A Full-Service Life

Full-service banks, restaurants and gas stations are going out of style. But not full-service people who are following the example of Jesus.

For years, full-service banks could be found across the country. You could walk into any branch to make a deposit, take out some cash or start the loan process. But banks in recent years have been closing branches in a steady decline. Between 2009 and 2020, the number of branches fell 12%.

Many people now turn to online banking for information and assistance. And when they need cash, they go to an ATM.

At the same time, people are dining less at full-service restaurants. As costs rise, people are choosing quick-service restaurants, or they are turning to grocery stores that have hot and cold food bars. A food writer named Laine Doss says that she absolutely loves to eat at full-service restaurants. But she feels dread “when the check comes and it may or may not be the same as [her] monthly car payment.”

For the record, she drives a Kia, not a Mercedes.

Speaking of cars, when was the last time you went to a gas station and had an attendant pump your gas? Until 1964, all ...