In my early 20's I worked retail for a couple of years. You learn a lot about people when you work retail. I have to say, whoever came up with the slogan, "the customer is always right," was an idiot.
The thing that stuck with me the most was, people who work in the service industry have a hard job, with low pay and, many times, are treated poorly by the people they are trying to serve. I became convinced, everyone, at some point in their life, should spend a year working in service.
Nancy and I have been working cross-culturally for about 17 years. We've had the privilege of visiting churches around the world. As a result I've become convinced, every believer should spend at least a year in a church, in a nation with fewer than 2% evangelical presence.
I worry the number of church options we have in the west has resulted in us treating it more like retail. We shop.
I can go in, sit, get served and walk out. Just like a store. No investment, no engagement, no relationship. If I don't like the preaching, the music or kids program, I'll head down the road. If someone offends me, bail.
As a result, we can treat our pastors like they work in the service industry. Hard job, low pay and many times treated poorly by the people they're trying to serve. We go in with the attitude, "the customer is always right."
The problem is, God never intended for the church to be filled with consumers. In a society driven by capitalism, it's hard to get our head around that.
If you belong to a church body, love it... warts and all. Commit, belong, invest, buy in. God gave you those people, not to use them, but to wash their feet. It's time to quit shopping and go look for a bucket.
The thing that stuck with me the most was, people who work in the service industry have a hard job, with low pay and, many times, are treated poorly by the people they are trying to serve. I became convinced, everyone, at some point in their life, should spend a year working in service.
Nancy and I have been working cross-culturally for about 17 years. We've had the privilege of visiting churches around the world. As a result I've become convinced, every believer should spend at least a year in a church, in a nation with fewer than 2% evangelical presence.
I worry the number of church options we have in the west has resulted in us treating it more like retail. We shop.
I can go in, sit, get served and walk out. Just like a store. No investment, no engagement, no relationship. If I don't like the preaching, the music or kids program, I'll head down the road. If someone offends me, bail.
As a result, we can treat our pastors like they work in the service industry. Hard job, low pay and many times treated poorly by the people they're trying to serve. We go in with the attitude, "the customer is always right."
The problem is, God never intended for the church to be filled with consumers. In a society driven by capitalism, it's hard to get our head around that.
If you belong to a church body, love it... warts and all. Commit, belong, invest, buy in. God gave you those people, not to use them, but to wash their feet. It's time to quit shopping and go look for a bucket.
Excellent!
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