marriage ended. The divorce “sent me over the deep end,” he says, and his alcoholism took full control over his life. “I tried AA [Alcoholics Anonymous], I tried everything,” he says. “But nothing could stop me from drinking until I surrendered myself to Jesus Christ.” After becoming a Christian at age 35, Gros devoted himself to a street ministry at Camp and Julia streets when the Warehouse District was still Skid Row. He became involved in evangelical efforts in Mexico, making 40 trips to preach the Gospel and convert souls. Gros says he was particularly successful sharing his message when he screened the film The Life of Jesus, which he would project onto large screens in town plazas and, he says, attract hundreds of viewers. “But then, they passed a law like they just did in New Orleans — no evangelism,” Gros says. “They wouldn’t even let the Catholics out on the streets.” The Double Play bar is next door to the Vieux Carre Assembly of God Church. Its sign promoting a Monday night special of $5 pitchers of draft beer asks, “Are you a pitcher or a catcher?” — with graphics that clearly do not refer to baseball. Manager Will Antill is tending bar. He says he’s well aware of Gros’ lawsuit. “He’s always been very nice, very polite to me,” Antill says of Gros. He describes his mid-afternoon drinking crowd as “100 percent gay,” adding that straight men and women come in to watch Saints football on Sundays. “We don’t have any interaction with
[Gros], to be honest, except when dealing with the building, an electrical problem or something, as we have the same landlord. “During [Hurricane] Isaac, I came to him and his wife and asked them if they needed anything,” Antill says. “He said they needed some ice, so I let them come over and get ice.” “That was pretty nice of him to offer us ice,” Gros recalls. “In the immediate neighborhood, we get along with everybody fine. It’s a ‘hi and bye’ relationship. Not adversarial. People are who they are. I don’t look at people, at gays, like that. If anything, in relation to the homosexual community, I wish I was more effective in reaching them. “Look, God’s there in the French Quarter to help everyone, no matter what walk of life they come from.” There are 222 active Assembly of God churches in Louisiana (Jimmy Swaggart attended one with his family as a child in Ferriday). Founded in 1914 in Hot Springs, Ark., today the Assembly of God boasts more than 3 million members in 12,500 churches in the United States and more than 3.5 million members worldwide — numbers that establish the Assembly of God as the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. (Pentecostal churches are largely characterized by an emphasis on a post-conversion encounter with God through an experience referred to as a baptism by the Holy Spirit.) In an Assembly of God General Presbytery proclamation last revised in 2001, the church defines homosexuality as a sin “because it
ADMISSION OPEN HOUSE DATES Pre-K: Thursday, October 25, 6:30p.m. Grades 6-12: Thursday, November 14, 6:30p.m.
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > november 6 > 2012
The Double Play Bar is next door to Gros’ church.
300 Park Road, Metairie, LA 70005 – 504.849.3110 – www.mpcds.com Country Day accepts qualified students without regard to race, color, disability, gender, religion, national or ethnic origin.
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