Spiritual and Religious | Espiritual y Religioso

In her March column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on prayer. She reminds us that prayer is not about the technique—the how or why we pray. Prayer is an invitation to divine love. Prayer is about relationship with God. Prayer is God seeking us. Read her column in English: Spiritual and Religious, o lee su columna en español: Espiritual y Religioso.

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Lectionary blog

Read a weekly blog on the lectionary from Cory Driver. A new post is published every Monday.

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Multiplying Cultures of Hospitality

Soon after we are born, says acclaimed restaurateur Danny Meyer, most of us are blessed with the first gifts of life: a smile, a hug, eye contact, and food. While simple, these gifts satisfy on many different levels. In some respects, we spend the rest of our lives yearning for these same basic things: belonging, heartfelt connection to others, and unconditional affirmation of who we are.

Meyer says that, while his customers expect tasty food, what endears them to his restaurants is how his staff makes them feel. Good service is merely doing what is expected, delivering the right dish to the right person at the right temperature. Hospitality is something totally different, the enjoyment of serving and connecting with guests in a way that makes them feel special.

Within the restaurant industry, Meyer says, insiders are fascinated by the story of McDonald’s, and how an operation could be expanded massively yet still make hamburgers taste the same from Boston to San Diego. Meyer himself is more interested in scaling a corporate culture in which customers quickly notice something different about how they are treated and cared for. Isn’t this what Jesus was hoping for, a transformation of culture by his followers so that all might feel loved and accepted?

How does Meyer do it? First, he hires not just for technical competence but also for emotional intelligence and relational skills. When his staff operates at 100 percent, he says, it is 49 percent oriented toward task and 51 percent oriented toward feeling. Meyer also makes the point that customers cannot be treated well unless his staff first treat each other well. Is the customer always right? Meyer says no but adds that people want to be heard, which is ultimately more important than making clear to them that they are wrong.

I can’t help but think that Meyer has some important things for the church to consider. “Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel,” he says. “It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.” Watch an interview with Meyer here, or read his book.

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Save the Date

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Recent Blog Post

Pastor Totzke:

New Opportunities

(https://www.ntnl.org/new-opportunities/ – published Mar. 11)

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Where in the world is?

Bishop Gronberg:

• Mar. 17-19: Texas Lutheran-Episcopalian Legislative Event, Austin
• Mar. 22-24: ELCA Young Adult Leader Gathering, Chicago

Pastor Totzke:

• Mar. 18:  Interim pastors meeting, Briarwood (and Zoom)
• Mar. 23: Katrina Martich’s LDA consecration, St. Matthew, Fort Worth
• Mar. 24-27: Vacation

Pastora Bañales:

• Mar. 18: Congregational Vitality, Renewal Table, St. John’s, Dallas
• Mar. 20: Meeting with Lutheran Social Services
• Mar. 21: NT-NL Stewardship Team meeting
• Mar. 23: 25th Anniversary, New Hope, Keller
• Mar. 24: Rejoice, Coppell
• Mar. 24-27: All Staff Domestic Mission Unit, Chicago