Different is Often Perceived as Better

During any given year, you will see a number of items that are being sold on TV. The may later get to the stores to sell, but they make their debuts on television. Some seem really quirky: Chia Pets, Topsy-Turvy, Shoes Under, Bump-it, Pedi-egg, Touch-n-Brush, & Wizzit.

Have you purchased any of these? Why? They probably caught your attention. You may have been won over by the commercials and 'seeing' their results. You may have thought 'now is the time I need one of those'. Regardless of the reason, you are not alone, as millions of people have bought these and other similar products for years. The real question is did it work for you? Did it work for everyone who bought it? Did you use it to its capacity or did it end up taking up space or going to a garage sale pile?

Have you ever wondered why foreign films get such high awards? They usually don't have anywhere close to the visual imagery that our films tend to have, with all the action/adventure, etc. Roger Ebert was asked a similar question, here was his response..."how many movies are you normally seeing in any given week?" Most of us would answer the same as the person he was addressing, "One". "Don't you see? That's your problem," Ebert responded. "Many of the people in this profession are seeing one or two movies a day. Those little, offbeat, quirky, odd foreign or independent films capture our attention because they are a bit different! When you are overwhelmed with such boring similarity, you begin to perceive that different is better!"

Distinction and being distinguished allows one to stand out. Understand there are good and bad ways of doing that. What I want the church to think about is the idea of being different, distinct, distinguished, while being attractive. Like I said a week ago, we are not to appear 'cooky' or 'holy roller', but to appear approachable, fun, and passionate about our faith. To make everything fit in our faith-bucket, instead of trying to make our faith fit into everything.

Individually, we can make a big difference. Collectively, we must think about being different by doing things that are out-of-the-box. They can be service opportunities. They can be buying shirts with our church name on them (and wearing them). They can be visiting visitors when they came by. They can be putting on city-wide events. They can be a number of things.

Just as the "As seen on TV" products are different, so they appear better, let's see what God opens up for us with ideas and opportunities that may be different, but different is often perceived as better!

Being Different

I think that most people who have any drive at all desire to be different. Growing up with an uncommon name I wanted to have a different name. One that would resemble "cool". However, I remember a time when I was at a low point in my childhood and I started thinking about my name. It was different and that was OK. I am who I am and I was named this name for a reason. I don't know if that was a turning point or not, but, like many, I had a drive to be different.

Merriam-Webster defines different in this way...

1 : partly or totally unlike in nature, form, or quality : dissimilar
2 : not the same: as a : distinct b : various c : another
3 : unusual, special

Individuals in life are different by their gender, the way they dress, their choice in music, their choice in hair styles, their favorite color, their hobbies, etc. Sometimes when we see someone who is so different than us we label them as being "different".

In a consumer world being different is the name of the game. You either have a different product, a different price or difference in service. As a church we are in the middle of consumerism and must adjust the rudder and sails to survive. We may not be a "business" and we aren't a consumer. However, we must lean more toward the business side to survive, as we need people to support us so we can stay afloat, just as a business does.

One of the definitions above stood out to me - 2(c). It basically says that part of different is "another". When we are just "another" church in the community, that is not the right kind of different that will help us be more attractive. When a business opens up, if it is just "another" burger place or another grocery store, then it is bound to fail. Something must be done to move it from "another" to "dissimilar" or "distinct".

We must understand, as we look to attract, what makes us unique. Is it a product, a price, or a service which is provided? Once we can identify which of the three areas we are going to target, then we can seek to be different. If our focus is to meet each week for a few hours in a building then we will always be just "another" church. If we drift from week to week not thinking about being different outside the walls of the church building, then we will always be just "another" church.

However, if we can have the mindset to be different by thinking about our mission each day, in the middle of our jobs, our games, our drives, our interactions, etc. Then, we will start to take on one aspect of being a bit different.

Too often we have paralleled "different" in the religious world to being "cooky", "snobbish", "stuck-up", "crazy", "holier than thou", "preachy", "goodie-goodie", "radical", or a host of other labels. Really, you make the label. You can be different without being any of those things. We, as a church, can be different without any of those things. I am driven to be different, as a preacher, by trying to avoid any of those things, and, as relationships go, it has worked very well.

Let's not drift. Let's look for ways to be "different" as a church, every day.

Points of Contact Presents Opportunity for Distinction

A business is in business to stay in business. If you are a part of a business, you are a person who has customers or potential customers. Any given month, could, potentially, be your last month. You are not in business because you presume your customers will always come to you (at least I hope you aren't). You know you have to put in effort to keep your customers and/or gain other customers. You may not be in business to "drive out" competition, but to make money. Even if you are in a business that may be one described as "job security", you still have certain "requirements" to keep your business afloat.

As a person who, in principle, is trying to help grow a "business", I decided to read a book that is intended for business people. Even though I am in the ministry business, this book has lots of applications. Since it is a business book, I thought I would share a bit of it with business people.

The book is titled "Collapse of Distinction" by Scott McKain. I am about halfway through the book and have really enjoyed every page of it. What I want to share with you is this, "Every point of contact with your customer provides an opportunity for distinction." Re-read that quote. That is just one of many lines I highlighted.

How you treat your customers really affects a lot. Too often we do not press the importance of how the point of contact can cause you to be distinct from someone else. If you provide an oil change, how are you different to that customer than the business that provides one down the street? If you sell houses, how are you different than any other Realtor? If you do accounting, how are you different than any other accountant? Do any of you send birthday cards to your clients, once you have their addresses? Have you ever thought about providing something free for first time customers? Doing taxes free the first year? Giving out free cups of coffee to Starbucks? Maybe even inviting a customer or potential customer over to your own house for dinner - not as a big party, either. Those are just some possibilities that may make you different than your customer.

You've got to make your business different in more ways that color scheme, title, or a few seasonings. Some stores presumed they were strong enough in their market without worrying about this no-name store that was starting up from Bentonville, Arkansas. You know what store that is...years later they are a staple in America...Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is distinct. McDonald's is distinct. Target is distinct. Starbuck's is distinct. However, they can't presume they will always be in business. They are constantly looking for ways to be distinct. Once they fail to "not be concerned" about other competitors, they will collapse. All businesses need to focus on how they can keep from being involved in a collapse of distinction.

If you'd like for me to discuss any more of the book with you, I'd be glad to. Feel free to contact me by leaving a comment or texting "ichthus" to 50500.