Exceeding Expectations....

I don't care who you are, all of us have expectations. It doesn't matter if you go to the bank, the DMV or give blood at the Red Cross...you have an expectation for the experience you are about to encounter. If you're going to Outback and you order a steak, a nice juicy fillet, you expect a certain caliber of meat. You expect a certain standard of steak commensurate with previous experiences at other Outbacks and the dollar amount you're about to spend. When the steak is finally put in front of you and you take that first bite, all the anticipation and expectation come to the test. If the tantalizing taste experience exceeds your expectations you get that satisfied smile on your face and exclaim "WOW", what a great steak. That's your response because it exceeded your expectations. On the other hand when you take the first bite and it's underwhelming, you're left with a scowl on your face as your taste buds are crying with disappointment and you exclaim "Crap, that's not what I expected."

Everyone walking into church on Sunday morning have expectations. Rightly or wrongly, pure or perverted....they all have expectations. The amazing opportunity that is in front of us is to create WOW moments and exceed people's expectations. When you understand what God has put in front of you, you begin to strategically allocate resources and plan to create a WOW experience.

With the people walking through your doors, have you stopped long enough to try to figure out what they are thinking, are you listening to what they are saying and are you trying to gain an understanding of how they are feeling? When you do those things, you are trying to enter into their world to gain an understanding of their expectations. God has put you in the place of being His hands and feet to a lost and hurting world....do all that you can so they walk away saying WOW because they have experienced the love of Christ through you!!!