Worshipers for hire boost Sunday excitement
GRAND RAPIDS — On Saturday night Jim Kendall swivels on his bar stool at the Belly Up Tavern, snuffs out his cigarette and says, “Gotta go, guys. I’m gigging tomorrow.” The next morning at 10 a.m. Kendall, dressed in ironed Dockers and a Polo shirt, sings with gusto in the third row at Neighborhood Christian Center. “Praise God!” he shouts, lifting his hands and prompting others to chime in with “amen” and “glory.” His infectious enthusiasm is just what the pastor ordered. Kendall isn’t a Christian, but he and hundreds of other people across the U.S. are getting paid as much as $12 an hour by temp placement agencies to pretend to be exuberant worshipers. “Praise decoy work is great,” says one worshiper for hire who has lent his skills to more than 50 church services. He doesn’t mind sitting through services, and considers the praise movements “good stretching exercise, like Tai ...