Pastor opens tattoo parlor inside Michigan church

[January 07, 2012]  FLINT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan pastor has opened a tattoo parlor inside his church.

Rev. Steve Bentley says he's doing everything he can to reach out to people who have never felt comfortable at a traditional house of worship.

Bentley's church, The Bridge, occupies 3,000 square feet inside a Flint Township shopping center. Serenity Tattoo is located not far from his office -- as well as a galvanized watering trough that he uses for baptisms.

Two tattoo artists work at the county-licensed shop that is open every day except Sunday.

Bentley rejects criticism that a church is the wrong place for a tattoo parlor, calling it a "morally neutral" practice akin to having your ears pierced.

He has two tattoos.

[Associated Press]

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