Good, Better, Best

Many years ago, I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The show was memorable—falling chandeliers and soaring vocals. But there were lots of other little things I remember about that night, which had nothing to do with the show. The ladies room was way too small, maybe only four stalls, poorly built. My now sister-in-law was with us that night; then, she was just a girl my brother was dating, so I barely knew her and felt awkward making small talk. I also remember that in the program that night, there was a list of donors to the Kennedy Center, with fancy sounding names, like “Golden Circle” and “Maestro’s Circle” suppporters. In fact, there was an entire tiered program of donors with higher and more expensive appellations.

No one wants to be “basic.” No one wants to be average. I read in a book recently that no one wants to be “medium” so companies like Starbucks don’t use terms like small, medium, and large as a specific marketing choice. Visa “gold cards” gave way to “platinum cards” because we would all much rather be better (or at least have a better-sounding name).

The service planning committee at Severn River Church is an opportunity for our church to go from the basic package to the deluxe version of ourselves. By taking time to analyze and brainstorm, we are able to add in creative layers of media, music, visual and performing arts. We correct minor miscommunications and improve intangible things like transitions and preparation.

We could stay “average” but we would rather improve week by week until we are the best we can possibly be. Now, we just need a fancy-sounding name.