Waffle House Church

During our time in Florida, and while experiencing our first hurricane, I learned of something known as the “Waffle House Index.” The index has three levels, based on the extent of operations and service at the restaurant following a storm: GREEN: full menu – restaurant has power and damage is limited or no damage at all. YELLOW: limited menu – no power or only power from a generator, or food supplies may be low. RED: the restaurant is closed – indicating severe damage or severe flooding.

Craig Fugate, former head of FEMA, once said, “If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That's really bad…The Waffle House test doesn’t just tell us how quickly a business might rebound – it also tells us how the larger community is faring. The sooner restaurants, grocery and corner stores, or banks can re-open, the sooner local economies will start generating revenue again – signaling a stronger recovery for that community.”

In recent days, the present health crisis has raised concerns about economic slow downs. Business closings have become front page news. Some communities have moved beyond requesting gatherings be limited to ten or fewer people to actually forbidding all assemblies, churches included, and more are likely to come in the next week. Reading these headlines and stories and remembering the Waffle House Index got me to thinking of another, much more widely known, cultural contribution of the Waffle House: scattered, smothered, and covered hash browns.

Two of my greatest memories involve Waffle House hash browns. Three years ago Jade and I decided to baptize our new friends, and Idaho transplants Trevor and Libby, into Southern culture. This ritual included their first taste of SEC football at the (aptly named) "Swamp" in Gainesville, for the Florida-Tennessee rivalry game. As we made the forty minute drive back to Lake City, slowly coming down from the emotional high of seeing the game end on a Hail Mary touchdown pass, we were in desperate need of a pick me up, when we saw the familiar yellow glow of a comfort food oasis on the horizon. What better way to end their Southern sanctification than with a fellowship meal of scattered, smothered, and covered hash browns and waffles? It was on that night our northern neighbors became our kinfolk as Southern proselytes, complete with new Southern nicknames. Good times. The other memory involves a middle of the night New Year's Eve anniversary dinner (nothing but the best for my lady) in which Jade asked the waitress to cover her has browns with a little more cheese (she was expecting an immersion and the waitress clearly practiced sprinkling), resulting in the waitress quitting on the spot and walking out the door. But that's a story for another time.

A friend of mine likes to refer to Waffle House as “Southern Hibachi” and if you’ve ever watched one of their cooks clanging steel, while cracking eggs and slinging hash, you’d likely agree. As much as the waffle is the namesake of the restaurant, an argument can be made that it is the hash brown who is the true rock star of the show. Speaking of rock stars, the scattered, smothered, and covered dish is such a part of Southern culture that the multi-platinum selling, 90's rock band Hootie and the Blowfish actually named one of their albums in honor of the famous hash brown concoction.

If you are reading this, you have probably sat at a Waffle House counter and listened as a waitress shouted above the restaurant roar with the volume and enthusiasm of a tent revival evangelist, “Three hash browns, scattered, smothered, and covered!” (For the uninitiated, “scattered, smothered, and covered” refers to an order of hash browns that are scattered on the plate, smothered with onions, and covered in cheese).

The present nature of things in our country may have you feeling as flat and crusty as a day old order of Waffle House hash browns. Due to this virus and the restrictions it has created, our church family has been scattered, when normally we prioritize coming together. We are being smothered by round the clock updates and warning. Our primary concern for weeks has been covering our faces when we cough or sneeze. Perhaps we are craving a reminder from Scripture that we are not the first of God’s people to be scattered during troublesome times.

Within a year, the newly formed family of God known as the church was facing intense persecution. The persecution of Christians in Jerusalem became so intense that, “they were all scattered abroad” (Acts 8:1). No longer could they meet together in the open at the temple as they had been accustomed, “day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 5:42). These brothers and sisters in Christ were accustomed to continuing “daily with one accord…from house to house…eating together” (Acts 2:46) and “were of one heart and of one soul…and had all things common” (Acts 4:32). Suddenly they were unable to assemble together openly and eventually they were “scattered abroad” (Acts 8:4).

Imagine the impact it had on them once they were scattered and separated. They were going through some scary things and they weren’t able to be surrounded by the people they normally leaned on in tough times. Sound familiar? Those who believe the Bible isn't still relevant obviously don't read it.

It was dark times, but I want you to focus on what they did. They couldn't control what was going on around them, but they had complete control over how they responded to it. When circumstances were such that they couldn’t physically lean on their church family they could still lean on their faith. Although they were scattered, they “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).

Presently, we find ourselves scattered and isolated for the time being, but the bonds that hold us together have been proven to be able to withstand tremendous difficulties and long distances. In the meantime, we can do what our brethren in the past have done. We can take the name of Jesus with us wherever we are. We may be scattered but we are also covered by the blood of Jesus and His love (Romans 4:7; 1 Peter 4:8) and we need to smother one another with prayer and with care. More than ever we need to be making ongoing, intentional efforts to connect with one another and care for one another. If you are stuck at home with some time to think about how you can love and serve in Jesus name, get creative, use your imagination. Most of us decry the evils uses of technology and social media normally, but they are a gift from God "for such a time as this." There are more opportunities to love, learn, and serve out there than there are items on a Waffle House menu. Let’s use this time as an opportunity to show those around us that love and service are our speciality.