Bar Rescue - Ash Wednesday Edition

Last Sunday evening I was tired. Laying on the couch. Flipping through the channels. It was the top of the hour and I caught the first few minutes of a show called Bar Rescue. I was hooked. The next 57 minutes of my life were spoken for.

A bar expert, Jon Taffer, goes into a bar that is failing. The first thing he did was ask the owner why the bar was failing. The owner said the state of California would no longer let people smoke in the bar and that the rent had been raised. Seemed like good enough reasons to me, but the bar expert was annoyed. Very annoyed. He said those weren’t reasons. Those were bad excuses. Taffer mentioned every other bar in California doesn’t allow smoking and all bars have to deal with higher rent or property taxes. But many bars are still making money and lots of it. The bar expert said the owner was the problem. He was right. 

The place was a mess. The staff wasn’t being led. The customers weren’t being cared for. They were trying to be everything to everybody and ended up being nothing to anybody. The expert finally convinced the owner of all this and the rescue was able to continue. 

The staff cleaned the place. They were trained with a new, simple menu and were taught how to serve customers. The bar got a new name and had an innovative plan to target a specific group of people. And then the remodel happened. A few days later: the entire building was spotless, the bar had a new name, the menu was creative and appealing, the staff was energized and excited, the bar looked amazing. The opening night was a huge success. People—customers, employees, and the owner—loved it. The makeover was complete. 

Lent, at its best, is a makeover. A rescue. Some of us are like a failing bar. Full of excuses. A mess. Not spotless, but stained. Not serving, but selfish. Not clear about what we are supposed to be doing or not doing. Discouraged. Our rescuer isn’t a grumpy guy in a sport jacket, but the Almighty One himself.

Ash Wednesday is the day we realize our brokenness and dependence on Someone greater than us. We struggle though Lent. It isn’t easy. We pray. We fast. We study. We cry. We connect. We learn. We grow. We serve. We dream. We give-up self-destructive behaviors. We pick-up constructive habits. And we have faith that the Grand Opening is going to pale in comparison to Easter Sunday. We will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and we will experience a resurrection of our own. 

At our worship services and small groups – WE will be provided resources to flourish during Lent. Check our website and Facebook pages as well. God wants to do something big—in us and through us. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig