A lot of people know I’m an expert on Chick-fil-A, mostly because I keep telling them that.

But also because I’ve written about “chicken church” a number of times in the past.

What I’ve failed to do, though, is share the 10 Commandments of Chick-fil-A.

That changes today my friend. That changes right now:

The 10 Commandments of Chick-fil-A

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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:

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3 Reasons Chick-fil-A will be served in heaven.

(See Part 1 about In-n-Out right here)

1. They really take care of the shortys.

After my kids eat a Chick-fil-A kid’s meal, they read the book that came with it, and then quietly clean up the table and give me a big hug because they’ve just learned a lesson about the value of thankfulness. After my kids eat a McDonald’s happy meal, they throw the American Doll miniature toy that came with it on the ground, tell me they need a different one because “Julie is a hippy,” and then proceed to throw rocks at cars driven by old ladies. OK, slight exaggeration, but Chick-fil-A does put a tremendous effort on teaching kids great life values, including working with thousands of schools across the country and as a dad I really appreciate that.

2. They are closed on Sundays.

I really wrestled with the idea of not posting something new each week on Sunday on this blog. And we’re talking about just a silly blog. How hard was it for Chick-fil-A to decide to stay closed on Sundays? They’ll tell you it was easy. In an Internet driven world where we are all conditioned to expect and demand instant access to everything we could ever want, (I consider Tweet Deck not loading quickly on my iPhone to be a tragedy of the highest order) a fast food restaurant staying closed on one day of the week is a bold move. And you’d be shocked how often employees get to share their faith when friends and family members ask about why they’re closed on such an important day.

3. The Cathy Family

I don’t know Truett Cathy, but recently I met his son Dan, the COO of Chick-fil-A and his heart for the Lord blew me away. He shared some Bible verses that are rocking his world right now and was far more curious, humble and honest than I expected an executive at his level to be. (I think I thought he’d be all “tycoony.”) Sometimes when I find a nickel on the ground I become a conceited jerk. This guy runs a billion dollar company and puts sharing the gospel over everything else. Just insane.

Looking at the facts, it’s hard to make a decision on which fast food restaurant will actually be served in heaven. Fortunately however, there is a tie breaker item …

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Forget emergent vs. fundamentalist.

Forget beer fans vs. teetotalers.

Forget small home church vs. megachurch.

The issue that is currently dividing the church in half is much more complicated:

Chick-fil-A vs. In-n-Out

For those of you in parts of the country or the world where neither faith-based fast food restaurant reigns, allow me to invite you into the fray. On the one side, you’ve got Chick-fil-A, a chicken restaurant founded by Truett Cathy in Georgia. On the other side, In-n-Out, a hamburger joint founded by Harry Snyder in California. (Can you sense the east coast vs. west coast tension building akin to Tupac and Biggie Smalls?)

Both restaurants are delicious in their own unique ways, but we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to decide which restaurant will be in heaven. (I’m not sure where exactly in the Bible it mentions that heaven will have restaurants, but I do know one thing, Chipotle won’t be there. Charging extra for chips at a Mexican restaurant? The devilry!)

Now in order to solve this as scientifically as possible, because frankly all fast food heaven battles should be settled with data not emotions, I’ve collected three pertinent facts about each restaurant that should aid your final decision.

Today we’ll focus on In-n-Out. Tomorrow, we’ll talk Chick-fil-A.

3 Reasons In-n-Out will be served in heaven.

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