WWBD

Another year, another Red Shield done and dusted (for me anyway). I really appreciate Bunnings' willingness to let us park ourselves outside of their front door for 3 weekends in a row to collect. It is a great location for us but our presence brings no benefit to them I wouldn't have thought. So their generosity is much appreciated.

I found myself again this year pondering the success of the Bunnings model. People come and go in their hundreds and what's interesting is the large number of kids who go along. Bunnings are smart. They cater for the kids. There is Rudy the one man band and the gentleman who blows up balloons. They wander the store entertaining the children. And then they hand out flags and blow up hammers, do face painting etc.

So, to my title 'WWBD'. Nothing to do with the Western Bulldogs (great win Hawks!). It is a rip off of the 'WWJD' "What would Jesus do'. 'WWBD - What would Bunnings Do'.
If Bunnings were a church, what would they do. What can we learn from Bunnings that would make us better at being 'church'.

1) It's obvious that there is no discrimination. One of the things that is obvious is that people of all races, skin colour, personal beliefs, income etc etc feel comfortable shopping at Bunnings. For all of its' inclusive protestations, the church is not particularly inclusive. Our beliefs, and maybe the way we have majored on the theology at the expense of seeing the person, have done a pretty good job of alienating large numbers of people. Without wanting to get into a uniform debate, what we wear in church must be pretty off putting to the average person too.

2) The staff are helpful and know their stuff. There is a person at the entrance who often greets but who answers questions. People come there with a need and there are staff who help meet their need. Around the store there are staff ready to assist.

The church has a history of welcomers at the front door and some who make it their duty to assist within the building. But my experience is that too few make it their business to be on the look out for those who need to be made feel welcome and even fewer of us who know our stuff when it comes to meeting basic human needs. I'm included in that number. Last year at Preston Salvos, we did a pilot program called 'STAMP'. It was good to learn more about the needs of people and now we could assist as well as inform us of the programs available in the Salvos to help deal with those issues. I hope it moves beyond a pilot program. Must talk to Jason about that.

3) The kids receive special attention. Attendance at Bunnings can be a fun time for both parents and children.

4) It's easy to get into a Bunnings building. The entrances to churches are often foreboding and not very welcoming. And that's even before new folk get to meet the church people who might be even more foreboding!

There's probably many more. And Bunnings is far from a church model. The DIY craze has made Bunnings a very popular place to go whereas church isn't. God is not exactly on the nose but most people don't find 'religion' to be high on their priority list. Also, once a person leaves Bunnings the relationship ends. Church is involved in serious life issues that are much more complicated than finding the right size screws.

There are many challenges to the church but sometimes, spending a lot of time outside of somewhere like Bunnings, watching how it all works, can remind us that some models in the business world operate on principals that cross over into the church world. And often, we do those things badly in the church and can learn from business. WWBD?

Don't believe everything you hear

"...the Ammonite leaders warned Hanun,... "Do you for a minute suppose that David is honoring your father by sending you comforters?"" 2 Sam 10:2

David, hearing of Hanun's Dad's death wanted to send him condolences. But Hanun's Ammonite leaders said, don't believe him. He is just sizing up the city.

So, instead of accepting David's gesture Hanun seized David's men and cut off half of their beards, humiliating them. Then, of course, fearing David's retribution he made things worse by spending 37 1/2 tons of silver to hire 33,000 fighting men to protect himself. And they lost anyway resulting in disastrous consequences for the Ammonite people.

When we take advice from people we really need to know who they are and what makes them tick. Are they reliable or prone to gossip? Are they power hungry? Are they just plain dumb?

Acting on wrong advice can have terrible consequences, maybe not quite as severe as for the Ammonites but nevertheless, consequences that cause pain and suffering often spanning generations.

God, help me to be wise in choosing what advice to accept and what advice to reject.