The “logic of building spiritual community is exactly the opposite” of the “basic tenet of the marketplace”

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The basic tenet of the marketplace is that one succeeds by offering consumers more for less. But the logic of building spiritual community is exactly the opposite. We motivate people and unlock their energies by teaching them that they are needed, that their talents and commitment are essential to a larger enterprise, that they can fulfill themselves as individuals by sacrificing toward a greater goal. Those who have the most potential to revitalize our synagogues are also those who will be most responsive to that message. To harness their energies, we must treat them, not as customers, but as partners in that work.

Michael Wasserman, “The Vendor Trap: Why Selling Spirituality Doesn’t Work”, eJewish Philanthropy (9 January 2014), {http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/the-vendor-trap-why-selling-spirituality-doesnt-work/}

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