Coffee Shop Christianity
Posted by Javan Rowe in BLOG, Body of Christ, Church, Evangelism, Featured, Hypocrisy, TV Shows | Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
I am a bit of a coffee addict.
It’s more than just the jolt I receive from the caffeine, though. Whether its the sense of community or the trust I have in the baristas, there’s just something about the coffee shop experience that appeals to me.
The other day, this thought entered my mind: “What if the church had the same appeal?”
Now, don’t get me wrong; I am not minimizing the importance of the church by comparing it to a coffee shop. After all, the church has eternal significance. I just wonder if Christians are getting too cliquey and inadvertently ostracizing the very people Christ asked us to reach with His message.
Community
One of the more enjoyable aspects about my favorite coffee shop, as I have mentioned, is the feeling of belonging to a community. The ‘80s television show Cheers captured this, for instance, when the crowd shouted “Norm!” every time he entered the bar. The coffee shops of today share the same atmosphere as that sitcom (they even include the resident mailman… me).
I believe the church mirrors our eternal home, which will be the ultimate community made up of every believer from millennia past. While the church is not to be reduced to a private club with funny hats, there is a community aspect to it. This community can be very attractive to nonbelievers on the outside witnessing it. After all, everyone wants to belong.
The community that comes from “not forsaking our own assembling together” (Heb. 10:25) should bleed into our other relationships. We can honestly admit that there certainly is an exclusiveness to the church; after all, we are not of this world (John 15:19). The inclusiveness, though, comes from the Great Commission where we “go out into all the world.”
There is definitely a time for confrontation, to stand like Martin Luther and nail our thesis for all to see, but in the flow of daily life others should be comfortable in our presence. I know many Christians who came to Christ, partially because they were attracted to the community they witnessed in believers.
Trust
This brings me to the second thing I like about my daily coffee shop: trust. I know as soon as I walk in that I am going to be pleased with the product. The baristas will deliver what they promise.
Just as the world enjoys community, it also wants to see character. Do our actions match our words? If those in the church do not provide such character then who will?
We have all heard the cliché, “walk the walk.” I know it is overstated, but unfortunately it is also under-practiced. People want someone they can trust. It’s what drives us to certain businesses to purchase their products. It also can bring people into churches because they feel the open arms and honest hearts.
I apologize if I’m oversimplifying things, but we tend to make things so much more difficult than they need to be. I am not a prosperity pastor, claiming that churches will bust at the seams if we simply follow these two steps. I just believe many Christians lack in these particular areas.
As followers of Christ we are to be a trustworthy community. Daily news tends to show the opposite, as pastors and priests are involved in terrible scandals. Unbelievers hear Christians declare their beliefs, but then live out something totally contrary.
It’s time for a change. We must start living up to the expectations placed on us repeatedly by Scripture. The blood of Christ is certainly greater than a shot of espresso, and we are more than baristas; we are ambassadors.
