LEBANON – Forget the worship wars, unwavering biblical stances on changing social issues or King James vs. more modern Bible translations; First Baptist Church here found itself in the creamy center of the most Baptist of Baptist controversies: donut loyalty.
First Baptist Church here jumped at the opportunity to host Hurts Donut, a Springfield-based donut chain, for a one-time, food truck donut sale in the church’s parking lot Feb. 4. It was a simple plan that got more complicated than anyone expected and turned into a semi-serious hole-y war.
The idea was two-fold. First: Social media buzz surrounding the donut brand is powerful, and hundreds of people typically show up when the Hurts Donut “emergency donut vehicle” arrives at a location, so the church thought it might be a great opportunity to showcase the church’s “Castle Courtyard,” an indoor-playground for the children and families of Lebanon. Second: Who doesn’t like donuts?
“They were going to be there at noon, and people were in our parking lot by 8:30,” said pastor Matt Taylor. “By 10:30, 200 people had gathered so we started passing out coffee and giving tours of Castle Courtyard to people in the community we would have not met otherwise. “By the time Hurts showed up, there were more than 300 people in line and the line went across the parking lot and around the block.”
Three hundred dozen and a 100 maple-bacon logs sold out in a flash, and Hurts Donut, being a Christian business, tithed back $300 to the church from the day’s sales.
“It was totally unexpected,” Taylor said. “We were blown away.”
But the evening before, like a wayward donut dropped on an incline, things were beginning to go down hill. Taylor would have been forgiven for wondering if the church had bitten off more than it could chew when he checked Twitter and Facebook that night.
Posts sprinkled throughout social media began to lash out at First Baptist and Hurts Donut, saying that the town’s donut loyalties were firm and clear (or soft and chewy depending on your taste): Lebanon’s donut dollars “donut” belong to Hurts, but should go to local shop Wehner’s Bakery.
“There are always going to be unexpected consequences to a good idea,” Taylor said. “There’s a very strong ‘buy local’ sentiment. People are just trying to protect their friends and neighbors in making sure that money that can be spent locally is spent locally. A lot of people had opinions, and I was kind of blown away by the amount of energy and emotion I saw on social media over the power of a donut.
“And yet, I think it runs much deeper than that,” he said. “I believe, after my attempt to be objective, that what we saw was the power of relationships. And when you love those you are in relationship with, you are going to be loyal. And there is something special about that! With so much emotion invested in conversation and social media, clearly donuts were not at the heart of the many who became upset or excited.”
But like a crème-filled donut, there’s more to the story than the first bite.
Realizing that not everyone in line was going to get a donut from Hurts and smelling a sweet opportunity to bridge the gap between the warring donut camps, Taylor went to Wehner’s Bakery to buy out the rest of the day’s inventory to pass out to those left donut-less back at the church. The co-owner, Amanda Wehner decided to give him the donuts as a gift.
“That’s taking the high road,” Taylor said. “I was proud of the Wehner’s, proud of our community, and proud of First Baptist.”
Wehner’s is closed on Sundays, so the church goes to Daylight Donuts for their 300-donut standing order for their children’s ministry. But the next Sunday, the donut debacle had come full-circle. Wehner’s had worked through the night to fill a special order from First Baptist for another 800 donuts, one for every person who came in the door. That purchase was funded in part from the $300 tithed to the church by Hurts.
“Honestly, the Lord gave us wisdom and grace,” Taylor said. “That Sunday, we had a record attendance and I know people showed up at church and heard the gospel that day because of the donut controversy and the way it was handled.”
For the record, Taylor said he likes both Daylight and Wehner’s, and is particularly partial to blueberry cake donuts. When pressed to declare a favorite provider of the circular sweets, however, and show where his true loyalties lie, he opened a new front in the donut civil war: Krispy Kreme.
