Truett Cathy, Founder of Chick-fil-A, Has Passed Away

Posted by Christine Pack

Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A (1921-2014)

Awww....it's the end of an era. The founder of Chick-fil-A, Truett Cathy, has passed away. He was 93 years old.  A few fun facts about Chick-fil-A:

- The first Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant opened in a mall in south Atlanta in 1967. The first standalone Chick-fil-A opened in 1986. 

- Truett Cathy made the decision early on never to open his Chick-fil-A restaurants on Sundays. Scoffers said that his decision to close on traditionally one of the busiest days of the week for a fast food restaurant meant that his chain would never survive. His restaurant has not only survived, but thrived. Chick-fil-A is currently located in 38 states in the U.S., and is still growing. Cathy's reasons for closing on Sundays were stated thusly in this press release: "Cathy believes that being closed on Sunday says two important things to people: One, that there must be something special about the way Chick-fil-A people view their spiritual life and, two, that there must be something special about how Chick-fil-A feels about its people. Cathy believes that by giving employees Sunday off as a day for family, worship, fellowship or rest, the company attracts quality people."

- Chick-fil-A has a few specialty restaurants that bear the Chick-fil-A name, but which have more menu offerings than the traditional Chick-fil-A's. 

- One of these Chick-fil-A specialty restaurants is called the Dwarf House. There are several Dwarf House Chick-fil-As located in Atlanta, and these offer a frozen lemonade drink (which my sons love), in addition to the normal Chick-fil-A items.

- There is a Hawaiian-themed Chick-fil-A in Fayetteville, GA (called "Truett's Luau," because Cathy was apparently fond of Hawaii.....hey, who isn't?). One of the items served is a fish sandwich, which the menu describes this way: "Mahi Mahi dusted with Luau seasoning, grilled and dressed with a savory Asian slaw and a side of avocado dressing, served atop a multigrain bun." 

- The "Eat Mor Chikin" ad campaign used by Chick-fil-A is one of the most memorable and longest-running ad campaigns in advertising history. The campaign was created in 1995 by The Richards Group, an advertising agency based in Dallas, TX.

- Truett Cathy and Chick-fil-A have been targeted by gay activist groups who do not like Cathy's stand on marriage, which is that marriage was created by God as an institution that should be between one man and one woman. 

- Sherwood Pictures, a Christian company in Albany, GA that produces films with a strong Christian message, has featured Chick-fil-A in several of their films, including this scene below from their film Courageous.

Here's hoping that Cathy's children (who now run the Chick-fil-A business), will continue to uphold the same Biblical principles that their father did, including openly supporting the Biblical definition of marriage.

In the meantime, enjoy one of our favorite skits by Tim Hawkins as an homage to the addictive properties of Chick-fil-A. I think I'll treat myself and the boys to some waffle fries and lemonade today after school.

photo credit: shecodes via photopin cc

Wretched: Paul Washer and Chick-Fil-A

Posted by Christine Pack

We Americans have a tendency to think it's going to be all noble and Joan of Arc-ish for us, marching bravely and grandly for The Cause, but it's not going to play out that way. It's going to play out with us being spat upon and mocked and reviled all the way, and this Chick-Fil-A skirmish should be a wake-up call for all Christians. Are we prepared for that kind of persecution? Settle it in your heart today, now, where your heart allegiance lies: is it with God? or with the world, and being loved by the world?

 Additional Resources 

Chick-Fil-A Takes One For The Team

Foxe's Book of Martyrs

Chick-Fil-A Takes One For The Team

Posted by Christine Pack

Dan Cathy, President of Chick-Fil-A and son of Chick-Fil-A founder Truett Cathy, was recently under fire for taking a strong public stance against same sex marriage. Said Cathy in several interviews:

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that...we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles." (online source)

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,' and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about." (online source)

I've always had somewhat mixed feelings about Chick-Fil-A because I have generally perceived them to be more culturally Christian and moralistic than authentically Christian. But the answer that Dan Cathy gave in "that" interview was the biblical answer (God defines marriage, not man), as opposed to the watered-down, and Godless, moralistic answer (same sex marriage is bad for the culture, children, etc.), and it made me want to stand up and cheer (and eat a chicken sandwich, too).
 

Slightly off topic, but I've often contemplated the idea that there probably are some true, born again believers who just are very culturally Christian in their appearance, and I've therefore wondered what would happen for those true believers if they were really pressed on a biblical issue, and there was no way out: what would they say? what would they do? Well, Dan Cathy surprised me by actually giving the biblical answer, not the moralistic answer. I was so surprised and encouraged by what he said that I probably went a little overboard, with posting CFA posters to my wall this past couple of weeks, such as this.....

and this........
 

and this........
 

and this.......
 

So I'm hoping that all this controversy will be eye-opening for Dan Cathy, whom I've always perceived to be somewhat "culturally Christian" (no more Confucius, please, CFA), and encourage him to do the hard thing, the culturally unacceptable thing, and continue to take the biblical stance on all things going forward. Now......who's craving some waffle fries?

  Additional Resources  

Dan Cathy Interview (Baptist Press News)

Dan Cathy, on the attempt to redefine marriage (Huffington Post)

ValueTales Storybook: Confucius and the Value of Honesty (Chick-Fil-A publication)

Biblical Christianity vs. Cultural Christianity (Berit Kjos)

What Persecution Will Look Like For The Christian (Paul Washer)

Cultural Christianity (Paul Washer)

Ten Indictments Against The Church (Paul Washer)