One day a man called a church by mistake. The church receptionist happened to be distracted at the time, and did not answer the phone in the usual fashion. She just said "Hello." The man said, "I want to order one pound of Barbecue, two pints of cole slaw and a dozen hush puppies." The receptionist said, "Wait a minute, sir. We are not a food service operation. You must have the wrong number."

The man hesitated a moment and then asked, "What do you sell? What business are you in?" That IS a fair question to ask. What is the church selling? What is the principal message we declare or goal we seek? Are we on the corner of Poplar and Grove Park primarily to improve the morality of East Memphis? Are we here primarily to offer spiritual first-aid to our membership when they go through hard tim…