Vertical Reality

By Garland Owensby

Have you ever done something exhilarating, unique or scary? Perhaps you have skydived, eaten exotic food or traveled to a dream destination. If you have done something like that and the only thing you could take home was a memory, you have been part of the experience economy. 

1. The memory or experience is the product. People pay thousands for front-row seats at a concert or spend extravagantly to see their team play in the Super Bowl. It is the memory and the experience that they are purchasing. You may be thinking, “I wish people fought over front-row seats for my sermons,” and I wouldn’t blame you. In the biblical experience economy, we advocate for an intangible yet firmly biblically based product. As Jesus said, God is spirit, and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. We offer a restored relationship with our Creator. We offer forgiveness of sins. We provide the opportunity to experience love, peace, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, among other believers. 
2. The transformation becomes the product. I was able to travel to Israel for a tour of the Holy Land. Before I went, the tour leader told me that the experience would change how I read the Bible. After the trip, I knew he was right. In the context of the experience economy, the trip offered the hope of personal transformation. Jesus did not sell a product when He recruited the disciples. He sold a transformation. “I will make you fishers of men.” The promise was enough to make them drop their nets and leave their families. Biblical experiences will lead to transformation. 
3. Experience is what comes above and beyond the product. When I receive my tax document indicating how much I have given to the church, a statement says, “No goods or services were received in exchange for your contribution.” It is not only a legal statement; it is literally true. I may leave the church service with a big, warm, sweet interior glowing, but it didn’t come in a package. It is intangible. It is spiritual. The parking lot, the foyer, the welcome center, the sanctuary. All are locations that can create an atmosphere by which visitors and church members are more inclined to an experience with God. 

As you seek to create an atmosphere where people can experience the Holy Spirit, remember that we cannot and should not manipulate that experience. We are space-makers. We intentionally allow the biblical Holy Spirit to be the source of the experience rather than our slick production values or our dynamic personalities. There is the essence of a biblical experience economy. The experience comes from God as the biblical Gospel is proclaimed.