Taco Bell vs. Chipotle

A burrito as big as your head for $6 or a three pound box of fast-mex food for $5?

The cheapskate in me usually hits Taco Bell. Couple items off the value menu and a water, and I'm full for $2.50. And I do enjoy Taco Bell - probably a little too much. But Chipotle...mmm...it's like Christmas morning when I lean over that stainless steel counter picking out which salsa(s) will top my burrito bowl. And should I splurge for guacamole? Yes, I should.

A secondary draw for me to choose Chipotle over Taco Bell is the simplicity. Here's Taco Bell's indoor menu board:

Here's what you see at the drive-through:


Ever gotten in line behind the uninitiated at Taco Bell? They stare. And they stare. And they're just about to order, but, oh wait, what's a Chalupa? Mafia wise guys get made in less time then these people's burrito decisions. But honestly, who could blame them? My college catalog had less options to choose from.

Now here's the Chipotle menu:

I marvel at the genius of Chipotle every time I go there. You pick one of 5 meats (or a non-meat...). You pick one of 5 ways to contain that meat. You choose a few toppings, add an extra or two. Done.

There's a place for a myriad of choices. I like having lots of options. And Chipotle's menu allows for a thousand options, but within the confines of a few key selections. It's about giving people something great with less. And that 'less' is the key: they do those few things very, very well.

The music and worship ministries I led in the past resembled Taco Bell's menu: 

Lots of choices.
Not so long ago in a church not so far away, I was picking from over a 100 songs for any given week. There was a group of 30 songs that were at the core, but the remaining 70 were fair game. And to accommodate that many songs, I simply pushed as many songs into the service as possible. 

Lots of new menu items.
"Everyone's doing this new Hillsong tune. We've got to do it."
"Jon, I just heard this new song on KLOVE - it's SOOOO awesome. Do you think we can pull it off next next Sunday?" Sure.
"Paul Baloche's new album just came out." Enough said. 

And cheap.
The new songs I picked weren't thought out for how they would fit with the rest of the 'menu.' Or more important, serve those they were meant to feed.

The amount of time I spent preparing was low.

The cost to be on the team wasn't very high.

In the past several years, I've tried to have more of a Chipotle-menu model for ministry: a few really great choices, well prepared, at a price that's, well, not cheap.

I try to limit the number of songs I choose from. I've created a "Current Rotation System" that, while imperfect, keeps my song choices for any given month around 30-40 songs. This allows both the worship team and the congregation to know and internalize the songs better. It also gives me a system for introducing new songs, and retiring the tired ones.

I could add another song to the service on any given week. But I think we can create a better environment for worship with four well-prepared songs than seven seat-of-my-pants songs. Not longer, but better.

We cheapen our worship fare a number of ways. Choosing songs without considering how they fit the over all 'menu.' Creating song sets without regard for where they are leading people. Expecting too little of ourselves and others in the way of preparation. Those are just a few ways.


Last thing: at Chipotle, ever notice there's no...
...drive thru? Chipotle demands more. Come in and invest.

...meals you can order by number? You have to create it.

...happy meals? They aren't trying to please everyone.