Each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (1 Corinthians 3:13)
In my last Pastor’s Perspective I mentioned a recent trip that Cindi and I took, and the stops (Yes, more than one) that we made at Buc-ee’s. I am intrigued by the phenomenal success that Buc-ee’s has enjoyed as interstate travelers beat a path to their door. And, it caused me to give thought to the reasons that they have been so successful, and to ask the question: “Is there anything that the church can learn from Buc-ee’s that might bring us success in reaching more people for Jesus?”
I came up with four observations about Buc-ee’s that the church can, and should, emulate. Now, some of you may be thinking that we don’t need to learn anything from the world. But, God says in His word: Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise. (Proverbs 6:6) So, if we can learn from an ant, maybe we can learn a thing or two from a beaver.
Last week, the first observation that I mentioned about Buc-ee’s was the huge variety that they offer. That, unquestionably, has contributed to their success in drawing people in. Let’s get to the second observation:
Quality
Buc-ee’s doesn’t half-do anything. Everything that they do, from their signage, to the food that they prepare, to the store’s layout, everything is done topnotch. Even their bathrooms are done with quality. (The sign above the restrooms actually reads, “World Famous.”) If you’ve been in one of their bathrooms then you understand why (Pardon the bathroom humor) people want to “go” there.
he church, like Buc-ee’s should do everything that we do, with quality. One, because anything that we do for the Lord we should do to the very best of our ability. As the Apostle Paul reminds the church in Colossae: Whatever work you do, do it with all your heart. Do it for the Lord and not for men. (Colossians 3:23 NLV)
In other words, honoring the Lord with what we do, and how we do it, should always be our primary concern. So, the phrase, “That should be good enough” is a phrase that should be avoided if at all possible where the church is concerned.
But, quality is also an expectation of the culture in which we live. And, it is something that the church simply cannot ignore. As I heard a visiting speaker in one of my seminary classes say years ago, “Face it gentlemen, the days of sitting on hard pews and swatting yellow jackets is over.” Of course, what he meant by that statement was that Americans have come to expect quality wherever they go, including church.
Now, granted, the demand for everything to be very well done is primarily a result of an over-indulged society. In America we pretty much have the best of everything. And, so, Americans have come to expect the best of everything. It’s the reason you can’t get a 15 year-old to sit down and watch Casablanca; one of the greatest films ever made. “But, it’s in black and white! And, you can actually see the wire that the model airplane is on! Why would I watch something like that when we have special effects produced with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) and green-screens and virtual worlds?”
Now, if you’re thinking, “What does all of that have to do with making fully-devoted followers of Jesus?” “How does any of this help fulfill The Great Commission?” Very simply, Missiology 101 – Meet the people where they are, so that you can take them to where God wants them to be.
It’s the reason Hudson Taylor, a pioneer missionary to China in the latter half of the 19th century and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM) discovered early on that if he was going to make inroads with the Gospel into the Chinese culture, he was going to have to relate to the Chinese people. So, Taylor adopted the radical practice of dressing like the Chinese people, even growing a ponytail, as was the custom of Chinese men.
Taylor’s original sending mission agency in England, when they learned of his new strategy, fired him for such a radical approach to missions, and cut off all financial support. Hudson Taylor didn’t care. He knew what God had called him to do. And, Hudson Taylor also knew something that I mentioned in my last Pastor’s Perspective, “Our theology is sacred, not our methodology.”
Hudson Taylor spent the rest of his life in China and saw thousands come to know the Savior. He founded a mission agency that is still taking the Gospel around the world today. All because he was willing to meet people where they were, in order to take them to where God wanted them to be.
Buc-ee’s understands that our culture has an expectation of quality. Buc-ee’s gets it. And, they’re meeting the culture where they are in order to take them to where they want them to be – at the cash register, spending money!
So, for us as a church, we must make sure that whatever we do, we attempt to do it with as much quality as we possibly can. Our website, our signage, our campus, our classes and worship services, everything should be done with an eye toward quality.
Obviously, doing everything with quality requires a lot of resources that not all churches have. Quality usually doesn’t come cheap. Gateway Community Church doesn’t have a huge budget or a surplus of people to take on the tasks. But, that can’t be an excuse for not doing things the very best that we can, as we can. Many of you have heard me say it before, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
We’ve made significant strides in quality in the last couple of years. Much of our resources have had to be used for what we might call infrastructure; reworking the ground and drainage around our Family Life Center, replacing roofs and air conditioning units, repairing and rerouting plumbing after a major leak, dealing with equipment damage from lightning strikes. And, more will have to be done.
But, we’ve also revamped our website, added digital resources, remodeled classrooms and the church office area, given Faith Café a facelift, put new lighting in our gym, kept the campus grounds looking beautiful, and probably more that I’m not thinking of.
And, as we move toward 2023, yes, it’s almost here, we need to begin to dream of major remodeling for our Worship Center and other buildings, both inside and out. Our parking lot is going to need expanding and resurfacing. Our audio and video equipment has to continue to be updated and expanded, and probably more that I’m not thinking of.
If all of this sounds like a daunting, almost impossible task, it is. But, imagine that you are Hudson Taylor almost 160 years ago, arriving on the shores of China; a land where you’ve never before been, where the people speak a language that you don’t know. They eat food that you don’t recognize. They have customs that you’re not familiar with. And, none of them have ever heard the name of Jesus, even one time. And, God has charged you with taking the Gospel to them. I wonder how impossible that task must have seemed to Hudson Taylor and his family.
I guess that they could have told the captain to turn the ship around and sail back to more familiar waters. Go and do what was easy. But, they didn’t. Because, sharing the message of Jesus was too important. So, instead, he and his wife prayed, they dreamed of what God could do, and then they rolled up their sleeves and went to work. And, that’s exactly what we’re going to continue to do here at Gateway; doing all we can, as we can, and doing it with quality.
I love being your pastor,
PC