Brothel owner wants his own church

Tip of the gimme cap to Eric Scheske at The Daily Eudemon

A German brothel owner is planning to build his own multi-denominational church.
Bert Wollersheim, 54, who has over 50 prostitutes working for him, plans to preach frorm the pulpit himself.

Wollersheim, one of Germany’s best known pimps, wants to speak out against fanaticism.

He said: “I want it to be a place for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and every other religion. That is my biggest dream.”

He added he had no problem reconciling the sex industry with religion and often threw charity events in his brothel.

“You can work as whatever you want. What is important is to be honest and fair," he said.”
Read the original story on Ananova.

I think he’s a little late. We already have plenty of churches like that in the USA – places where everyone can worship unoffended – except orthodox Christians, that is.

It reminds me of the story Charles Colson tells in How Now Shall We Live? about Billy Graham and Mickey Cohen, the gangster. After much initial interest in converting, Cohen abandoned the idea when he realized it didn't just mean a change of belief but also a change of life. It seems he liked the idea of Christianity, but he wanted to be able to convert and still be a "Christian gangster."

Churches with bells, whistles, youth programs, trendy music, auditorium seating, encouraging sermons, and untransformed lives are all over the place, from sea to shining sea. I've seen them myself. And they are very seductive. I can't make claims for anyone else, but "I'm okay - you're okay" is a message that strikes deep in my heart. Religion that proclaims endless warm fuzzies in the absence of justice and holiness is something I find very appealing; it's only by God's grace I didn't fall into it.