I love the Apple Store at Southpoint. I could spend hours in there just looking at everything they have. If you have never been, you should go. I do have to warn you, you will want to spend money at that store. Just go in prepared.
I woke up this morning and for some reason I was thinking about the Apple Store. I have no idea why, I do not need anything (as if I could afford anything), it was just on my mind. I was specifically thinking about how you can go into an Apple Store, get any sales person, learn about the product and what you need, get your product, and buy your product all from the same person. Its actually a pretty cool model. No waiting in line for the Cashier, or looking around for the Cashier’s desk, nothing. Just check out. They all carry around these iPhones with Credit Card readers attached to them and swipe your card right there. You are emailed a receipt so you don’t have to fumble around with that as you carry whatever you bought. Easy, quick, and convenient.
Thats when it hit me. Why doesn’t the church, by church I mean the people of God, act more like an Apple Store?
Let me explain. Most of the time we, as the church, act nothing like an Apple Store. We have a “thats what the Pastor’s for” mentality. In other words, we can invite people to church on special occasions, but far be it from us to help someone come to Christ. We can point people toward the Cashier, but we are never prepared to help ourselves.
I am not sure it stops there. I wonder if, as Christians, we want someone else to feed us. Someone else to do the heavy lifting. When we have more access to Scripture, more resources to help us understand, and more technology at the ready than any other time in history, we simply are too lazy or overcommitted to put in the leg work ourselves. So not only are we impotent followers, we don’t even really know who we are following because we have never studied it for ourselves.
Imagine what the Church would be like if we acted like the Apple Store. If anyone could come up to any one of us and we understood what we were talking about and remembered that we have all the tools through Christ to lead anyone to Christ.
We have to remember that as disciples of Christ, we aren’t called to point others to “professionals”. We are called to study and show ourselves approved unto God. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Watching ourselves and our doctrine closely, so that others can know Him.
