Midnight Shopping

Only once have I ever braved the early morning shopper thing. Waking up early to go shopping just lacks something for me. However the local outlet mall opened at 11:00 pm...now count me in for that. The benefit for me is that I got to sleep in on Friday morning while everyone else was out and about at 4:00 am. Not only that, I got to eat some Chinese food at about 1:00 am. To a night owl, that was fun and beat the socks off the early morning stuff.

I've often been amazed at the lines of people waiting to get into certain stores. I was even more surprised to find a line of cars backed up 2 or 3 miles on the highway. It made me glad I came from an opposite direction. I have to admit, the outlet mall found a great way to get to shoppers who don't like getting up early but don't mind staying up late.

I remember when I was little, nothing ever opened on Thanksgiving and store might open an hour earlier. I wonder what kind of insanity will exist when my kids are in my shoes. I'm sure it will look different then as well. Stores will continue to look for ways to get people to come pay them a visit.

For the most part, we do church the same way. We are always trying to market ourselves in such a way as to get people to come to us. We really don't know any other way, it is ingrained into who we are. Its not all ad or wrong; there should be something compelling going on in every church preaching Christ worth marketing.
In my mind, the problem we encounter is that we have become so marketing-minded that we have forgotten to be Christ-minded. We are to be a people who find more ways to go and less ways to draw a crowd. I think its funny how the crowd had to follow Jesus all over the countryside until they were tired and hungry. He wore them down with his actions and then they were able to listen and encounter a miracle of God's provision.

How about using our energy to get involved with lost people; how about wearing down a lost person with your loving involvement in their lives.? That's the skinny behind incarnation. God became flesh and dwelt among us. Be sure to give Christ this Christmas season.