Free Lunch Anyone?
I think we’ve all heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” But, after today I know that just isn’t true because today my family and I ran some errands over lunch at our neighborhood Costco. I was already hungry when we got there and so I bought a fountain drink for 55 cents to tide me over, but before I knew it I had already eaten lunch! There was a wide variety of free samples all around me, and the kind distributors were constantly reminding me that I could have as much as I wanted. How cool is that! My wife was in awe as I tried each and every sample without hesitation. She was amazed that a very picky eater like myself would shove any free sample that I came by into my mouth without hesitation. I guess that truly attests to my true nature of “good stewardship”. I’d rather eat food I don’t like for free than pay for something I like.
After the whole experience was over I thought to myself, “What can the church learn from Costco?” This is a tactic I have seen Mike use a lot with Starbucks.
I think the one truth that rings through is that people appreciate it when you pay attention to them. Costco doesn’t have to offer 55 cent fountain drinks or an endless supply of free samples to sell their wholesale products, but they do those things anyway. These things enhance what they offer. Now, while I don’t think we should view the church as a store and church-goers as consumers, I do think that the church sometimes loses sight of the fact that people love it when we go the extra mile to enhance things.
When we are courteous enough to have someone escort them from their car to the door on a rainy Sunday.
When we have someone waiting at that door to help them find a seat.
When the worship service engages and involves each person in the congregation and spurs them on to live a more disciplined life for Christ.
Sure, we have the best product in the world, even better than the stuff they sell at Costco, and the message of God’s love and grace needs no real enhancement to be amazing. But I still think it’s okay to give people more than just the message at our churches. It’s okay to put extra effort in making sure that every little detail is taken care of so that people can more easily see God through what we do. In fact, it’s more than okay. It’s awesome when churches do that, and I know God appreciates the effort we put forth to communicate His Gospel to the world.
