So…These Two Pastors Walk Into a Bar…

Orginally published on Sunday, February 03, 2008 at 5:23 PM
by Todd Rhoades

Beyond the darts arcing through the smoky air, apparently unaffected by the heavy bass throbbing through speakers, the Rev. Chuck Kish tapped at the keyboard of his laptop, a tall, cool glass of Diet Coke near at hand, as the Friday night crowd milled around at the Market Cross Pub in downtown Carlisle, PA. A few tables away, Kish's counterpart, Carol Wetzel, sat and waited through the evening, just in case somebody felt the need to talk. Nobody did, except for a couple of reporters and photographers. Friday was the first night of Kish's plan to put clergy in Carlisle-area bars one night a month to listen to those in need. "It's going to take time," Kish said. "It's going to take time, and one person at a time coming over just to chat and learn to trust. This is going to work. I know it is." Kish, a senior pastor at the Bethel Assembly of God in Carlisle, set up the pilot program at the Market Cross Pub after talking to owner Jeff Goss.

Wetzel, who works as an administrative assistant at the church, signed on and has become a chaplain in the cause.

“I just felt called to do it,” said Wetzel, 55. “When he talked about it in church that day, it was like the spirit just leapt at me. I want to reach out to people. I want them to unload their troubles to me.”

Kish and Wetzel said they weren’t there to preach the gospel or go on about the dangers of alcohol.

“Sometimes when people go to a bar, they’ve got something weighing on their minds, and what they really need is somebody who is not going to be judgmental to talk to and help them,” Kish said.

“I don’t have a problem” with chaplains in the bar,” said Market Cross patron Mike Dean, 33, of Carlisle. “My uncle was a Baptist preacher. It probably gives them an extra outlet for reaching people.”

An story on Kish’s plan ran in The Patriot-News on Jan. 26. The story was picked up by news organizations around the world.

Kish thinks he knows why a story about a pastor hanging out in a bar has such resonance.

“When you become a Christian, you’re told to burn those bridges that connected you to that world you are walking away from,” he said. “But sometimes the churches forget to tell you that once you’ve recovered and become strong, you need to rebuild those bridges so you can re-enter that world and share your light.”

He sees his ministry as being at the core of what his faith is about.
You can read more here in the Patriot-News...

What do you think of this new approach to ministry?  I’d love to hear your thoughts…

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