THE HOSPITALITY HAT

Let mutual love continue.  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.  Greet all your leaders and all the saints ...”  - Hebrews 13:1, 2, 24a

In the Fall of 2008 my wonderful wife Debbie finally saw things my way (all husbands understand this comment, so please, wives, do not be offended; we need you to be the brakes at time to our eager ideas of what we’d like to spend money on!) and agreed that we really did need a new outdoor gas grill (the old one had at last become unusable). So, the search was on. Within a few days we were in a well-known national home building big box store and saw a great $300.00 grill on sale for $200.00. No one offered to help us decide on a grill, in fact no one paid any attention to us at all. We had some questions about the grill, and we approached a checkout operator to ask those questions.

I simply started that conversation by saying, “We found a grill we are interested in and…”  We were interrupted by the clerk holding up her hand in stop-sign fashion, saying, “Unless you have your own truck there’s a $79.00 charge for delivery.” We stopped dead in our tracks. We lived only ten miles from this store, and even with gas prices above $4.00 a gallon that seemed ridiculous. Debbie told the clerk that we had gotten large items on sale at this chain before and often the delivery was included in the sale price. The clerk went to the manager and then reported that he, too, has said it would cost us nearly $80.00 have them deliver the grill.

Now you need to note this: at no time did anyone attempt to sell us a grill! All that was done in that store that day in the way of “customer service” was to warn us of the new, higher delivery charge. So, we left. There is another store in this chain that was only two and a half miles from our home. We stopped by there on our way back home, and a manager was arranging grills outside for a sale display, and one that looked like the one we had seen at the other store was included. As he was fastening the chain on the grill display I approached and said, “I saw a grill on sale at your Waynesboro store and I was wondering if you have the same model on sale here.” He looked up, never batted an eye, and said, “Unless you have your own truck there is a $79.00 charge for delivery.” We stopped in our tracks, and both of us said not another word, but turned and walked back to our car and left.

We checked for grills at several smaller local hardware stores, but they had nothing of the equivalent. Then a month or so later, after I had abandoned the idea of getting a grill before winter, I was in the ACE Hardware store in Verona . There, in the middle of that small box store, was a beautiful grill, similar to the one I had seen in the other store. It was also on sale for $100.00 off, but it was priced $50.00 higher than the other one because it also had a rotisserie feature. Robin, a delightful twenty-something clerk approached me and offered to show me the grills feature, to “sell” me the grill in fact. So, when I saw that I liked it, I asked about delivery charges, and she asked how far away I lived. I told her it was close to five miles, and she laughed and said, “Oh, there’s no charge for a delivery that close!”

I bought that grill, paying $50.00 more, but actually $29.00 less, since there was no delivery charge. More importantly, ACE got a customer for life. By the way, I told Robin the story of my earlier attempts to buy a grill at the big box store, and she later told her boss, who told them store employees at a meeting that afternoon. When they delivered the grill the next afternoon the delivery guy handed me a brand new ACE hat! He said, “This is from our store manager in appreciation for your business and also for your great lesson on the importance of good customer service.” I wear it with pride!

There’s a lesson here for the church: We also need to be sure to practice good “customer service,” that is, we need to care, really care, about the needs of other who come to worship with us, first-time-attenders and regulars alike. So may I suggest that we all be “ACE” customer service reps by giving those initials, A., C., and E., a new meaning: “A Caring Environment” is what every person should experience at Bridgewater United Methodist Church each and every Sunday. Will you do all you can to help us in that? I hope so! God will bless you and us for being A.C.E.s!

Why, as a Christian, the Alabama Governor's Comments Concern Me

I think I am among the most blessed people on the face of the earth. Seriously, I do. And I had very little to do with being such a blessed person. I didn't choose to be born in the U.S., but I am so glad I was. I didn't choose to be born of the Caucasian race, but I think - at least in this country - that it is a blessing that I was. I didn't choose to be born into a church-attending, God fearing family, but because I was, I was blessed to be exposed to the teachings of Jesus, and to have thus given my life to Christ.

Think how hard it would be for me to become a Christian if I had been born in a different land, to people of a different faith. I imagine that somehow I manage to come to America, a land that cherishes freedom, especially freedom of religion. After I get here I hear of the Christian faith, but I don't know anything about it. I meet my new neighbors, who look at me suspiciously because I am different. I learn, in time, that some of them attend the Christian churches in the neighborhood. No one ever invites me, I feel their suspicions, and I don't fully understand it. In time I hear bits and pieces of the Christian faith expressed (through conversations, newspaper and television), and I am intrigued by a religion that is based on love and grace and forgiveness. Yet I do not feel loved by my Christian neighbors. I try to live a good and responsible life, and in time I am able to become a citizen of the U.S. I am unable to worship at a place of my birth religion, because so few of us live in the area of the U.S. where I live with my family. I think about maybe going to a Christian church, but I am fearful because I do not know how I am to behave, what is expected of me. Remember, no one has told me that God loves ME, or that Jesus, God's own Son, died for MY sins.

And then I hear the governor of my state say that anyone like me - anyone who is not a Christian - is not in his family. I don't know what that means, but it sounds an awful lot like what the leaders of the religious dictatorship I managed to escape would have said. And I am afraid, very afraid, that I will be denied the protection of this state government that I thought was mine, no matter what my faith. I also think that maybe Christianity is more like my religion than I had thought, and that it if you don't believe like they do you may have no value.

Thank God, that is not my story, but I can take no credit for that fact at all. I can, however, lift my voice and decry prejudice and persecution in the name of religion - even my religion - whenever I see it raise its ugly head.

Unintended Detour

Some years ago I attended the funeral of a friend.  During the service his pastor quoted from portions of a long poem he said has been my friend's favorite.  There was a line from that poem that has stuck with me ever since: "I have determined that when I find myself on a detour I will enjoy the view."  That was exactly how my friend had lived his life.  Despite his serious illness and many hospital stays over the years, he was always ready with a smile, a positive word, and a good attitude. 

During my years as a volunteer chaplain at Augusta Health I have quoted that line over and over.  I realized that it must have been during his own times in the hospital - his own detours - that it meant the most to my friend.  It always seemed to be meaningful when I shared it with patients. I have also mentioned it in other contexts to people seeking my pastoral care and insights.  My friend died in his 60's due to his illness, but his faith and view of life live on as I share his story and that quote.

And so I found myself on a little unintended detour yesterday.  I had gone to Waynesboro to pick up some supplies and decided that since I needed to go to Verona also, I would use Route 254 instead of US 250.  However, when I got to the intersection of Poplar and Broad instead of turning onto Poplar I drove on to the Willow Oak Shopping Center, as I usually would.  As I entered the parking lot I couldn't believe that I had driven there without even realizing it.  Isn't it kind of scary that we can drive on "auto-pilot"? 

There I was, on an unintended detour.  There was nothing to "see" besides pavement and store fronts.  I knew that there was a back entrance to the center that would take me over to Poplar and I exited that way.  As I got near to Poplar I could see this stunning tree a block or so beyond.  We weren't having a very colorful fall this year, perhaps due to the drought, or to the fact that we had not yet had a heavy freeze.  I wanted to see a tree that was bursting with color, so I drove beyond Poplar and found the tree on Ohio Avenue.  I was glad that I had my camera in the car.  That is the tree that is pictured above.

 

To get to Route 254 from Poplar I had to turn onto Ivy Street.  Almost immediately I came face to face with the most stunning red tree.  Red is especially rare this year, and most trees with red leaves lose them almost as soon as they appear.  After photographing the tree I continued on Ivy and was amazed to see another tree in full glory on the other side of the street a couple of blocks down.  Wow!  It was huge and bathed in splendid bright orange leaves.

I was really excited now.  I traveled on to Verona fully expecting to stop many times to photograph more bright trees.  However, from Waynesboro to Verona and on back to my home in Staunton I never saw another tree that was covered with brightly colored leaves.  It was while I was reflecting on that amazing reality that it dawned on me:  I had experienced life that day in a way that would have greatly pleased my old friend.  I had found myself on a detour and I had "enjoyed" the view. 

Admittedly, if I had been pressed for time yesterday the enjoyment of the view or even the detour itself would likely not have been a happy occasion.  I hope that I will learn from this, and try not to be in so much of a hurry that I miss the detours and the views that God has laid out to bless and encourage me.

One of my favorite Bible passages is Romans 8:28, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."  Now, if I could just remember to embrace that in all my journeys and travels.

Blessings, Jim