NEW ORLEANS, La. (Reuters) - A black Baptist minister looking to diversify his church wants to pay white people to attend his sermons.
For the month of August, whites who go to Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, will get $5 an hour on Sundays and $10 an hour on Thursdays, Bishop Fred Caldwell told Reuters on Thursday.
Caldwell said his 5,000-member church has been almost exclusively black since it was founded in 1958, which he thinks was not the way Jesus wanted it.
"The most segregated hour in America, depending on the time zone, is 11 o'clock Sunday morning," he said.
Caldwell first announced the offer in his sermon on Sunday, telling the congregation the money would come out of his own pocket, not church coffers. Supportive members have offered to help pay.
So far, he said, the church has gotten more than 100 phone calls from whites wanting to attend, with many offering to forgo the money. The motives of those who want the cash are not questioned, Caldwell said.
"Jesus said that we're to fish for men," he said. "I'm just using money to fish with."
Caldwell said his budget is limited to several thousand dollars and for now the offer will go only to whites. Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic groups will have to wait.
"I'm only paying for white folks in August," Caldwell said. "We'll probably move on to other ethnic groups from there."