Over Selling and Under Delivering
I had something really amazing happen this past weekend that made me re-think about how we do church.
A couple of friends of mine and I drove over to Universal Orlando to attend the Rock the Universe event. My main reason for going was 1. David Crowder, 2. the new Rip Ride Rockit Roller Coaster, 3. The Mummy, and 4. Terminator 3-D.
We got to Universal and the second AFTER we had gotten our wristt bands on, we were told that the new Rockit Roller Coaster was NOT OPERATING due to the RTU event. Wait, what? Doesn’t your advertising show the musical acts AND the ride TOGETHER? (See clickable image)
We were understandably disappointed, but we moved on. Crowder and his band was amazing as usual and then it was time to “ride us some rides!!”
We hit E.T., the Simpson’s Ride, and then Men In Black. All were great, but Simpsons was amazing. Then we headed to sentimental favorite, Disaster. It’s the old Earthquake ride refurbished and updated. Except, the first part of the ride was not operating. Wait, what?
We passed on Jaws and hit up the Mummy ride. Awesome. And finally I was about to conquer Terminator 3-D, a ride I had wanted experience since it’s opening… and then we were told that T3D was closed for the night, 3 hours before the park closed….wait, what? Seriously? Really???…
We were sold on that we would be able to ride all the rides in the park. Based on what were were sold, we bought tickets to this event. Universal, for whatever reason, decided to change what they sold. They did not deliver on what they sold us (the general public).
We were so angry, we started to devise how we were going to complain: letters, emails, or heading straight into Guest Services… We were so upset, we talked of never, ever, going BACK to Universal Orlando. And then I thought….
How often do churches do this?
Churches tell people that Jesus will save them, and that He will change their lives. And He does. But Jesus relies on the church to accomplish a lot of His mission. “Go and make disciples, winning, baptizing, and disciplining…” And then the church doesn’t follow through.
Prayer requests, turned in on Communication Cards, have no follow-up, people with real needs receive only platitudes and words, not real actions. People walk in and out the doors without even a handshake, smile, ‘hello’, or even a cup of water. No wonder Christianity is diminishing in the US.
Ask yourself church leader, pastor, minister; is my church, or am I, over selling or under delivering? Because if you are, just like Universal Orlando, you (and God) might not get a second chance.
