962. Realizing you’re one of 7 Bible Studies at Chick-fil-A.

Recently I started meeting with a group of guys for breakfast. I did a really poor job of investing in friendships in Atlanta and I’ve committed to being better about that in Franklin. Since we’re all Christians, when it came time to decide where we’d meet, that seemed like a no brainer, Chick-fil-A. (Or what I call it, “Chicken Church.”)

But the other day, while meeting there, I was reminded of something that I had first noticed in Atlanta. We weren’t the only guys there getting together to talk about God. As I looked around, it was like a youth group van had broken down in the parking lot. (Something youth group vans love to do.) Granted, my friend’s mom says that buying Chick-fil-A almost feels like tithing, but I still thought it was funny that out of every early morning option for breakfast we’d all congregated there like it was the only open water hole on the Savannah.

Looking around, I realized there are 3 tips you need to know about the early morning experience at Chick-fil-A:

1. You can’t swear in a Chick-fil-A.

Someone swore the other morning, and my first thought was, “Whoa! Watch it. Don’t you know where you are? This is Chick-fil-A. Ease up. Save that sort of bawdy language for the Waffle House.” I’ve long theorized about Christians and swearing, but this was a new level of weird thought, even for me.

2. You probably shouldn’t try to beat the other Bible Studies to the booths.

Let’s be honest, the booth is the best. If you choose a table when a booth is available I’m not sure I can trust any other decision you make in life. Sure, the Holy Spirit can show up at tables too, but he prefers booths.

3. You need to be polite to the guy collecting data.

Last week after breakfast, I had to get going to work. We all started to stand up to leave when a Chick-fil-A employee came over with a map and a survey he wanted us to fill out. My first thought was, “I’ve got to jet, is there any incentive for me to help? Free spicy chicken sandwich? Cow yo-yo? Etc.” My second thought was, “This guy’s an usher, be kind.” So I was, because I was in the Bible Study breakfast capital of the world.

Hopefully those three tips will help you navigate the gastrointestinal Old Testament type of decisions. If not, here’s a simple way for me to remember it:

“Starbucks is to open Mac laptops as Chick-fil-A is to open Bibles.”

Am I the only one who has experienced this? Have you ever done a Bible Study at Chick-fil-A? When you’ve attended Bible studies or small groups, where did they meet?