Tokyo retail reflectionby Lee Tokyo Times on October 22, 2008
"Many shops in the Japanese capital are conveniently situated in the city’s dizzying array of department stores; places where climate control and carefully coiffured cuties are commonplace — compulsory even. Yet down certain side streets and a bit of the beaten track, outlets with more character, if not exactly customers, can be found. Like this shop specialising in brooms for example. A store that, perhaps due to a niche that’s not exactly necessary nowadays, unfortunately hasn’t had the pleasure of a patron since 1972 — Saturday, September 2nd, to be precise. And even then the customer in question was after a hand brush that unfortunately they didn’t have."
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I have a hundred questions about this little broom store....how do they stay open? how do they justify a business with no customers? did they completely forget what they were trying to do when they opened the doors? What is a day like in a store with no customers? What a strange concept...a store with no customers. Let me simply say this.....I wonder if, at times, the church has become like this little broom store? I will let you add the closing applications.....
1 comment:
I wonder some days if you aren't right. The church here in Guatemala is no better. Worse in some ways.
What are we selling? Should we be "selling" anything at all? Could it be that the little broom store sells brooms because that's what they have always done? They are too afraid to answer the question, "What will we do if we do not do what we've always done?"
It seems that we too often leave the living Christ out of the equation. We ought to ask, "What will He do if we don't do what we've always done?"
I am far more excited than I am frustrated and discouraged when I think about what the Lord can do as we await His return.
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