O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalm 34:8)
Recently, Cindi and I drove up to Raleigh to visit our kids and grandkids. Of course, we had to stop at Buc-ee’s, coming and going. Now, if you’ve never been to a Buc-ee’s then your pastor carrying on about a “convenience store” may sound a bit strange to you. But, if you have been to a Buc-ee’s then you know about that of which I speak, and why your pastor is making such a big deal about it. You see, Buc-ee’s isn’t just a place you stop on your way to your destination. Buc-ee’s is a destination!
I like to explain it this way; imagine if a gas station and a Super-Walmart got married and had a baby, it would be Buc-ee’s. I know that probably sounds strange, but all I can say is, if you’ve never been, you’ve got to see it to believe it.
So, I got to thinking, what is it about Buc-ee’s that makes it the highway phenomenon that it is? Why is it that you can go there, night or day, and struggle to find a parking spot? What is the reason people traveling on the interstate stop at Buc-ee’s, even when they don’t need gas? And, the point of this Pastor’s Perspective, is there anything that the church can learn from Buc-ee’s that might cause people to want to fill up our parking lot? I think that there is.
I came up with four reasons that people beat a path to Buc-ee’s, which the church should take note of and would do well to try to emulate. So, if I didn’t lose you with my gas station, Super-Walmart marriage analogy, and you’re still with me, here we go. One:
Variety
You can’t believe the variety of food, clothing, drinks, and whatever else you might want or can think of at a Buc-ee’s. It truly boggles the mind. I mean, when you walk up to a twenty-foot long Jerky Counter with every flavor and type of jerky that you’ve never imagined, you know that you’re in a place that prides itself on variety.
Tens of thousands of items like, ‘Beaver Nuggets.’ As they describe them, “A delectable puffy yet crunchy corn nugget with a brown sugar caramel coating.” They have cinnamon rolls the size of Texas, (Buc-ee’s started in Texas) and their famous brisket, to name just a few items.
I could literally go on for hours naming products. I’ve never been to any roadside convenience store, maybe any store, which comes remotely close to the variety that is offered at a Buc-ee’s. There is so much variety that an article I came across on the internet with tips on how to shop at Buc-ee’s started off with the following:
“First, set a time limit (and maybe an alarm). Time just disappears, and if you’re on a time crunch to get somewhere on your road trip, you don’t want to walk out of the store with bags full of Buc-ee’s nug-ees only to find entire days have passed.” (historyfangirl.com) I think you get the picture; a lot of variety. Face it, Americans in particular love choices. Buc-ee’s certainly understands that, and they’re capitalizing on it by offering variety.
So, what does variety mean for the church? This characteristic is probably the toughest one for the church. Because, in some areas, we can’t offer any variety. For instance, we can’t offer variety as far as the source of our information. The word of God, the Bible is the truth that the church is built upon. We aren’t going to offer a variety of “religious” books. We have one source for truth, not a variety of truth sources.
And, we don’t have a variety of ways to God, either. We know that salvation is offered only and exclusively through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for the remission of our sins; period. God does not offer multiple ways to Him, and therefore, we can’t either.
Our culture may like the idea of multiple paths, multiple ways to God, but the church knows that is not an option left open to mankind. Jesus said: I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one can go to the Father except by Me. (John 14:6 NLV) As the hymn goes: “The way of the cross leads home,” and only the way of the cross.
So, there’s no room for variety in our theology. But, that doesn’t mean that we can’t make some room for variety in our methodology. I know that this can be a sensitive subject for some folks, but the truth is:
Our theology is sacred, not our methodology.
The church needs to be willing to constantly evaluate how we can more effectively communicate an unchanging message to a culture that is constantly changing. We need to be open to trying new ideas in our methodology, our way of doing church, and variety can help with that.
For instance, offering a variety of worship service times and even a variety of worship service styles are one way we can add variety to our methodology. Service time options and worship style options (Traditional, contemporary, blended, liturgical, Gospel worship, Bluegrass worship, etc.) give people choices as to when they want to attend and/or what style of worship they might prefer. Remember, the subject of our worship should never change, but the style of our worship can vary.
Realistically, Gateway is not yet at a point where we can justify having multiple service times and styles. But, we at least need to be thinking about it, praying for it, and asking God to show us how we can more effectively reach more people, for His glory and their good.
Providing a variety of ministries to a variety of age groups is also critical if we’re going to continue to grow; small children, school-age children, teenagers, young adults, older adults, singles, couples. And, providing resources like RightNow Media, Life University, recovery classes, Family Life Center activities, physical needs; these ministries, and others, draw in a variety of people by meeting a variety of needs in their lives.
When you stop at a Buc-ee’s you’ll see a wide variety of people from all walks of life who have also stopped. It’s not just truckers or RV owners or vacationers or people on their way to work or young travelers or retirees. They’re all there.
They’ve stopped there, at least partially, because of the variety that Buc-ee’s can offer them. As the article I quoted from earlier said, people even lose track of time in Buc-ee’s. Wouldn’t it be awesome if people lost track of time in church?
I know what some of you are thinking, “That’s no big deal pastor. You lose track of time every Sunday!” But, my point is, the more options we can offer, the more potential we have to reach a wider variety of people. And, isn’t that the church’s mission, to be used by God to reach more people?
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the many new faces we’ve been seeing at Gateway come from a variety of backgrounds and age groups. That’s exciting! Because it means that we’re reaching more people. And, I think that it means that the people of Gateway are willing to do whatever the Lord asks of us to strive to make His name famous, here, there, and everywhere.
Variety is only one component in the Buc-ee’s success story. There are three more components that I’ll share later, that I think can also help Gateway Community Church to have success in our mission to help as many people as possible: Discover the Gateway to Abundant Life.
I love being your pastor,
PC