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Palm Sunday worshipers got a look at prizes to be raffled off at the church's BBQ Festival and Car Show later this month.
A wide-screen TV. A large ceramic grill. A Yeti cooler. A set of golf clubs.
A 12-gauge shotgun.
It wasn't loaded. It wasn't fake, either.
The Stoeger M3500 camo shotgun, a duck-hunter's dream that retails for about $800, was sitting on its box on a table in the church lobby Sunday morning.
Should someone bring a gun into a church? Should a church raffle off a gun? WWJD? What would Jesus donate for a church raffle?
My feeling is that Jesus would have overturned that table and turned the shotgun into a plowshare or something life-giving, not potentially life-taking.
Then again, Hope Church plans to turn the raffle's proceeds into support for a church in southern Mexico.
Are they turning a shotgun into a life-giving soup kitchen or schoolhouse?
Hope Church isn't the first church to raffle a gun.
A church in Paducah, Kentucky, raffled off an assortment of 25 handguns, shotguns and rifles at a "Beast Feast" dinner in 2014.
Lone Oak Baptist Church did it to attract churchgoers, not charity funds.
“The main goal is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to give people an opportunity of hearing the good news," Chuck McAlister of the Kentucky Baptist Convention told MSNBC.
My 'piece' I give unto you.
The prophetically named Ignite Church in Joplin, Missouri, held a free raffle for two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles on Father's Day 2015.
That's the kind of gun used in mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado, Newtown, Connecticut, and San Bernardino, California, among others.
Each father who entered the raffle also got a ticket for each child he brought to church.
“If we get people in the door, we get to preach the gospel,” pastor Heath Mooneyham told the Joplin Globe. "If we can get more people to follow Jesus, I’ll give away 1,000 guns. I don’t care.
Pick up your clip and follow me.
It won't be that easy for whoever wins the shotgun at the April 28-29 BBQ and Car Show.
"The winner of the shotgun will need to go through the standard background check and other paperwork with the merchant where the shotgun was acquired, before taking possession of the gun," Mike Sadler, men's ministry pastor.
Rev. Eli Morris, senior associate pastor of Hope Church, released this statement Tuesday:
“The Beast Feast, a BBQ contest and car show, has been a staple of our men’s ministry for many years. Part of the evening is a raffle where various items are raffled off to raise money for mission endeavors in our city and around the world.
"The items generally are things that our men are interested in- golf gear, fishing trips, grilling products, hunting items, automotive items, etc. This year, as in the past, we will raffle off a 12-gauge camo shotgun. Personally, I’m not a gun guy. Never have been. But I do understand many people’s love of hunting.
"Given our world today, we would obviously never include a firearm that is known in our culture for violent acts— a hand gun or an assault weapon. This shotgun is a hunting rifle and the winner of the raffle will need to go to the merchant’s place of business, fill out the proper paperwork, and go through the mandated background check to secure the shotgun.”
Hope Church is not only one of the city's largest congregations; it's also one of the most diverse, generous and socially-conscious.
Its members support an orphanage in Haiti, schools and clinics in Africa, not to mention programs for under-resourced children across Memphis.
Still, in our gun-crazy and gun-weary city and culture, you'd think the church would be the one gun-free zone that wouldn't support or promote firearms.
You'd hope, anyway.