It has recently been brought to my attention that an unconfirmed report has been circulating around the web of a supposed incident involving a homeless man and my good friend Bruce Evans, owner of several Arby's restaurants in the Jackson, MS area. The outrageous account ends with a plea for all Christians to boycott local Arby's locations in an effort to make a "moral" statement. The entire story has found its way onto Snopes, and some of the responses to it are quite hilarious. As a personal friend of Bruce, I cannot sit on my hands while these accusations are making the rounds, so I am rushing to his defense.
First off, I don't claim to know the couple who experienced this, so I can't vouch for their character. But I have had the opportunity to observe Bruce Evans for over five years, both in good times and in a time of tragedy, and these claims of his viscous attack on a defenseless man do not "jive" with the love and integrity I have seen in him.
Secondly, for the author to claim that the homeless man was overjoyed over the gift of a Bible and some day-old snacks that she found in her car, to the point that she had "...never seen someone so appreciative and grateful for so a [sic] small gift" sounds a little dramatic. He was sitting outside of an ARBY's! Why didn't you offer to have him join you for lunch? Buy him a hot meal, find him some new clothes at the MetroCenter Mall (I hear they have some liquidation sales going on)?
Instead of being motivated to begin an electronic campaign of character assassination, how about starting a new homeless ministry at your church? A group could go out each Sunday after lunch and minister to the needs of the Jackson homeless community.
I plan to personally speak with Bruce Evans, accused "kicker of the homeless" this weekend for his side of the story, and bring some much-needed balance to this madness. Stay tuned.
Why did the Thames "throw the first stone?" Why did they"not calltheir brother aside?" I thought God did the judging and punishing? Did Ms. Thames "have a plank in her eye?" judge not......
Posted by: Jan Evans | November 10, 2006 at 09:10 PM