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Michigan Pastor Calls On All Christians To Stop Shopping On Sundays

BENTON HARBOR (WWJ) - "God wants his day back," says a southwestern Michigan pastor who is calling on all Christians to stop shopping on Sundays.

Pastor Willie Lark, Sr., with the House of Prayer in Benton Harbor, says if Christians don't shop on Sundays, it won't be profitable for businesses to stay open and employees won't have to work.

"Not only my congregation, but I'm asking all the communities of faith to discontinue shopping on Sunday – our chosen worship day. No gas station, no stores and no restaurants," Lark told WWJ Newsradio 950's Zahra Huber.

"It's our fault that a lot of businesses is open because of needing to be open to service us, which is God's people," he said. "And we should not allow anybody to have to work to service us."

Lark, who owns Lark's Bar-B-Que restaurant, says he shuts down on Sundays so people can go to church.

"God's day is supposed to look different than any other day," Lark said. "And the average person that don't go to church on Sunday, if you ask them the question: 'Why not?' they will tell you that they have to work on Sunday."

How did this come up?

"To be honest with you, the Lord spoke to me," Lark said. "I mean, in a clear voice, and told me what he wanted me to do."

Lark says it's a movement.  Along with members of his congregation, he's now traveling to other churches to preach his plan.

"We have made money our god. Instead of God the creator being our god we have made money our god," he said. "We're a nation now that would do anything for a dollar...and that should not be."

Thinking even bigger, Lark said he'd like to see professional athletes who are Christians refuse to work on Sundays, too.

"All these ballplayers, if they just really knuckle down and say, 'You know what? I'm not going to do anything on Sunday —  I'm not gonna play sports on Sunday' it would cause total chaos in this country."

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