The best fast food ever

Last Saturday evening, i was craving a juicy chicken sandwich. Thus, i decided to grab a Chic 'Fil a. as i rolled into the drive-thru, the young gentleman greeted me with a dash of authenticity in his voice by saying "welcome to chic 'fil a, how can we serve you this evening?" i was dumbfounded! SERVE me? why, you can get me a delicious chicken sandwich. As i pulled up to the window to pay, a teenager (not the same guy who took my order) greeted me with a smile and asked me how my evening was going...all before asking me for my money!!! I said "good" and gave him the credit card. as i received my sandwich, the kid thanked me for choosing to eat at chic 'fil a and wished me a good weekend!

I am not going to lie, because that would insult your intelligence; that was the best fast food experience i have ever had! my dinner tasted a little better because of the service! Chi 'Fil a has it down; they Get It!! It is all about others!!! Why can Chic 'Fil a afford to close up shop every Sunday? Because they value the customer every other day of the week, so much that people will gladly spend their money on a Chic 'Fil a fast food chicken sandwich, even if it is a dollar and a half more expensive than a T-Bell burrito or chicken sandwich at Mickey D's. they understand this concept of being others-centered.

This is something we as the Church have missed. OH if we could grab a hold of this art!! I once heard John Maxwell say that "the church is the only place where people are treated poorly and expected to come back next week." There is no doubt in my mind that if our churches acted like a hospital for the hurting and diseased (something Jesus modeled for us with great efficiency: Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 19:1-27, with emphasis on verse 10) rather than a country club for the privileged few, we would not be able to get everyone through the doors of our churches!
I have always said that i am not the least bit interested in "maintaining the flock", but rather passionately strive to empower redeemed sinners (Christ-followers) to seek and to serve the broken, lonely, and hopeless in our neighborhoods and world. Our job is to do everything within our power to accomplish such things. I hope to be apart of the solution to the dilemma of what i call insider syndrome, where all we care about it making the right "church people" happy (to put it generally). i want to be externally-focused; others-centered, just like a famous fast food chain named Chic 'Fil a, and a glorious savior named Jesus (Yeshua) Christ...my Master and friend.