In the fascinating book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price, Chris Anderson argues persuasively that businesses need to get a lot better at giving things away for free. You undoubtedly have experienced the power of free in many places and forms before. Cell phones are given away as an incentive to get you to switch cell phone plans. iTunes offers a few free songs each week, surely because they get people to visit their store regularly to browse and to discover something new. Restaurants lure customers in with BOGO (Buy One, Get One free) offers. The technique is powerful, and it certainly can build loyalty and interest among customers...or visitors, for that matter.

Churches, of course, don't charge people for their services in ways that a business might, but the free concept still has many useful applications in ministry settings. One form of free that many churches use is the visitor gift bag, mug, folder, or envelope. In my own church visits in recent weeks, I have received such items as two small loaves of home-baked banana bread, a copy of John's gospel in The Message translation, a bottle of water, pens, brochures, candy, tracts, and even a carabiner. Each of these was no doubt chosen because it communicated something about the congregation. (The carabiner, you ask? The church hoped I wouldn't feel "disconnected.")