*Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

I just bought a new toaster oven. My ol’ faithful recently died, and I don’t like living without one. What a great appliance. Microwaves have their moments of usefulness, but a nice convection toaster oven really adds to the quality of what you may be heating up. My regular oven is not convection, so it is even more of a “must” for an ol’ faithful. But I wasn’t just going to go out and buy any toaster oven to be my new ol’ faithful. I did my research. Matt and I checked them out as we were running errands in a few stores last week. Then I checked Costco’s website, Overstock, and Amazon. I read a ton of reviews, took notes, and even measured my free counter space. Amazon won my business, and I impatiently waited for my ‘major award’ from the UPS man (does anyone else get as excited as me when that big, brown truck is backing up your driveway?). Great purchase. As I was cleaning my counters off a few days into my status as a proud new owner, I admired my fresh trusty appliance. That got me thinking—people put all kinds of research into their purchases. I invest serious time investigating whether it’s for a dog, a car, or a new pair of boots. But how many people even know the history and creeds of their own church denomination? When researching for a new purchase we have a list of “must haves.” What are the “must haves” for your church? Unfortunately, many put qualities like dress, programs, the amount of children, and the coffee offered on top of their list. What about doctrine? What about how their worship service aligns with God’s Word? Come to think of it, how much time is spent on learning about the God that we worship? If I can put the time into finding the right toaster oven, I can surely invest the time that I’m given to learn about the one true God, who created the whole universe.   *Yes, I took that line from Arsenio Hall's memorable bit from his show.