Hinkle's Hamburgers and Jesus

Author: Mark Fenstermacher
February 05, 2021

One of my friends teaches at the Kelley School of Business at IU. He was gracious enough to listen to my sermons, week after week, and we talked about getting together for lunch or coffee. Keith and I shared a love for Jesus, a passion for IU basketball and a deep commitment to mentoring a new generation (whether at the church or on the campus). Politics? We rarely saw eye-to-eye when it came to politics.

So, after comparing calendars multiple times, we finally found a time when we could do lunch together. Keith said he would pick me up, and I assumed he would be in a good looking Buick, a sharp AUDI, or well put together SUV. Keith walked me out of the second floor church office and he jumped in the driver's side of a Ford pick-up truck that had to be at least twenty years old. It looked like it had been rolled a time or two, rust was breaking out here and there on the body, and the interior was littered with old food wrappers, pens and notebooks.

I figured we might go to one of those fancy places on the square or maybe something on the east side, but Keith told me he wanted to take me to a place called Hinkle's Hamburgers. "Ever been there?" he asked. I said, "No."  "Well," he said, "they're a local Bloomington institution. They don't have a lot on their menu but they're good at what they do."

It was amazing.

If you want to get the feel of the place, imagine a vintage version of White Castle. Small burgers, heavy on the onions and grease, with a side order of fries and a soft drink. I think -maybe- you can get a hot dog or pick up a bowl of chili there but I'm not sure. 

Keith said he likes to take his Kelley School of Business students to the restaurant to introduce them to a small business that knows how to serve customers, stay in business over the long haul, focus on what it's best at, pay taxes and employ people.

Hinkle's does hamburgers. They're not one of those places where you can get sushi, chili, seafood, salads, steaks or crepes. They know what they do, they do it well, and they don't forget who they are.

So why all this talk about a hamburger "joint?" 

A short, brilliant, sometimes neurotic English Anglican priest in the 1800's named John Wesley began a movement to spread scriptural Christianity around the world. The Methodist movement, which lifts up Christ, transforms people through accountable small groups, and changes the world by addressing the real needs of hurting people, continues to shape history. In some places, though, it seems to have run out of gas...or the Holy Spirit.

We are in the middle of a 3-week series on the basics of Wesleyan Christianity titled Wesley's Three Rules.  

The 3 rules are simple and easy to remember: Do No Harm; Do Good; Stay in Love with God.

A restaurant that forgets who it is will lose its way.  It's too easy for the followers of Jesus to forget who they are and what they're about. 

Join us in worship with an open mind and an open heart as we look at Wesley's Three Rules.

Hinkle's does hamburgers. God calls us to Do No Harm; Do Good and Stay in Love with God.

The guy at the grill,
Pastor Mark

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