Not enough registers open

Have you ever gone into a store hoping to leave quickly only to find that of the seemingly four hundred potential check-out lines, only one is open?

Frustrating right?  You immediately start wondering who is running the place.  “What kind of service is this?!” you might ask.  You start to speculate on how “the man” is just trying to make more money, trying to hit profit goals.  At any rate, you definitely don’t feel that your needs were being met. 

Your  needs. 

Not the needs of the guy in the front of the line who is actually wanting to pay, but the register is broken.  Not the needs of the person working the register who has to deal with all of the angry customers.  Your needs.

At that is OK… at least for what I want to talk about today...

Churches don’t have enough registers open.  But since we aren’t really selling a product that keeps people in the line… they leave when they are frustrated, and for the same reason the customer in the line grumbles… their needs are not being met.

To minister:  to meet a need.

We are all called to minister.  If we have what people need, we can meet that need… but only by meeting them.  We must reach out to them. 

Yes, we can send money.  And yes, we can send clothes.  There are physical needs that can be provided for… but to minister to people… to meet people’s needs… you need to meet people.

And so, the churches need more registers.  And the only thing we should be selling is Jesus.  And the price is already paid.

So go get your polyester vest with the big white name tag and find a line. 

When you see someone in need be the first to call out, “Line open… no waiting!”

SDG