Something I couldn't believe!

Strip club king goes to church looking for votes
Hillsborough commission candidate and nonbeliever Joe Redner takes the pulpit.
By KEVIN GRAHAMPublished July 17, 2006

TAMPA - It may have been the least likely place for a man who doesn't believe in God to receive a standing ovation, but it happened Sunday morning when Joe Redner went to church.
Bishop Randy White, senior pastor at Without Walls International Church, invited the strip club owner to join him in the pulpit and talk about his campaign for the Hillsborough County Commission District 5 seat.
"All right, he's not running for pastor. My job's not up," White jokingly told parishioners while introducing Redner, as their continued applause prompted Redner to stand and nod his head in thanks.
Redner said the crowd of about 4,000, and countless others watching the 11 a.m. church service on the Internet, was the largest audience he'd ever spoken to.
He talked for 10 minutes about protecting the environment, improving public transportation and reducing overcrowding in schools.
"We need adequate schools for our children. We need to protect our environment, because no one knows how long we're going to be here," Redner said. "I think that's preached in the Bible."
It's what came next that had parishioners shouting to Redner, "Preach! Preach!" He quoted Revelation 7:3.
"Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees," said Redner.
It surprised the congregation, but Redner said he's no stranger to the Scriptures.
"I believe in a lot of things that are in the Bible," Redner said, like thou shall not kill and treat others the way you want to be treated. "I just don't believe it was divinely inspired."
Though he does not believe in God, Redner said he prefers to call himself a humanist rather than an atheist.
"I have come to the conclusion that the loving God that is spoken of in the Bible does not exist," he said. "I would hold my God to a higher standard."
Without Walls is the nation's fastest growing church, founded by White and his wife, fellow senior pastor Paula White. Bishop White has a list he calls his "10 Most Wanted," which includes national and local celebrities he wants to save.
Rock musician Kid Rock and LaToya Jackson plus the entire Jackson family, White said are on the bishop's list. So is Joe Redner.
"That will never happen," Redner said.
When it came to his campaign for county commissioner, Redner talked about having already been involved in speaking out against decisions of local government leaders.
He said that the elevated portion of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway would add to air pollution and the money would be better spent on mass transportation.
Politicians have allowed too many new subdivisions to be built in the county without new schools to go along with them, Redner said Sunday.
As a result, students have to be bused to overcrowded schools outside of their communities.
"Development is an important part of our economy," Redner said. "It's a matter of smart growth, smart management."
Sunday wasn't the first time Redner spoke at Without Walls. He was there in 2003 to talk about the importance of voting when he ran unsuccessfully for another office.
White said it wasn't the community that lashed out three years ago when Redner spoke, but religious leaders. Pastors sent him e-mails and called to ask how he could let Redner, who claimed last year in a federal lawsuit he is gay, speak at his church.
"I submit to them that we have forgotten that church is a hospital," White said. "It's not a museum for the saints."
In 1999, when Tampa City Council took up the issue of banning nude lap dances, White mobilized his church to make 40,000 calls, telling people to attend meetings to support the ban.
It put him on opposite ends of the battlefield with Redner, Tampa's strip club king.
White said Sunday if he had to do it again, he'd use the church's resources elsewhere, like offering more help to the city's homeless.
Today, White calls Redner "my dear friend."
"Joe Redner is not a practicing politician. I like that about him," White said. "He's a man of integrity. He's never lied to me."
The two occasionally have lunch together at Sweet Tomatoes and run into one other from time to time at boxing matches.
White has not endorsed Redner, his business interests or his free-speech platform.
He said he invited him to speak to provide an open forum for a "legitimate candidate" to share his positions.
State Sen. Les Miller and Tampa City Council member Kevin White recently made stops at Without Walls to speak. White said he's working out plans for U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris to speak to the congregation, as well.
Redner, a Democrat, is campaigning against Jim Norman, a Republican and the commission's chairman. Norman could not be reached Sunday for comment.
Mavis Obalaka, 28, of Brandon, said she agreed with Redner's campaign and did not think his personal life would negatively affect his ability to lead.
"The Bible says we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," Obalaka said. "I see myself in (Redner's) vision."
Lisa Marquez, 35, of Clearwater, said Redner had her vote. She said she liked his approach.
"Hey may not have religion in his life, but I like the direction he's going in," she said.

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