A LESSON FROM CHICK-FIL-A

Note from Steve: Dan Masshardt from the ERC Commission on Evangelism posted this comment recently on his blog CHOOSE TODAY. This might make the beginning of a good discussion at your next leadership team meeting.

When it comes to customer service, Chick-fil-A is top notch.

Pastor Craig Groeschel relates this story:

Chick-fil-A

Our family stopped for a short lunch at Chick-fil-A in Daytona Beach, Florida. An employee named Sally greeted us at the fast food restaurant; and, noticing our large family, came out from behind the counter to gather tables and seat us together.

That simple gesture doesn’t sound like much, but it immediately caught my attention. I’ve noticed that it is not uncommon to receive exceptional service at Chick Fil-As.

After she delivered our meal to our table, we struck up a conversation with Sally. This exceptional employee had been with Chick-fil-A for over 20 years. When I asked her why she would stay in the same job for so long, she said she enjoyed serving people like our family.

I noticed that the franchise owner was actually in the restaurant having a meeting with three others. (I recognized him from his picture at the front counter that actually had his cell phone listed.) I approached him to brag on Sally, and he said he hears that all the time.

One of the people he was talking to was a sweet lady from Chick-fil-A Corporate that recognized me from a leadership conference. Before long, we exchanged information, and I left with coupons for free food on my next visit to Chick-fil-A.

While I enjoyed the food at Chick-fil-A, I enjoyed seeing a great leadership culture that extended all the way to the people taking your orders even more.

You can access more of Dan's thoughts at

http://choosetoday.wordpress.com

WHY ISN'T THE LOCAL CHURCH INVITED TO MANY PARTIES

Kem Meyer is on the staff of the highly innovative and outward focused Granger Community Church in Indiana. On his blog he has started a dialogue that you might want to bookmark and begin following.

http://kemmeyer.typepad.com/less_clutter_noise/2010/04/sowhy-isnt-the-local-church-invited-to-very-many-parties.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KemMeyerOnLessClutterNoise+%28Kem+Meyer+on+Less+Clutter+and+Noise%29

CHURCHES COMMITTED TO REFLECTING GOD'S GREATNESS

A church committed to the leadership of the Holy Spirit moves from a foundational principle - WE SERVE A GREAT GOD WHO CALLS HIS CHURCH TO A GREAT VISION. The work of the church is carry out ministry in way that assures we are reflecting God's greatness through our practices. This means we aspire to be more than merely a good church but to be a Great Church that serves a Great God.

The mortal enemy of the church that seeks to reflect God's greatness is what we might call "business as usual" - doing what comes naturally instead of doing what is inspired and empowered by God. Our nature has been shaped by a fallen world and too often the church seeks to baptize its fallen nature by aspiring to simply do good. When God sanctifies His church, He gives it a new nature - and that requires the Church to develop patterns of ministry that grow to reflect the new nature God has given the church. This means engaging in intentional practices that allow us to conform not to the world, but the character of Christ.

Theologically we speak of this as sanctification - instantaneous and progressive. We are now the Body of Christ. We have to learn to behave like the Body of Christ.

God is a 24/7 God and His ministry is a 24/7 "business."

Inward focused churches tend to operate in this way:
The pastors and staff engage in the business of ministry all the time.
The leaders engage in the business of ministry most of the time.
The people engage in the business of ministry some of the time.
This is business as usual in an inward focused church.

A church never reflects the greatness of a Great God by doing business as usual.

A church committed to reflecting the greatness of a Great God believes it is the business of the whole church to be involved in ministry all the time. A church with this focus understands that the church in its various venues - home, work, family, community, church program is at work 24/7 -- and what each member does to be about the Father's business enables the Body of Christ to be a work 24/7.

Next post: 7 Foundational Practices to Reflect God's Greatness

MORE ON CROSS-CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS

Since 2002 we have had a sister church relationship with a Navajo congregation at Tsaile AZ. During this time we have sent three teams to conduct Vacation Bible School for them. Generally this has meant 85 to 125 children, teens, and adults. You can read about this in an earlier post.

This effort with Tsaile has created some interest and momentum in partnerships closer to home. As people have returned from the Navajo Reservation overflowing with stories of ministry and changed lives (including theirs), people who cannot make the commitment in time and money have sought ways to get out of the familiar territory of in-house programs. We were one of the original members of the Lancaster County Council of Churches. LCCC has made a high priority ministry to the poor and the homeless. Our people have embraced a Feeding Team ministry housed at an inner city Lutheran Church. The entire church is involved in providing food stuffs for the meal. A smaller team of 6-7 persons prepare the meal in our church kitchen on Wednesday night, and then an additional team of 12-15 persons go to the site and serve those persons in their care. But as they have fed the folks there, people in our team have started "paying attention" to the lives of their clients. More and more they have sought ways to begin dialoguing with the people, and providing ways to meet spiritual needs, as well. As my congregation is predominately white and middle class and their guests are generally poor-white, Hispanic, and African-American; this serve as a regular cross cultural ministry. We now have more than 25 persons from various parts of the church who have made this their ministry.

Meanwhile, our people are planning an additional VBS to Tsaile next summer. Scenes like those in this post will be repeated with new faces and new lives changed,

Next post: Why we believe cross cultural partnerships are essential to the outward-focused church.

BAPTISMS AT A BEACH PARTY

The student ministry at our church (Church of God of Landisville) is called BURN. The name comes from the mission to help kids burn with passion to serve Jesus Christ and the impact their generation to follow Him. The front door of BURN is not a typical youth group on Sunday night. It is a midweek worship gathering that includes music (our own student band) and insightful teaching, testimonies from the kids, and fellowship. Generally the kids start gathering around 6:00 with things kicking off around 6:30. Worship begins and the rest follows. Generally they wrap up around 7:45-8:00 (it is a school night) but many times kids stay afterward for prayer and some godly counsel. Seven months ago our youth group had 12 kids on its best night (usually a party). Now more than 100 kids are part of BURN, not just from the church, but from the community youth center we operate (the Agape Center) and their friends from the local high school across the street.

Several weeks ago after an extended period of teaching called "Real Vs Fake" when the kids were confronted with the call to be serious committed disciples, 16 students gave their hearts to Christ at a worship gathering. Soon after several more were added. Jeremy Moyer, our Youth Director, asked about baptizing these new believers, with which I enthusiastically agreed.

But here's the twist. We have 12 kids desiring baptism, but at that baptism they were going to share testimonies about their journey to faith. Many of their friends would not come to the church for a regular service in our sanctuary with its magnificent marble baptistery. Many of them had not even made it to the gym where our student worship is held.

So we opted instead for Baptism at a Beach Party. On a Saturday night before Easter, BURN through an outreach event - a Beach Party at the pool at Hempfield Recreation Center. There, as the party wrapped up, we held a baptismal service. 75 teens (and some parents and adults) heard these 12 kids share their stories and then witness the powerful experience of the Spirit's presence as we baptized them in the pool (sometimes with other kids in the water a few feet away).

Changed lives are a powerful force for the church. Baptisms in neutral territory multiply the impact.

FREE BOOKS

I never met a pastor or a church leader who didn't like something free. I have a free copy of Craig Groeschel's new book IT for the best post someone sends me for submission to this blog. I have a half dozen other great titles for outward focused Christians for the runners up. All posts will acknowledge you as the author and any contact info you might want included. Send your posts to me at sdunnpastor@coglandisville.org. Deadline for submission is April 10th.

AN EASTER DECLARATION FOR THE LIVING CHURCH

Easter Declaration

And now Christ is risen from the dead!
The firstfruits of eternal life.
No more are we under the power and penalty of sin.
Now we are free to be a New Creation.

Jesus Christ lives
and because He lives, we also live
abundantly and eternally.

We are the church, redeemed by the Cross
renewed through the Resurrection.
We are the continuing, living Body of Christ

We are the Easter People
and hallelujah! Is our song.