Starbucks

I am a frequent customer at our local Starbucks, and no, I haven’t suddenly taken up drinking coffee (I’m not old enough yet). I do love their chai tea latte, though. And I love to spend the first part of the morning away from the phone, catching up on e-mail or reading or just preparing mentally for the day.

This morning, as I walked in to my local store, I wondered why the church can’t be more like Starbucks. You see, when I walk in, they know my name and they call me by name. More than that, they know what I want and very often have it ready for me before I’m finished ordering it. The barista this morning spotted me coming in, made my drink and had it to me before I’d finished paying for it.

And then there’s the product. I know not everyone likes their coffee or their drinks (so if you don't, just insert your favorite coffee shop into this blog), but honestly, for me, I’ve had other chai tea lattes, and I’ve even tried to make it at home. It doesn’t take the same or as good anywhere else. There is a contentedness that comes over me as I take my first sip of the morning. (Or maybe that’s just the caffeine kicking in…)

Starbucks is all about hospitality, about making sure you have what you need, and about providing a comfortable place for you to relax and unwind. (And no one hurries you out, either!) Their mission statement says it all: “to inspire and nurture the human spirit.” While it’s about the coffee, and about turning a profit, they have even higher stated goals than that: nurturing and inspiring.

When many people enter the church, what do they encounter? Long-timers who talk only to people they know. A “product” that is often confusing because the language no longer communicates in today’s culture. Clutter that long-timers no longer notice because they’ve seen it too long. Websites that are three pastors behind. Unclear directions about where to go, what to do, and how to respond. And, very often, "free" coffee that is just not all that tasty. Is it really any wonder that people have a hard time connecting to the church? We expect more.

What if we took Jesus’ call to radical hospitality seriously? What if we welcomed all—the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the hungry, the cold, the lost? What if we learned their names as quickly as we could, and sought to meet the need they come with so that they can see in us the love of the savior—and thereby be given a chance to respond to that love? What if the church were as intentional as the coffee shop at nurturing and inspiring the human spirit? After all…isn’t that the model Jesus set for us—to know people’s names, to minister to their needs, to welcome them? Is it possible the coffee shop does a better job of modeling their work on Jesus than the church does?

I’m just wondering…now I’ll go back to sipping my chai…