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Experience Church

How to Live

The “Experience” Church

September 3, 2006

Text: Colossians 3:12-17

12 As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.   17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

NRSV 

      On Sunday mornings, I stop by a convenience store and get my “wake me up” coffee before going to church. The store has orderly shelves, bright fluorescent lights, and a clerk who’s nice but you can tell he’s been up all night. I pour my coffee from an industrial strength urn—who knows how long it’s been sitting there. And the taste—well, it tastes like it’s been in an urn for who knows how long. But caffeine is caffeine.

      There are, though, better ways to get your coffee. Just listen to the testimony of Rev. Mark Sheets:

      Anybody can make coffee. Anybody can sell coffee.

      But a place like a Starbucks or a St. Louis Bread Company or a Perk-Me-Up makes and sells an “experience”.

      It’s a type of experience that more and more people feel they need.

      It’s been said that people need three “places.”

      The first place is home—a place of privacy, seclusion.

      The second place is work—a place you can feel productive, can express yourself.

      The third place is an “experience” place. It’s somewhere that simply “feels” good to you. In a gourmet coffeeshop, they’re giving you an atmosphere that’s relaxed, cozy, warm.

      Actually, focusing on the “experience” of the person is a great marketing tool. Walt Disney is the inventor of this. He knew that anybody could build an amusement park, with rollercoasters and carousels. But he wanted to build an “experience” park. He wanted to build “DisneyLAND,” where, when you enter, you experience the world of Mickey and company. You ride rides, but the rides immerse you in an unfolding story. Disney thought this through so thoroughly that he made sure the people who entered the park weren’t called “customers” but rather, “guests.” [Experience Economy, p. 3].

      Successful businesses sell their product by linking it to an “experience.” It hits an emotional need for a person.

      This is nothing new for the church. For 100’s of years the church has been in the business of providing an experience for the “guests” who enter their doors. It’s the greatest experience of all—the experience of God.

      This morning, I want us to look at how we can be sure that people who come in here can have such an experience.

      Let’s use coffeeshops as a model.

      For example: When you walk into a Starbucks or a St. Louis Bread Company, you experience a place that’s warm and friendly.

That’s probably the first thing you’d notice.

      What would you think if you went into the place, and the clerk pointed to a menu on the wall and said, and said, “Yeah, what’ll it be?”

      What if you found the lights bright and the walls painted white, so everything looked like a dentist’s office?

      What if, while you were drinking your coffee, someone tapped you on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, but I come here all the time, and you’re sitting where I sit. Would you please move?”

      That will never happen.

      AND IT BETTER NOT EVER HAPPEN HERE, OR WE WILL CEASE BEING A “THIRD PLACE.”

      Paul said it best:

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience …Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

      I think that Concord Trinity does a wonderful job of being warm, open, and friendly.

      This is what I hear at our “Get Acquainted” events. “What do you like at our church?” is one of the questions commonly asked of guests there. And you know what a common response is? “It’s a generous church—they even have a line item in their budget, ‘Pastor’s Hummer’.” [I’m still working on this, you see!]

      Well, that’s not what they say. THE common reply is, “Everyone’s so friendly!”

      What a wonderful testimony to the Spirit Paul’s talking about! That Spirit flows in the veins of the people you see here on any given Sunday morning.

      And we should ALWAYS be intentional about doing things that will keep that warmth flowing.

      We had a golf tournament last Monday. We drew for teams, so that we’d make sure people would meet different people.

      Wednesdays Alive are coming next week. I’m sure you will, over dinner, on at least one of those Wednesdays, sit with someone you don’t know. Right? THAT’s being friendly!

      I’m sure that every so often you’re going to sit in a different pew some Sunday morning, so you’ll have to meet and greet people you wouldn’t ordinarily meet and greet. Right? THAT’s being friendly.

      I’m sure that you might even go up to someone you don’t know, or know too well, and shake hands and saying, “I’m glad you’re here this morning!” Right? Then…what’s keeping you?...

      Wherever you are, STOP! Didn’t that feel…awkward? I wouldn’t like it if the preacher asked me to, either. Blessed are you and I when we are so used to doing it that it will feel awkward NOT to meet and greet someone.

      Now, temporarily, stop being friendly and return to your seats.

      Another suggestion from coffeeshops.

—Remember that every detail matters.

      A good coffeeshop makes sure that everything is covered, down to the smallest detail.

      What would you think if you walked in to order your coffee, and found crumbs on the counter…or a server who takes your money then, with the same hand, reaches over and gets out a piece of coffee cake—and the fork he gives you has some dried gunk on it…or when you sit down with your coffee and pastry, there’s a big spill on the table that’s been there for a long time.

      What would you think? You’d think they wouldn’t care. And you’d also wonder how fresh that coffee is, or what went into the coffeecake.

      I remember the story of an airline executive who boarded one of his own aircraft en route to a business meeting. Before they left the gate, the executive pulled down the tray table from the seat in front of him and found a coffee stain on it. He refused to let the plane leave until the flight attendants had gone through and checked every tray table on the entire aircraft.

      He later explained that it was a matter of “perception.” “If one of our passengers pulls down their table and finds a stain on it, what would their perception of the airline be?” It would be that the airline doesn't care or that they don't pay attention to details. Perhaps this would lead a customer to wonder, “How well do they service their engines?”

      And Paul said—if you’re going to create a “God experience” for the people who come in, pay attention to detail:

14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony… And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

      In other words, everything matters—what you say, what you do—and you have to make sure what you say and do are rooted in love.

      When you’re in the pew and find a hymnal crooked or a pencil not sharpened or a bulletin insert on the floor, take care of it.

      When you come in here feeling low, but someone sits down next to you—don’t ignore them, but greet them.

      When someone’s cried during the service, go up to them later and talk with them.

      When there’s a mission appeal, make out a check NOW and put it in the plate.

      When kids grow restless in the service, go up to the frazzled parents after worship and thank them for worshipping with their children—For the sound of children in church is sweeter than a symphony in the ears of God.

      SEE what’s happening during worship, and do something/say something that’s rooted in love.

      A third thing we can learn from people needing a shot of caffeine:

—Extend into the community.

      The coffee “experience” company of Starbucks has grown at an astronomical rate. Last year it had over $6 billion in sales, with $495 million in profit. I read where its goal is to someday overtake McDonald’s in the number of stores it operates. [Source: Chicagobusiness.com, 8/28/06]

      For Paul, the church has to be a group of Christians who radically extend themselves into the community.

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other…Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom…

      What’s the purpose of “bearing with” one another, of teaching and admonishing? To train people—to shape people who can carry the witness of Christ into the community around them.

      What we do, in this church, on a Sunday morning, has this same purpose. We’re not here just to experience the Spirit. We’re here to be shaped by the Spirit so we can go into this community and say, “Look! See! Christ is alive and well right here!”

      How are we doing this? How are we extending into the area around us—around the apartments, the shopping center, the homes?

      Why don’t we ask ourselves the question, “If Concord Trinity were to cease operations today, what would the community remember about us?”

      …Pumpkin patch, to support youth and mission work?

      …Garage sale, to support mission?

      …BBQ’s, to support programs and mission?

      …support group for the international community around us?

      …crosses we put up during Lent, to witness to our devotion to Christ?

      …programs and ministries we advertise on those vinyl signs?

      …VBS?

      …sports programs?

      …support of service agencies, like Feed My People, Kingdom House, Metro Ministry, Centenary Homeless Program?

      IF we were to cease operation right now, there would be a huge hole in this community.

      Our job is to make that hole bigger. We have to explore new ways to keep digging that hole—to make visible Christ’s presence.

      Mark Twain once said, “The church is a place where a nice, respectable person stands in front of other nice, respectable people and urges them to be nicer and more respectable.”

      Well, we know better. The church is the place where people experience God’s presence in new, life-changing, life-enriching ways. The things we’ve talked about today will help make that happen.

      BUT…if we’re going to help make this experience happen for others, we have to make sure it happens for ourselves.

      On any Sunday, before church starts, stop. Be quiet—let the prelude help you focus. Listen…Look around…Smell…Touch…

      This experience is given to you through the work of generations of Christians. This is given to you through the love of God.

      Accept this experience with gratitude.

      Then help make it happen for ANYONE who walks through these doors!