Posted on 12/23/2001 5:37:26 AM PST by JZoback
TAMPA -- In the end, it came down to the children.
Leaders of Without Walls International Church in Tampa decided Saturday to accept gifts gathered by strippers at a Brandon club who flashed their breasts for a toy donation.
"We do not condone the way that they were collected . . . but we appreciate the donation," church spokeswoman Jennifer Mallan said. "We'll bless it and we'll distribute it."
Church officials didn't know what to do after learning Friday how the gifts were collected. Radio disc jockey Bubba the Love Sponge Clem promised them a truckload of toys, but they had no idea he had told listeners they could get a sneak peek if they brought their donations to the Deja Vu strip club.
When church leaders found out, they weren't sure whether they should keep them.
Mallan said that after talking it over, church leaders agreed it was best to pass out the gifts as planned.
"There is a tremendous need in the community," Mallan said. "The stories we've heard are heartbreaking. There are a lot families who don't have anything."
The large church off Columbus Street in Tampa distributes new toys and food every year to families in need. For many children, the gifts are the only ones they will get for Christmas.
Between 700 and 1,000 parents registered their children for age-appropriate gifts and picked them up Saturday as part of the church's ninth annual Christmas Extravaganza. Remaining toys will be distributed today.
Several parents said they didn't care how the gifts were collected or that strippers were involved.
"Whatever they did, it was for a good cause," said Darlene Brown, a mother of three from Tampa. "They were trying to show compassion."
Listeners of WXTB-FM 97.9 (Rock 98) brought more than a 1,000 toys to the strip club, where dancers flashed them in the parking lot. Gifts included everything from Barbies to board games to bicycles.
Now, I know why......
No, I have never stopped to check out the strippers with hearts of gold.
Why pay to see hamburgers when you can go home and have steak.....
I think it's pretty sad that it takes flashing strippers to get people motivated to give toys to needy children.
The radio station could have just as easily asked for donations to be brought to the church itself.
WWJD?
Probably just thank the donors and pass the gifts to the children.
Are we not ALL sinners? Does your church complain about gifts from liars or coveters or those who do not love God with all their heart and soul and mind or love their neighbor as themselves? If my church accepted gifts only from those who are without sin, then they couldn't accept any gifts at all.
Whoa, there buddy. Take a chill pill.
My WWJD was not a condemnation, it was rhetorical......
I'm not real sure what I would do myself if I was the pastor or in leadership of the church.
The biggest problem I see is the strippers and church were manipulated by the radio personality. "Bubba, the love sponge"
Strippers want to be seen as good hearted people and the church was promised a gift without the explanation of how it was being raised.
Both seemed to me were used and it would have been just as easy to ask people to doante to the church.
Imagine the angst of the Adversary or those of his minions to such free will. All it takes is individual resistance to temptation.
I agree, that in a leadership position, the radio station probably should have referenced a church as a collection point. But perhaps the event and attention paid to it will give cause to pause for those flippantly considering such arousal vice a more ethical behavior.
For those who reject it, it might be the only heaven they'll ever know.
How can I craft intelligent responses if I am not aware of all the "assets" involved. :)
I guess it wasn't only Santa Claus's belly that was shaking like a bowlful of jelly this year....
Haven't these people ever heard of:
The 2001 Toys for Tots poster, "Giving Hand," was the final work of Ted Drake, a World War II veteran. Mr. Drake, who passed away May 25, 2001, also created the Fighting Leprechaun image used by Notre Dame University and the image for the Chicago Bulls' mascot. The cover illustration is used courtesy of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.
No and stop trolling. I love to see my wife naked. At what point did I ever condone what the strippers were doing? Bonehead.
Everyone had fun, toys were collected and mission complete. So what is your problem?
I don't have one. If men want to go see strippers flash their boobs at them to get them to give a toy, I could care less. What bugs me to a certain degree is the fact the church was put in a position of being being told they would be getting toys, but not in what fashion.
Believe it or not strippers are mostly just regular people.
Believe me, I know it far and away better than you do.
Better way to make a living than shooting a mother holding her baby as in Ruby Ridge.
O.K. I agree, as a matter of fact I think almost everyone would agree taking ones clothes off is far better thing to do than shoot someone in cold blood.
Any more dumbass statements would you like to add?
You can stop drooling now.
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