Reverend Gets Relevant: Opens Up Tattoo Parlor In Church

Whether a pastor is putting a tattoo shop in his church, or displaying publicly the importance of sex in marriage, they are doing all they can to increase interest in services and strengthen their congregation.

Reverend Steve Bentley of The Bridge, a church in Michigan, opened a tattoo parlor called Serenity Tattoo located not far from his office inside the church.

Bentley, who has two tattoos, said tattooing is “morally neutral” and similar to ear piercings.

Tattoo artists Ryan Brown and Drew Blaisdell work Monday through Saturday, noon to 8 pm. Brown is a recovering alcoholic who said the environment he is now working in helps him stay focused on the right path.

Bentley recognizes that some find the tattoo shop inappropriate. However, he told the Flint journal in Michigan, “We are about doing church in a different way and being relevant to people.”

For me, tattoos have become common and a form of art and body decoration. I personally have two tattoos and am a Christian.

The Bible says in Leviticus 19:28, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.”

When the verse says “for the dead,” it is referring to a witchcraft rite to mourn the dead.

Even though scriptures should not be expected to evolve as the times of the world change, I do not believe a tattoo opens a person up to a satanic attack.

Along with times changing, however, in the biblical era up to colonial years and well after that, religion was the most important thing in most every person’s lives. Now, a new religion is being created every day.

I feel tattoos are a personal decision, just like which god to worship is a personal decision, just like which major to declare is a personal decision.

It does not matter what the topic is; no one wants to be judged. When someone is capable of making those decisions, it shows strength, confidence and independence.

By opening a tattoo parlor inside a religious house sounds inappropriate at first, but once I gave it more thought, I can now understand and support Rev. Bentley’s goal.

He makes an effort to speak to each customer that comes into the tattoo parlor according to the Flint Journal. Bentley has provided a comfortable setting to be able to relate to people better.

Reverend Bentley has done something unconventional by opening up a tattoo parlor in his church.

I give him kudos for trying something so out there in order to increase popularity for the establishment and for making his place of worship personable and more comfortable for those who are curious, but may not want to attend a service.

Over in Grapevine, Texas, pastor Ed Young and his wife Lisa are planning to spend 24 hours in bed on the roof of their church to depict the importance of sex in marriage.

They want to encourage more couples to have sex.

Ed Young challenged the couples in his congregation to have sex with each other for seven days in a row.

“This is about discovering intimacy,” Lisa Young told the Flint Journal.

“We’ve looked at sex too casually. It’s not a casual thing, it’s a profound thing, and it’s definitely not a profane thing,” Ed Young said.

I think with shows on TV now like 16 and Pregnant and the nonchalant depiction of sex, the idea of sex being a holy union has gone out the window.

With sex becoming so common, I think it is important to do things like Ed and Lisa Young are. Maybe doing it on top of a roof is a bit extreme, but emphasizing the importance of sex to married couples is a good thing. “We always like to say what God created is never x-rated,” Ed Young said. What God created is also specifically meant for couples who have vowed their lives to each other.

Sex should not be about how good you feel, but how good you make your partner feel. A connection outside of marriage or strong commitment would not allow for such selfless activity, in my opinion.

Ed and Lisa Young are doing their “sexperiment” to strengthen the bond of marriage between the couples in their congregation.

Both Reverend Steve Bentley and Pastor Ed Young are thinking outside the box by taking unconventional measures to draw attention to their churches. In order to be more personable and to strengthen the faith in their congregations, both leaders are providing unordinary means to fire up and encourage their congregations.

On one side, a tattoo parlor in a house of God and church leaders having sex on a roof is inappropriate. On the other side, seeing a tattoo shop in a church would be just random enough to attract people inside. Ed and Lisa Young’s goal is to make married couples excited over each other when their love needs rekindling.

Their actions open up for great debate and speculation, but in both cases, these leaders are making people interested in church while provoking curiosity.

Anna Westerholm can be reached at Anna.Westerholm@spartans.ut.edu