Wednesday, June 13, 2007

You can't please all the people all the time

On any given Sunday we probably have at least 30 1st time guests at Foothills. Some have just moved here from somewhere and are searching for a church. Some come because they are seeking answers to life. From time to time we have people who visit Foothills that come from another church in the area because they hear the buzz about Foothills in the community.
Some of the 1st time guests don't enjoy their experience, but most do.

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me are the people who come from another church that LOVE what we are doing for a while. Then something happens. After a while they will say things like, "I really love Foothills, but I really think it would be better if we had Sunday school, or Awanas, or a choir or a little less volume, or.... (you can fill in the blank), like my old church."
My first thought is, If you really liked your old church so much, why did you leave?
As Foothills has grown we are being more focused about the vision God has given us. We have made a strategic decision to try to do what we do better, and to not try to be everything for everybody.

The reason Chik-fil-a makes such good chicken sandwiches is because they know who they are. They won't sell you a taco, or pizza, or a burger. They made a decision to do what they do better than anyone else, make chicken sandwiches. My guess is that if they tried to offer everything for everyone----they wouldn't do any of it very well.
There is nothing wrong with Sunday school, Awanas, choirs or whatever, but in order to be who God has called us to be, we will stay a little more focused. Will some people leave because we don't have those things? Yeah, but that's OK ---but I believe more will stay because of that decision

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