I’m NEVER Going Back To Chick-fil-A Again - EVER!

For years I have been an avid supporter of Chick fil A. 

I stood by Dan Cathy when the company was taking heat for not being “Politically correct”. 

I have eaten there AT LEAST 3-4 times a week for the past several years. 

I have toured their corporate offices in Atlanta. 

But after what they have recently done I am COMPLETELY through with them. They will NEVER get ANOTHER DIME of my money. I am hurt, offended and in a complete state of shock. 

No, it’s not because they just switched their grilled chicken sandwich. In fact, I do think the new one is better. 

It has nothing to do with them changing their coffee. 

Their customer service, I believe, is still the greatest in the restaurant industry. 

The taste of their food is still amazing. 

It has nothing to do with that! 

Then, what’s the problem you ask? Why am I leaving a company I’ve been so loyal to and publicly denouncing them on my website? What has me so raving mad that I am willing to throw away all of their good for this one thing? 

It’s simple…

They changed their fruit cup and now, instead of grapes they have blueberries in there. 

I can’t STAND blueberries. 

They MAY be the worst fruit ever created! 

They get stuck in my teeth! 

They get stuck ON my teeth! 

More than one time in my life I’ve eaten a sour one…and nearly puked immediately! 

They are AWFUL! 

Grapes, on the other hand, are AWESOME! 

I love grapes! They taste soooooooo good (especially the seedless ones.) 

Back in the “good ‘ole days” when Chick-fil-A put grapes in their fruit cup I would order a large one and just have it for a snack. 

However, the day I discovered they switched from grapes to blueberries it was equal to the devastation I felt when I found out Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were not real. 

My mind is made up. It’s over...farewell Chick-fil-A!!! 

Uh…ok…so, I am guessing you have figured out by now that I am NOT serious about NEVER going to Chick-fil-A again. 

Don’t get me wrong, the switch from grapes to blueberries is still one of the most devastating things I’ve ever experienced in my life. However, why in the world would I let the one thing I disagree with drive me away from a place I have known and valued for so long? 

One of the biggest problems in the world (especially in politics AND the church) is that instead of looking for what we can agree on we tend to focus on the opposite extreme. If one person is “off” in regards to what they believe we allow that to exclude them from sitting down at the table with us to have a conversation. 

Can you imagine what would happen in Washington DC if the Republicans and Democrats actually sat down and talked to one another (instead of about one another) and found out what they DID agree on? And THEN, after they found the one thing they could agree on they sought to understand why the other side thought the way they did? 

OH MY GOSH…politics in America would look completely different. 

Unfortunately, the focus is not on what is held in common, but the polar opposite, and when that takes place NOTHING can move forward. 

It’s the same in the church! 

Can you imagine what would happen if groups of people (Baptists, Reformed, Charismatics, Conservative, Liberal) would actually sit down at the table and agree on the fact that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, and then have a conversation rather than practicing public condemnation on one another? 

We would see the church united and moving forward like NEVER before!!! 

Unfortunately, we tend to focus more on our differences rather than what we agree on. In many cases we’ve confused theology with methodology and if a certain church worships in a certain way then we will exclude them and begin to publicly denounce their ungodliness rather than seeking to understand them. 

I still don’t like blueberries in my fruit cup at Chick-fil-A. 

I never will. 

But I will still go there because I love EVERYTHING else about that restaurant. 

They do not have to be “just like me” for me to associate with them…and I think the political world and the church world would be so much better if we looked at things the same way.   

(Disclaimer: I wish I could say that I always operated like this and thought this way; however, that is not the case. I’ve learned over the years that way more gets accomplished through conversation rather than condemnation. My prayer as I move forward as a leader is that I will do way less yelling and a lot more listening.) 

Also, one time my wife had a bad experience at Chick-fil-A if you want to read that story too :-)