Four years ago I was living in Atlanta, Georgia. I loved living in Atlanta. It is an amazing city. When Heather and I got the call from God to move to Sulphur Springs, Texas to serve the Shannon Oaks Church as youth ministers, we knew we were sacrificing a lot of earthly/fleshy things. I made a blog post in January 2006 on my myspace account that talked about three things I really missed about living in Atlanta.
The number one thing on that list was my frequent stops at Starbucks. As I sit here typing in a Starbucks near the DFW airport, I ask myself, “Why do you (and millions of other people around the world) like coming here so much?” Is it the coffee? While I love my grande caramel frappuccinos with no whip cream and extra caramel, I do not even like coffee. I am not a coffee drinker. Is it the free Internet access? No, because I can get free Internet access a lot of places that are a lot closer to my house.
So why? Why did I get up earlier than I had to this morning, drive an hour and a half to Dallas, to simply sit at a Starbucks for over an hour before my friend landed at DFW? Was it simply the excuse I tell myself and others that I wanted to make sure I beat Dallas traffic and get to the airport side of Dallas in plenty of time? I don’t think that was the real reason. It has everything to do with the experience at Starbucks.
Yes, just like the postmodern movement that I am so drawn to in my Christian faith, that is exactly the reason why I am drawn to the experience of Starbucks. It is the ambiance, the smell of coffee, the atmosphere, and the noises of coffee grinding, expresso machines, muffled intimate conversations, and business deals going down all around you. It is magnetizing. I love it. I feel comfortable and almost a sense of being home.
Here’s the question I ask myself this morning: how can the church become more like Starbucks? When I say that I am not suggesting that the church sell lattes and tasty pastries. On the other hand, how can the church become more inviting and more magnetizing? How can the body of Christ become so appealing that people have to go check it out and experience something that will keep them coming back time and time again? I want to figure that out. It will be a lot cheaper than hanging out all the time in a Starbucks drinking $5 frappuccinos.
SIDE NOTE: I am working on a new post that should be up in a day or two that should be fun. It is a list of a ton of my favorites. Everything from music, sports, and much more. Check back later.
