Father Crunk: It's Hard out here for a Priest

This is a great story! This past weekend one of my very best friends gave me a copy of this article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution about Father Crunk. (Thank you Margarita!) Father Crunk (aka- Father Ricardo Bailey) is a priest from Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Atlanta. Father Bailey has a unique brand of preaching, and has been a regular on Atlanta's Q100 radio station. He brings slang and pop culture into his teachings- with a powerful, and very often hilarious, result. I hope to make it out to one of his masses very soon.


Father Crunk

The gospel according to Father Crunk
How a priest is sharing the Word on pop radio
By Kevin S. Austin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 05/05/06

The church sex scandal, the secular society and now the "DaVinci Code" all make it hard out here for a priest.

Not for the Rev. Ricardo Bailey, though — aka the Dude, aka Father Crunk.

Bailey weaves Hollywood headlines and the holy word into inspirational messages. He delivers the hip-hop homilies every Monday morning at 7:30 on Atlanta's pop FM station, Q100.

Of Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson rising above a reported shouting match, he said, "Jesus did it, so can you." Of snide comments about Jennifer Garner's post-baby figure, he warns, "Don't hate me cause you ain't me."

He's fast-talking and funny, with a steady patter about "haters," "brothers" and his boss, "the Lord Jesus Christ." Short and stout, he wears a pencil-thin beard on his round face.

"It's all about putting that spiritual bait out there for people," says Bailey.

Father Crunk's day job is parish vicar at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Mount Paran Road, where he celebrates Mass at least 10 times a week, counsels the faithful and hears confession.

It's a long way from the million-dollar mansions that surround Holy Spirit to the streets of Sweet Auburn, where Bailey, 32, grew up. Raised on his mother's tough love and the crew hanging at the Butler Street YMCA, Bailey studied at Xavier University in New Orleans and St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore and was the country's only diocesan priest ordained in 2003. Last year, Archbishop Wilton Gregory assigned him to Holy Spirit.

His sense of humor and love of Jesus bridge the gap between his childhood neighborhood and his new neighborhood.

Music helps, too.

Sunday he broke into "I Am on the Battlefield for My Lord" during Mass. Thirteen hours later he broke into "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt on Q100. Unaccompanied, of course.

Please click here to read more.

I also urge you to go to Q 100's web site and listen to Father Bailey. He is awesome- and as Father Crunk says, "don't hate me cause you ain't me!"