Most folks wouldn't dream of taking their entire family to a tavern for a Super Bowl party. For the most part, it's a spoken and unspoken rule you don't take kids into such places--kids shouldn't be there, and frequenters of taverns don't want kids there. It's supposed to be "adult time."
But not at Crossroad's Tavern in Cat Spring.
I know the owner of the joint. She's a church member, and an all around good gal. She'd probably have a word or two for me if she heard me say that in front of a whole lot of people, but I'll risk the tongue lashing.
She runs a clean joint. You can drink, but don't go to excess. She'll cut you off and throw you out. Cuss in moderation. If you raise your voice, become beligerant, or become excessive dropping F bombs, you might as well head out the door. She doesn't tolerate that.
She's got grandkids who her daughters bring in, and she's not about to run a place where her grandkids can't come. If there's such a thing as a family oriented tavern, this is the place.
So I have had and still have no reservations about packing up the car and taking all my kids down to Crossroads for a Super Bowl party or any other occasion for that matter. It's a great place to hang out.
In the spirit of older times, Crossroads is a gathering place for the community. Real community takes place there--not superficial garbage that passes for community in city bars and clubs. The people who frequent Crossroads are all just about regulars. If someone moves into the community, it doesn't take too long before they become regular as well.
For the party, nearly everyone brought a snack dish or some other sort of contraption to snack on. There was more than enough food to go around. Even those who brought nothing had plenty. No judgements were made regarding anyone who came in. All were welcome to come and watch the game, enjoy a few beers, eat some food, and yarn the night away.
No one became beligerent. No one cussed a blue streak. No one heckled the television or anyone rooting for the "wrong" team. Kids and adults mingled without animosity or worry. It was rather cool.
As a Pastor, I wonder why our churches oftentimes can't learn such lessons. How often do people pass judgement on those who come into church? At Crossroads, everyone knows that each person in the room has a skeleton or two in the closet. No one drags it up. They are there for community and support.
I've seen it in a real way. One of my church members who frequented Crossroads died suddenly one afternoon, and I headed to the tavern to tell the news. I was there perhaps 30 minutes, and then I witnessed one of the greatest acts of compassion I had seen. The man's son walked into the tavern, and immediately, he was surrounded by the guys and gals there. He was consoled. He was given a beer. He didn't have to say a word to those there about how he was feeling. They knew. They reacted. The showed compassion and kindness without hesitation.
"God, that's how the church should be," I thought to myself.
What would a church look like that enacted such a community? What would a church look like where everyone knew that everyone else had a skeleton in the closet, but it didn't matter? What if everyone knew that everyone sinned both publicly and privately, but instead of pointing fingers, they made room at the table for one more who was just like them? What if the church knew the pains of someone who was hit hard by grief or anger or frustration and "bought them a beer" because it didn't know exactly what to say? What if the church enacted real community with real people and not some facade put on that Sunday morning? What if church welcomed children to be loud and obnoxious even though they interrupted worship?
I'm fortunate that my congregation enacts some of these same principles, but I long for all churches to be such places.
We could learn a lot by frequenting places like Crossroads Tavern. Maybe that's why Jesus spent so much time with tax collectors, prostitutes and other such "sinners." Maybe he was trying to tell us where to find real community and how to model it ourselves with a good ol' fashioned dose of humility and kindness.
I really enjoyed the Super Bowl party this year, and I home for many more in the years to come.
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