Mike Phillips was sharing a meal with his wife at a small cafe in Pleasant Hill, Alabama.

When the waiter arrived with coffee, he pointed out the daily specials and then announced, loudly enough to seem odd, "But, I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any collard greens or fried chicken on the menu today. You'll have to get that somewhere else."

When Mike's expression betrayed his confusion, the waiter nodded his head toward the table behind him. Seated there was a mixed-race couple - a black guy and a white girl.

The waiter winked at Mike and said, "So, yessah, what will ya' be having today?"

As the server walked away, he threw two menus on the mixed couples' table without comment.

When he vanished into the kitchen, Mike's wife, Anne, spoke up.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" she whispered.

When the man returned with two orders of steak and eggs, he smiled and said, "Make sure you save room for dessert, now. Our ice cream is homemade." Then, louder, "Try vanilla. We don't like to serve chocolate here."

And, winking again, he tapped the table two times and pointed at Mike. "I'll be right back with some more coffee."

When the waiter moved behind the bar, the phone rang and he took the call.

Anne stared at Mike. "Are you going to let him get away with that?"

Mike shifted in his seat. "Anne, it's none of our business, okay? Just leave it alone."

Anne had placed both her hands on the table and was moving her fingers in little circles. "For whatever reason, he thinks you're a partner in this and I don't like it." Her eyes kept moving between the waiter, the couple at the next table, and Mike."I wonder if there's a manager around."

When the white girl looked at Anne, Mike pasted on a smile and whispered through his teeth. "Anne, chill out."

Then, everyone in the diner overheard the waiter on the phone.

"Yes sir, they're back ... no, that's just what you get when a bunch of n-----s move into town. They're bound to go after 'em."

The white woman reached across the table and touched the arm of the black guy, whose hand was now clenched in a fist. Mike couldn't hear her, but read her lips. "Calm down. Let's go." The man folded his napkin and placed it on his plate, leaned back in his seat, and crossed his arms.

Mike saw the look in Anne's eyes a moment too late. She was already out of her seat and moving toward the bar, pointing her finger at the waiter.

"Now you listen to me young man. You should be ashamed. You have no right, no right at all to say those things."

She bypassed the bar altogether and went right for the guy, whose eyes were now saucers.

She pushed him by the shoulder and grabbed the phone in one move.

"Who is this, huh?" She held her palm out to the waiter while she listened to the answer.

"Well I don't care if you own the entire town. You're a barbarian and we won't be coming back."

She slammed the receiver down and turned her attention back to the server.

"And as for you..."

Then, coming from the kitchen, a Hispanic guy emerged with several others holding cameras and microphones.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

Everyone in the restaurant but Mike was smiling and a few were clapping. Mike had pulled both his legs into the booth and was gripping his napkin so his knuckles had turned white.

The guy with the cameras approached Anne and extended a hand. "Hi, I'm John Quinones and you are on our television show, What Would You Do? These people are actors we've hired."

Anne began crying and placed her head on John's shoulder, wrapping her arms around him.

In the following interview it was revealed that the experiment had been repeated 23 times over a three day period and Anne was one of only four people who had spoken up, but none as dramatically as her. Most had just nodded, smiled, paid, and left. Some had spoken privately about their anger and a couple had joked and agreed with the waiter.

Two people had asked for a manager but when the waiter said he was unavailable, they had finished the meal with little comment. Another had chastised the waiter and said he didn't appreciate the racial comments. He bought the meal for the couple and made a show of leaving no tip.

But Anne had gone above and beyond. She was built up as a hero, and the whole film crew hugged her and made a spectacle of her bravery.

"Were you scared?" John asked her.

"Terrified," she replied while wiping mascara with a napkin. "But, what he was doing just made me furious."

Mike just laughed when the camera was in his face, "She's ... well, let's just say I've never seen her like that."

So, my question to you is: Was Anne the hero of the story?

I think she was. And ABC TV Network seems to agree - just like the couple who calls the cops when they see an airplane pilot getting drunk right before he boards a plane. Or, the man who steps in when a teenage boy is pushing his girlfriend around in public.

They're heroes because they stand up for what is right, even in the face of ridicule or possible danger.

But, where are the Christian heroes?

And are you one of them?

What would you do? Isn't life like one long episode of this show?

There's a right way and a wrong way to take a stand where Jesus is concerned, but taking a peace-seeking stance against evil (standing in front of a rolling tank as opposed to hurling Molotov cocktails - in many cases) is still taking a stand. Where are the courageous Christians? Where are the believers that would stand up in that cafe and say, "What's happening here is wrong!"

When it comes to evil, Christians so often hide in their booth and wait for the storm to pass.

Because:

If I say certain TV shows are bad for our society I'm a closed-minded idiot.

If I verbalize my hatred of pornography I'm a prude.

If I have a pro-life bumper sticker I'm a right-wing zealot.

But, as in the words of Don Chaffer, in If You Want to Get Free, "It's where you're mocked when you abstain, but cursed when you give in. It's a game that's impossible to beat. But there's a whispering refrain God will sing in your brain when you put the nails to your hands and your feet."

When the choice comes down to being mocked or cursed, I want to choose mocked every time.

Help me, Jesus.

Help me be fearless and wise when faced with the question, "What would you do?"

PS - Mike was kind of a weenie. Wasn't he?