Read this, then e-mail me at ken@mpumc.org and tell me if I’m a grouchy consumer or on to something important – that if churches are going to compete against the culture, they need to act with excellence. Slip up through poor planning, inefficiency or just plain you didn’t do that very well and a church runs the risk of losing the battle for people’s hearts, minds and time.

People are consumers whether they are shopping for a flat-screen TV or a place to connect with God. Simply put, those who have a less-than-sterling experience at any church for any reason may not come back. This applies to everything from worship to outreach to parking to my little story.

My aim isn’t to embarrass anyone, so I will not share the name, location or denomination of the congregation involved. I won’t tell you when this happened. I won’t even tell you the nature of the ministry involved. I’ll just tell you that it didn’t go well.

I was in no particular rush one fine afternoon when I remembered reading about an event this congregation was putting on and decided to help out. Within seconds of arriving, I knew this was not going to go well. There was already a long line of other folks waiting for what I had come for. There didn’t seem to be anyone in charge. The church folks supposed to be doing the work were doing more standing around than working. Being the sort of eagle-eyed former reporter who can quickly find the source of a problem, I gently pointed out to one volunteer the precise spot where things seemed to be going awry. He didn’t seem especially interested in fixing things, instead recounting for me how hard it’s been finding a job since losing the one he had. His story obviously outweighed mine. I listened intently and shared some supportive words, deciding that he had enough going on his life without me dwelling on the day’s problem at his church.

I wound up spending about an hour and a quarter just standing around at the church. With a little more planning and a little more get up and go on the part of the participants, I could have been happily out of there in 15 minutes. One more thing: What had brought me to the church in the first place, the church didn’t do very well. For all the mishaps, I was still glad I stopped by the church. I was happy to have participated in the ministry. I hope that the gentleman who was out of work found a bit of comfort in sharing that with me.

But I work at a church. I love all houses of worship for the foundation they offer to a shaky world. I know how hard it is to do any sort of ministry well. What I wonder after my experience is this: Are people on the margins of faith – those who don’t belong to a church or those thinking about joining one – willing to be that tolerant? Will those who had the same subpar experience that I had decide not to return to that church? Will they decide not to return to any church in the belief that if one church can’t act with excellence in all things, none can?
 
And if churches fail to see the importance of doing all things with excellence, is the battle for people’s hearts, minds and time lost?