Routine vs. Remarkable.
It happened on a Sunday morning a few weeks back. We were baptizing several people in our weekend services, and one of the baptismal candidates had invited friends and family to celebrate with him.
One of those family members pulled into the parking lot, turned on her hazard lights as the signs instructed, and our parking team directed her to first-time guest parking next to the building.
As she got out of her car, one of our long-time parking volunteers named Paul greeted her and walked her to the first-time guest tent. After a few moments of casual chatting, the guest told Paul, “This is so impressive that you’d do all this just for folks who are showing up to watch the baptisms this morning!”
And Paul – God bless Paul, with his humble, affable, draw-you-in personality – Paul said, “Ma’am, this isn’t just what we’re doing this Sunday. We do this every Sunday!”
Our routine was her remarkable.
We’ve talked before about the importance of a boring first-time guest process. On our side, it should be intuitive, easy to explain, and sustainable. But on the guests’ side, that sustainability and predictability translates to surprise and delight.
Now, it’s important to note that our routine can’t become routine. That usually means that we slip up on the basics. We adopt an “it’s only one Sunday…“ attitude. We skimp on a skeleton crew. We inadvertently allow ghost towns. When we fudge on the basics, we fail our guests.
But when we execute a consistent and constant routine, Sunday after Sunday, service after service, we engage guests with remarkable moments. Those moments are usually the catalyst to bring them back. And when they come back, we have further opportunities to clearly proclaim a remarkable gospel.
