Can you tell we are traveling through the deep south? You know you’re in the south when you can write a post like this one, in which you honestly argue that Waffle House is a valid third place for a community, a place where diverse people come to connect with each other in a familiar and comfortable environment.

Nevertheless, that’s what I’m going to say today!

Our first exposure to Waffle House came from our friends, Buddy and Jody Hoffman. Buddy is the pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, whose children’s ministry is pictured in yesterday’s post. I was wrong on how many kids hang out at Grace on a Wednesday, by the way: there is an average of 1,500 from kindergarten to middle school each Wednesday. Church attendance in general runs 4-5 thousand. Now that is placing a priority on the next generation!

Buddy takes his job as a community-based, local pastor quite seriously. The time he spends in the local Waffle Houses is as important to him as the time he spends in the pulpit, and it shows. Walk into any Grayson or Snellville Waffle House with Buddy and you are greeted like royalty. Buddy has prayed with these people, teased them, loved them and confronted them. He has sat in the Waffle House in the middle of the night while wrestling with unruly sermons. And most telling of all, he has invented his own Waffle House sandwich! Ask for the Buddy sandwich for an unusual tasty treat.

Not too long ago, Buddy demonstrated to me the back and forth nature of community, the knowledge that no matter what happens in your life there are people around to back you up. Buddy had a disgruntled soul looking for a confrontation one time, and we were concerned that this person might actually come to find Buddy while he was wandering around town here or there. “Let him,” Buddy said. “These are my people. I know everyone in that Waffle House, and most of them are tough characters. He won’t get near me.” Buddy knew that his friends — friends, not helpless souls he’s “ministering” to, but friends — would have his back.

David, Kylie, Jillian and I are on a weekend trip to Nashville. Half way here we decided to stop into a Waffle House for a nice late-night breakfast. It was a different Waffle House, but there was still something similar there. People talked to each other. They made fun of the Waffle House jingle music on the juke box (even when they fed quarters in to keep it playing!). Some had teeth and some didn’t (not kidding…sorry, Tennessee!), but everyone was there just to let down and have fun.

So what do you think? Waffle House as a third place community? Buddy would say “Absolutely!”