Cleric or Pub Landlord?

There's not a great deal between them really!

So said someone I was chatting to today and you know what - As the conversation progressed the 'I think they might be onto something' light came on and I began to think and this has turned into the quick checklist (feel free to add and/or suggest other categories and areas) which I include for you consideration here:

Now I have been careful not to enter text into the boxes above (in case you'd like to use it yourself) but here are a few of the comments I've had with it thus far make me think that we're not perhaps as good as many of the pub landlords) as they include:

'Quick to serve drink and nibbles' - takes our Vicar 45 minutes!'

'Nobody knows where to find him/her - why do you think they're known as 'the Pimpernel' or 'Lord Lucan'?'

'Never leaves the vicarage - easy to find them - harder to get to spend time with them!'

'Wouldn't know - not one of their inner circle.'

'Never has an opinion - a permanent 'fence sitter.'

I came to realise that we (clergy) do need to have the skills that make for a good pub Landlord and if we don't, perhaps we need to look at our customer facing skills. Pubs that struggle do so because of the 'look and feel' of the pub and the ethos that the Landlord creates.

Community pubs thrive whilst those that fail to attract, welcome and keep clientele are destined to follow the trend which sees them become McDonalds, Indian restaurants and the like (although with churches it's carpet warehouses, heritage centres and the like). There is, at many levels, no difference with churches and those who act as 'mine host' in them.

Now, as with all parallels, there are sure to be inconsistencies and errors and yet I think there might be some value in comparing the two roles and the way their premises operate. Who knows, it might just shed some light and help us to modify the way we do business.

let's hope so :-)