay for an hour or more at a time, reading, studying the Bible, or working on some other project.

Eventually, Sue and I got a little bit familiar with one another. She would ask about my family when I came in and I would tease her about her latest tattoo. (She has several very colorful works of art.) We talked, but it was always chit-chat, small talk sort of conversation.

One day I heard Sue singing along with the radio that was playing on the restaurants sound system. I commented that she had a nice voice. She thanked me and told me that she loves to sing with her mother. Because I love music this was a natural point of connection for the two of us. We talked for quite sometime about singing, music styles and tastes. It was an enjoyable conversation.

I should offer one side note before I go any further. A part of my strategy in life is to meet people and tell them about Jesus. When I am in a fast food place that is always on my mind.

The logical thing for me to do then, was to invite Sue to sing at my church. She was immediately nervous, but excited. There were several excuses about why she could not, or should not.

"I don't know any religious songs."

"I'm not very comfortable around church people."

"What will everyone thing of my tattoos?"

We discussed all those things, but ultimately I prevailed. Sue came and sang at my church. The people loved her. She came again and sang. She only came to church on Sundays that she sang for us, but she came sometimes. I am fairly sure that she was attending my little church more than she had ever attended any church before, ever.

Sue still sings for me from time to time. We are still friendly at McDonald's. That is why when Sue witnessed a fatal auto accident, she called me. We met for lunch and she told me the story. She was driving home when a car passed her. Everything seemed fine until another car came over a hill from the other direction. Two people were killed, others injured. Thankfully, Sue was not hurt.

However, there were emotional scars. That is why she wanted to talk. I shared with her how Jesus knows all about the terrible things that happen to us, that we see and that we hear. I got to pray with my McDonald's friend in Pizza Hut that day. What a great day it was.

Sue still doesn't come to church, but I know that God is working on her. I am too.

The Real World

A while back I wrote some thoughts on worshiping at McDonald's. (http://revdeweysworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-i-worship-at-mcdonalds.html ) Those who know me realize that I take this very seriously. I regularly spend an hour or more at McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King or some similar fast food establishment with my Bible and my journal. As a consequence, I have some great experiences. It is amazing the things that happen to me.

I meet a lot of people. In fact, sometimes a friendly manager will give me the employee discount, or a drink will be upsized on the house. I think it is because I am a regular and generally try to be positive to the staff, but it could be that God is showing me favor with those I contact.

I have also learned that there are "regulars" at these places. There are groups of retirees, for example, who spend several mornings each week shooting the breeze at McDonald's. I call these folks the Golden Arches Social Club. There are business people who regularly lunch at the same spot. I suppose they look at me as a regular too. Either way we always smile and nod to one another in recognition of our common regularity.

In the coming weeks I will be sharing some stories of people that I have met in McDonald's. Some of the stories are interesting, funny or sad. Some of them, however, are just plain weird. There are some unusual folks out there. All of these stories will illustrate one thing:

You never know who is paying attention.

I believe that it is always important to be on your guard. You must always be committed to being friendly, positive, helpful and generally scout-like. If you are not, it may come back to haunt you. If you are, you will never be sorry.

Why I Worship at McDonald's

Some of you know that I spend a lot of time at McDonald's (or Wendy's or Burger King or the local coffee shop). I spend about one day each week at such places. I meet a lot of people at McDonald's- like the salesman whose mother-in-law died, or the woman from California who lost her children. My McDonald's time is not haphazard or indiscriminate, however. I have several reasons for doing such a thing (some much better than others). What follows are my Top Ten Reasons to worship God at McDonald's.

10. There are no interruptions. There is no phone to answer at McDonald's. No television. No drop-ins. For the most part, I get left alone.

9. There are free drink refills at McDonald's. I can sit there all day for just over a dollar, and never get thirsty. (I also get to use the restroom a lot.)

8. I get a great opportunity to be a witness. Sure, it's a silent witness, but dozens of people see me in a public place reading my Bible, journaling, praying. I have my devotional time, which I would have anyway, in a place where people can see that I take my faith seriously.

7. Greasy food. I love fast food. It's close. It's cheap.

6. There are a lot of opportunities for ministry. At Wendy's I have gotten to know some of the employees. I am able to show concern for their lives and interests. I also get many opportunities to share with my fellow customers at all my favorite places.

5. I get to build relationships with people that I would not get to know in any other way. At some of the places I go, they know me by name. At others, I know them. In many cases I am getting to know the regular customers as well.

4. There is a spacious work environment. When I go to McDonald's I take my briefcase. It has my Bible, my journal, other books and several work projects in it. One booth has plenty of room for me and all my stuff.

3. Going fast food serves as a cultural reminder. Most of the people that I spend time with on a daily basis are church people. They are people who attend my church, or a previous church, or pastors of a different church. Church people are a minority in the general population. It is good for me to get out and mingle with "real people" once in awhile.

2. There is just enough noise and distraction to keep me from getting bored.

And the number one reason why I worship God at McDonald's...

1. I love watching people. (The playground at McDonald's is one of my very favorite places to read the Bible.)