Is your ministry like Wal-Mart?

There are a few things I do not like about Wal-Mart. The other night, I experienced two of them and found a new one.

Here is the timeline of events for Wednesday evening at Wal-Mart:

7pm - have man riding zamboni-type machine cleaning the floors
8pm - put pallets on the floor
8:30pm - have only 2 non-self checkout lanes open

The first one - cleaning the floors - was a new one for me. I understand that Wal-Mart is open 24 hours and therefore cannot clean the floors when they are closed. But at 7pm? Why not wet the floors down sometime in the middle of the night, when there are not that many people in the store?

And the pallets issue always bothers me. They put all the pallets out on the floor when people are trying to get around and shop. Besides the fact that it looks horrible, you can't get around the aisles. And then on top of that, the people pulling the pallets out usually do not bother to notice that there are shoppers and act like they have the right of way and can bull you over. Again, lets try doing this at night, when not many people are in the store.

The issue with the registers is not as bad (at least it wasn't that night). We didn't wait in line too long before someone opened up another lane. So they handled it well.

But I always feel like I'm an inconvenience to the store when they act like I'm not there. Isn't the point of the store to get people to buy stuff and don't people buy more stuff when they can get around? It also shows me they are more concerned with getting the product out than anything else.

But then I got to thinking. How often do I do the very same thing on Sunday morning. I'm busy running around trying to make this copy or put "that" in the classroom. I can become so engrossed in "last minute" details that I run people over. I treat people like they are in my way and I just need to get stuff ready. Because if I get stuff ready, then those people will be able to learn about God. How foolish.

So, how do I change?

Here are a few things I need to remember...
1. Be prepared. Get the copies made during the week. Put stuff in appropriate rooms before Sunday morning.
2. Get to church early, if needed. If something comes up, I need to get to church early to handle it.
3. Slow down. I need to stop "running people over" on my way to more important things. Take time to listen and talk.
4. People are important. People are the reason I do what I do. I need to make sure I act that way.
5. Adjust when needed. Be willing to step up and do what needs to be done without hesitation. If I need to talk to someone, do it. Watch my surroundings and adjust accordingly.