Kmart and the Church

Kmart and I have an unhealthy relationship.  We have the kind of dysfunctional relationship that makes interesting afternoon television on programs like Judge Judy and Dr. Phil.  There was a time when Kmart was good to me.  That time is a distant memory.  Things have changed.

As I child I loved going to Kmart.  Kmart was the only general merchandise store in our town.  We went to Wal-Mart on special once a month trips.  A trip to Wal-Mart required driving from Conyers to Covington, Georgia.  And let me clarify, this was an old school Wal-Mart not one of these mega, super, jumbo sized get all you need Wal-Marts. 

Looking back I remember the wonderful toy section at my childhood Kmart.  The shelves were full all my favorite toys: GI Joes, Transformers, MASK, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and LEGOS.  I remember well going to Kmart to spend my birthday and Christmas money on wonderful new additions to my toy chest.  When I was ten you could purchase four or five GI Joes for $20.00. 

These are memories of the Kmart I used to know.  That Kmart has changed.  I don’t know what happened, but something significant happened.  The changes were subtle, but some weren’t so subtle.  Kmart got rid of the Blue Light Special and lay away.  The product lines changed.  Layaway became a Christmas only program.  The sports department stopped selling guns and ammo. 

Then the day of awakening came.  I went to Kmart and realized this store wasn’t the place for me to shop any more.  A super Wal-Mart moved into our town and I became a Wal-Mart shopper.  When I felt worthy enough, I would shop at Target. It seems that I wasn’t alone in that decision.

The Kmart near me is closing.  The store couldn’t turn a profit, so to keep the larger retail chain alive corporate leaders decided to shut it down.  I knew this would happen a long time ago, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw the store closing announcement in the local paper.

This Kmart has problems.  It is dysfunctional.  They never had in stock what I was looking for.  If they happened to have the product it was significantly more expensive than other retailers.  Customer service was never to be found.  Whenever I would go shop at Kmart I would leave asking, “Why do I ever come back here?” 

So the other day I went to the going out of business sale at my local Kmart.  Everything was on sale, but there was a problem, everything was much more expensive.  20% percent off an item that was 30% more expensive than the same item elsewhere is no deal.  Once again I left Kmart asking “Why do I ever come back here?”

Then sadly it dawned on me.  I wonder how many folks raise the same question when they visit the local church.  Has the church lost the connection and the influence it once had?  Or as in the case of Kmart, has the church lost marketshare?  Has the church changed so much to keep up with society that it has lost what made the church the church?  Or maybe this is the most important question, “Is the church using price tags when everyone else has gone digital?” 

I only ask these questions and now I ask you to answer them.