The Krispy Kreme

Experience

SCOTT LIVENGOOD is passionate about his job, but why shouldn’t he be? He’s the CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. If you’ve ever gone to a grocery or convenience store that sells Krispy Kremes, you might be a little passionate about them too. However, if you’ve never been to an actual Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store, you’re missing out on something!

As Livengood puts it, “We don't sell doughnuts; we sell a doughnut experience.” Walk into the store and you’re senses are immediately overpowered. The first thing that hits you is the smell. That’s not too unusual though, you’ve probably been around bakeries and smelled fresh doughnuts before. The next thing you notice is the sight. Instead of hiding their doughnut making equipment somewhere in the back, the “Doughnut Theater” as they call it is right before your eyes, behind glass. You watch as the raw dough on conveyor belts is shaped, fried, flipped, fried some more, and then passes through the amazing “glaze curtain” before entering the display case. Finally, when you take your nose off the glass and actually buy a doughnut, you get the sensation of it hot and fresh in your hand and a taste that simply can’t be had from a box you buy anywhere else. Trust me, Krispy Kremes in a box at the local gas station might taste great, but they simply don’t compare to that total “doughnut experience.”

Forgive the comparison, but sometimes I wonder if we haven’t bought a prepackaged “God in a box” instead of having an actual “God experience.” I wonder about those who “get religion” only to later grow cold and lose interest. Did they only stumble upon one aspect of God or did they find their whole being immersed in him?

Maybe some of us stumble across the love of God and respond to it because we feel a lack of love, but we never begin to experience him in his holiness. Maybe we find ourselves moved by the worship experience but never even think of what the impact of offering our time and energy in service to him could be. Maybe some enjoy the fellowship of the church and the building of relationships with other people but never dig deep into the word of God to anchor themselves in a relationship with him.

I love what the Bible tells us in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” God’s call isn’t just to taste—to experience him one way—but to see as well. He calls us to immerse ourselves in him and find his touch in every aspect of our lives.

Henry Blackaby, in his classic book, “Experiencing God” put it this way, “You will never be satisfied just to know about God. Really knowing God only comes through experience as he reveals himself to you.” Maybe you’re not in church anymore because you tried that and it didn’t work. But maybe instead of trying “that” you need to try God.