Let's face it. For the most part, the retail experience in this country is horrible. 

Save a few - Apple, Target, and a few high-end others - retail experiences are absolutely horrible for the most part.

Case(s) in point: my last few retail experiences. 

Electronic Express. Never mind the horrible name, this seems to be a relatively small chain on electronic and appliance stores in the area where I live (middle Tennessee). The store is actually not that bad - except for the staff and prices. The staff when I entered has always seemed preoccupied and misinformed. Every time I’ve been in a store they are all huddled around the front laughing and joking with one another. They seem more interested in horsing around than helping customers - which I have barely seen since I’ve been in there. They’re not experts either. I’ve heard the salespeople talk very generally about products in the store. They don’t give good reasons for purchasing that product or try to sell it to you. Unfortunately, most Electronic Expresses are in smaller towns and for some reason, I get this air of superiority when I walk in as if they’re saying, “Well, if you don’t get it from us then you just won’t get it.” Uh, yes, I can get almost anything somewhere else, thank you very much. Also, when I’ve tried to check tablets and use them and navigate around them to play with them, some of them don’t work because they’re either locked out or not charged. Oh, and they don’t match prices with competitors or the internet - at least according to the sales rep I talked to. 

Office Depot. I actually like Office Depot a lot, but I can’t understand how they’ve stuck around so long. Every single time I go into one of their stores it’s like a ghost town. I mean, literally, no one there. Sales reps are hard to find if you have a question. Products are arranged neatly, but you can’t play with some of them because they won’t turn on (not charged) or they have a password on them. 

Best Buy. Ah, the kings of American electronic stores. And probably the worst. On two separate occasions, I have heard sales reps giving false information to a customer. Once I stood up and called out the rep, who then proceeded to argue with me on the wrong point. I'm no tech expert, but what he was telling him was wrong (he basically was saying that SSDs weren't all that great and were a "fad" that would probably disappear in a few years). But all that aside, the retail experience at a Best Buy is horrid. I took a picture of what a certain tablet display looked like: a mangled mess of cords with tablets stacked messily on top of one another. Near closing time I would have expected this. Not at two o'clock in the afternoon. If you’re selling something, you need to be constantly arranging it in a nice, presentable way, no matter how many times a day you have to do it because people come in there and just play with a device and throw it down anywhere. Target understands this - they have people on staff who do nothing but arrange things on shelves all day. I’ve seen them do it, and if you look hard enough, you will too. Target understands that whether you’re selling garbage bags or high-end tablets, presentation is everything. Perception is reality to a customer, and it helps Target because their stores are always neat and clean, their shelves are always tidy, they have great prices and they have a better image than some bigger chains do. 

I have bought an astounding number of things on Amazon since signing up for Amazon Prime last year - which gives you access to Amazon Instant Video on a variety of devices AND free two-day shipping on most items. Amazon is beating retail stores primarily because of prices, but also for convenience. I live in a small town an hour away from the nearest large city. Why would I drive up to Nashville to hope that I find what I need, when I can just pull it up on Amazon and have it purchased inside 30 seconds and at my door 48 hours later? The answer is that I wouldn’t. 

Amazon has figured out the formula, while it seems that other retail chains aren’t even trying. Never before in the history of retail has a company carved so much out of the market. Amazon is the future, and sure, while you can’t shop for things like clothes and shoes on Amazon, I’m sure they’re working on a way to figure that out as we speak. 

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.   - Matthew 6.34

As a conservative Christian, I stopped worrying about things I could not control a long time ago. I at least try not to get bent out of shape over politics, the path our country is on, and other matters that, well, don't matter. 

It's not exactly Ecclesiastes or a epiphany I'm having here, but it is a minor realization. And that realization is: that none of that stuff matters. 

So what if our nation now is openly defiant against God in a myriad of ways? God will only allow this to go on for so long, and when He decided it's time for this nation to no longer exist because of it's wickedness, then we won't have to worry about any of this. 

We don't even need to worry about who's in office or what he/she is doing. The President does not have authority over our lives, God does. 

"The government is taking away our rights!" you say. "The government is going against God!" you say. All right, that may be so. Are YOU doing what God says? Are YOU a faithful servant of His? Don't worry about what everyone else is doing - worry about what you're doing. 

Quit being silly about the direction of our country. Worry about yourself, your family, and serving God in every capacity that you can. You can't control what anyone else says or does against God, but you can control you. God has this country on the path that He has deemed, whether that's to destruction or prosperity, we cannot know. 

Quit being silly about worship. Today I saw this. This is WORSHIP to the Almighty God who created us and everything around us, and some people want to turn it into Prom Night. And if that's not enough, we're treating worship to God like it's a hobby. Like we will go and participate if it fits in our schedule. God's Son didn't die on the cross for us to miss worship because of a ballgame or because it's inconvenient to our schedule. 

Just quit being silly, period. Quit complaining so much. Quit criticizing everything the preacher says or the youth minister does - they're people and fellow Christians too. Quit acting holy on Sundays and acting anything but on Saturday night. Quit worrying about things you can't control. 

Quit being a discourager and be an encourager. Quit complaining and start solving. Act holy and BE holy, just as God has intended us to. 

And stop worrying so much. God will take care of us if we trust in Him. 

Jerrie Barber is one of my favorite ministers, and I've only heard him speak a couple of times, mostly about being a preacher himself. Jerrie has what he calls a "Criticism Contract" that reads as follows: 

"All criticism about Jerrie Barber should be directed to Jerrie Barber and Jerrie Barber alone. Jerrie will listen to your criticism and embrace it. Likewise, any criticism about the staff or Elders must be directed to them as well." 

First of all, great policy. Second, Jerrie says that he embraces criticism. 

Do you embrace criticism? Or do you dread and loathe it?

Indirectly and unintentionally, I have always tried to encourage my youth committee and Elders to constructively criticize me in all things. I need to know when something is wrong and then, hopefully, I can fix it. I can't do anything about anything if the problem with me is not directed at me. Sneaking around and talking about someone to someone who can't fix the problem is just juvenile and anti-Christian. 

As ministers and youth ministers, we should have an attitude of embracing criticism, not abhorring it. We should tackle problems with solutions instead of getting depressed or something about what so-and-so complained about whatever you did, said, or didn't do. Our jobs are ones that invite every type of criticism, viable or not, and we need to learn to embrace it and take it, not dread it. 

Last week I had the honor and privilege to teach a class at the Revival Youth Minister's Retreat at Graymere Church of Christ in Columbia, Tenneessee. I got to talk to some youth ministers and give them the exact same talk that was on the Ministry Bits podcast this week. I got some great insight from those guys just talking with them about the subject of internet safety and digital parenting and how we can help parents be on top of it better. 

One thing that stuck out to me (that I actually wrote down because it was so good) was what Jon Morris said during the class: 

"If you're telling me that 60% of the internet is porn, then we as Christians and Christian parents need to start being radical and intentional with this whole internet safety thing."

Radical and intentional.

Two things I think that we as Christian parents have not been. 

We need to be radical in our thinking and intentional with our actions regarding our kids' safety on the internet. We need to be those parents who are relentless on keeping our kids safe and not apologize for doing it. We need to make sure that we don't let other parents influence our decisions to do these radical things. Protecting our children from these dangers and letting the internet be a tool for communication, rather than a method of destruction. 

I've gotten a great response to the podcast yesterday. This is a huge need for our parents and I'm glad to be able to help, even if just a tiny bit. Take a listen to episode 008 and let me know what you think. 

And then be radical and intentional with your own kids. 

In case you missed my post earlier this week, I asked the question "What's Wrong With This Picture, Microsoft?" in reference to why the iPad doesn't have Office yet. Apparently there's more than one person that agrees with me. And they said it better too. 

Ben Thompson writing for Statechery:

So to summarize, Office is not available everywhere, and probably won’t be anytime soon, because Microsoft has a devices business to prop up. Oh, and Microsoft’s business needs are a priority over user needs. 

Even Windows fanboy Paul Thurrott writing for Supersite for Windows:

The reason this happened is that while Sinofsky had the maniacal power and force of will of a Steve Jobs, he lacked Jobs' best gift: An innate understanding of good design. Windows 8 is not well-designed. It's a mess. But Windows 8 is a bigger problem than that. Windows 8 is a disaster in every sense of the word.

This is not open to debate, is not part of some cute imaginary world where everyone's opinion is equally valid or whatever. Windows 8 is a disaster. Period.

When your own cheerleaders are now condemning your products and strategies, it's time for a major overhaul. 

Or you could just switch to Mac.