Brandon Baptist church pulls plug on Pepsi products

By LAURA FRAZIER
The Tampa Tribune
September 9, 2009

BRANDON - A mega church that draws several thousand worshippers to Sunday services has pulled the plug on Pepsi products.

The last of 10 Pepsi vending machines were wheeled out the door this week at Bell Shoals Baptist Church and replaced with Coke machines, but the switch wasn't spurred by a taste test.

Terry Kemple, a member of Bell Shoals Baptist and president of the Community Issues Council, said the church's decision to boycott Pepsi products came after months of failed discussions with the soft drink company.

The council, formed "to promote and protect Judeo-Christian values" according to its Web site, and church officials asked the soft drink company to curb its support of groups, events and legal issues that "oppose traditional family values," Kemple said.

The company, Kemple said, sponsors major gay pride parades and events across the country. the rest image by Simon Shek