So, what’s with Christians and their coffee these days? I just read an article titled, “Church Coffee Shops – One of Today’s Best Evangelical Tools.” So now, in order to get people to drink the Living Water, we first got to offer them a walk on the Holy Grounds? (Some of you need to read that last sentence a couple times and let it percolate.)
In this article, the author claims that “coffee is a simile for sharing the gospel.” Well, if that’s true, that means for some, the message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has been passed around with a little cream and sugar at least three times before lunch.
So fascinating to me was the idea of the coffee simile that I began to think how many of our popular hymns and songs could be re-worked to reflect this poetic revelation. Here’s what came to mind:
How Great Thou Art!
O Lord my God when I awake from slumber
Consider all the drinks my mouth might taste,
I see the pot, the bag, the porous filter.
O water flow! And make my coffee haste.
Then sings my tongue! My taste buds jubilee.
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Then sings my tongue! My taste buds jubilee.
How great thou art, how great thou art!
Everlasting Pot (from Everlasting God)
Strength will rise as I drink another cup,
As I drink another cup, as I drink another cup.
Strength will rise as I drink another cup,
As I drink another cup, as I drink another cup.
Of joe; my head is spinning.
I hope I won’t be sinning.
I need an everlasting pot, an everlasting pot.
A dark roast so I won’t grow weary.
I use eight scoops so it ain’t weak, I’m a whole-bean, caffeine freak.
When I get cut, I bleed straight coffee.
Perhaps we have all taken the coffee church thing a little too far. You know…pastors preaching sermons out of “He Brews” all the time. Greeters who greet guests with permanent, brown-stained smiles. We need to get back to our ancient Christian roots. Forget the coffee bars with the poppyseed cakes. We need to get back to wine! Serve a little manna with a glass of Red Zinfandel and see what happens to church attendance. Yes, I am kidding.
Or…just maybe…the old adage, “too much of a good thing” comes to bear. I’m pretty sure Ephesians 5:18 has something to say:
“Do not get drunk on wine…instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
And another from 1 Corinthians 9:25,
“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.”
Do not think that this last verse is limited to just athletes; Paul is comparing the people of God to those who run races, and what’s good for an athlete, is even more so for a Christian.
So, all I’m trying to say here is let’s not get too carried away with turning our churches into coffee shops and our ushers into baristas. Church is about God’s people gathering to uplift one another and to worship the One who gave us all coffee in the first place.
So, mellow out, kids. Have a cup before the service. Shake a few hands and get to know somebody you never knew before. If sowing good seed is the objective, maybe we should focus less on the coffee and more on the coffee drinkers. Bottoms up!