product managment

I bumped into a lady at the supermarket yesterday. She is a wonderful mother that I've always enjoyed being around... a real shot of life you know. Well I didn't know otherwise but she notified me that she was going to another church. yet she didn't just say this in passing. She was, reluctant to tell me. I mean I didn't ask where she's been, truth is I didn't notice she was gone. But, it was as if she told me cause she felt some sort of guilty pressure to notify me and she said it as if she was embarrassed or as if she was uttering the words "I'm cheating on you cause you're not good enough". I immediately felt like my words were trapped like a Twinkie cornered by a fat kid. I sort of froze. Do we see our churches as competing businesses. What product do we sell? Do we charge alot? What difference is it really if someone goes to another church? So what if they mingle well with some believers a that hangout a couple blocks away. Isn't it all one church anyways? If we're not consumers shouldn't we be excited that someone found a better fit? Or is going where God's callin them? If it's simply a better product, a more polished sermon, or the right program we're looking for haven't we missed the point? If we leave one church product for another church product, we're not cheating on anybody but ourselves.

If I saw her again today I still wouldn't know what to say.