Best Supporting ... Barista?

I've noticed a trend the last few dozen times I've been to my local Starbucks. Whether the coffee shop is packed or sparse, I always see one of the baristas not doing any customer service. They don't make drinks. They don't take orders up front, or at the drive-thru. Actually, it seems like they are practically ignoring customers, as they are focused on whatever task they are completing at the time.

They call this the "store support" role. This person brews coffee, re-stocks and replenishes supplies, and in general just supports the other baristas with whatever they need.

I read about this role on a blog, and the Starbucks employee (or "partner," as Starbucks calls them) said "nobody likes this role. It’s hard work, and not very gratifying. It’s boring. But it is also really necessary."

I think the blogger is right about all of this - except that no one would like that role.

I would love that role.

I would see how efficiently I could whip up a new batch of Pike Place, or restock the cups or organize the storeroom.

There are roles like "store support" in every company, no matter how small. For many companies, the HR department operates as a type of support role. Even when I worked at a little family owned company in college, they didn't have a specific HR person, but we all played this "store support" role in some way - prepping electronic materials so that when they were assembled together later, they could be done so more efficiently.

I loved that role.

It's no surprise I have this role again, on the Operations team. There's a definite need for supporting roles in ministry. There has to be people working alongside those on the field, who can serve them in vital areas. Pastors have admin assistants. Non-profits have bookers or accountants or financial teams. And Cru has the Operations team.

Who new Starbucks and Cru operate in similar ways? Maybe that's why I love them both.

Would Jesus Eat Frybread?

In my March ministry update I wrote about visiting a Native American tribe in Washington state. My office is helping plan a conference out there called "Would Jesus Eat Frybread?" The conference will focus on the idea of identity in Christ and identity as a Native American.

One of the most interesting things I learned during my 48 hours out west was that Christian Natives have to walk a very fine line. They identify with being Native, but they also follow Jesus. Can the two be combined? How? Where do you draw the line?

Every ethnic group of people must deal with this question. Each one has special characteristics and cultural aspects that can be incorporated into faith in Jesus. Reaching these ethic groups requires changes in the way we do ministry, which is called "contextualizing." We don't change the message of the Gospel, but we may change aspects of how we present it, or the way we live it out.

Musical worship is a great example of this. I grew up in a church that sang hymns out of a hymn book. I love hymns. There's something about holding the heavy book in your hand, and flipping through the worn pages to find the right song, that I love. Words are chosen so carefully. They have deep meaning.

Is there anything wrong with singing hymns, if they are theologically sound and help me experience the presence of God? Nope.

What about using an African or Native drum in worship? It probably would distract or hinder me from connecting with God - but for an African or Native American, using a drum would be totally normal. It's a common thing in their culture.

If someone told me that once I followed Jesus, I could never sing hymns, I'd be pretty bummed. Or if they told me I had to dress a certain way, or cut my hair, or stop speaking my language -- all of these would hinder me from following Jesus.

I'll never forget telling a Chinese student last summer that God speaks Chinese. The student was blown away. She legitimately thought God only spoke English and that she had to pray to him in English. She was relieved to discover God's not American, and she didn't have to conform to American ways of worship or conduct to follow Jesus.

I'm not sure that I'm explaining contextualization right, so here are some awesome links with more info:

• a brief explanation of contextualization
  
• a list of Cru's contextualized ministries
  
• Contextualization 101 - from The Gospel Coalition

Coffeeless Lent.

I gave up coffee for Lent this year.

(No, seriously. I did).

It has been so .... hard. And good. And so very enlightening. To deny myself the routine of a cup of brewed coffee first thing in the morning, or a latte at Starbucks in the afternoon, was hard. Really hard. It's silly how hard it was.

Not having it made me realize how much I rely on it to fulfill desires, like wanting to feel at ease in a stressful environment, or wanting to feel happy in the midst of a bad day, or wanting to spend time with a certain friend, who I know also loves coffee...so naturally, why wouldn't we get coffee?

These wantings are not necessarily bad, but is coffee really always the best way to fulfill them?

The first couple weeks, I had to remind myself I wasn't drinking it. I'd mentally prepare myself when I walked into a coffee shop; No, you're going to get hot chocolate, or chai- or nothing at all. You're not going to break this fast. I would literally have this internal dialogue going on the whole time I was in the store.

It got much easier, and I wouldn't think about it as much. For the first week, I didn't tell anyone I was giving it up, which helped me keep my focus on the purpose. (I actually cut back the week before in preparation, which was smart). Slowly I started telling a few people here and there, mainly because they would offer me free drink coupons or BOGOs and I had to explain that no, I wasn't crazy for shooting them down, there was a purpose to my refusal.

There have also been some surprising benefits, which are not why I gave it up. For the first couple weeks I slept. A lot. By 930pm my eyelids were drooping and when the alarm went off at 630am I would wake up realizing I didn't toss and turn as much as I normally do. And I didn't need to snooze because I felt rested.

Another surprise is my finger nails. It's possible that my unusual success at not biting them can be attributed to something other than my lack of coffee. But I think having less caffeine (...a LOT less caffeine) over the course of 6 weeks decreased my anxiety levels. For the first time in 27 years, I have fingernails I can actually paint.

And then there's the financial benefit. The funny thing is, I got quite a few birthday gift cards to favorite local coffee shops. I did use them up on hot chocolate and chai when I was out with friends or had a meeting at a coffee shop, but they definitely wouldn't have lasted as long if I were drinking coffee.

Benefits aside, I'm so glad I gave it up. It's caused me to die to my selfish desires, to buy what I want when I want even though I don't need it. It's caused me to realize how often I turn to something other than Christ to fulfill my longings.

I'll definitely keep drinking coffee regularly after Lent. In fact, I've got a coupon for a caramel macchiato, so I'll probably use it Monday morning. But I don't think I'll ever view coffee in the same way again.

Today I went to a funeral of a friend of mine. He was 27. He died suddenly, with no warning, one week ago today. It was a total shock.

As I think about his life and reflect on some fun memories, it's hard not to ask why. I know that's usually the first question many people ask when a loved one dies or something bad happens. In this case, the why seems a little more legitimate. Dave was a faithful servant, who was passionate about sharing the hope of Jesus with other people. He was so young with so much life ahead to live. We know of no cause of death at this time- no preventable accident or disease. There's no one to blame, no reasonable cause. He just died.

The last blog post Dave wrote was entitled "Oh Death, Where is Your Sting?"

He wrote, "Because of the Spirit, and my faith in God's sovereignty, I trust that He knows what He's doing... Although death is often a harrowing time in the life of many, my prayer is that Christ is displayed as the Victor over it in our lives and in the lives of others as we love them."

I know I can question God all I want, but he doesn't have to give me an answer. In the midst of the questioning, I trust Him. He's Sovereign. He knows what He's doing.

Dave's life was short in our earthly standards- but it was so full; of love, faith, challenges, victories, and fun. His 27 years here were a gift, and I'm so thankful for them. He loved well, he lived well and he honored God above all else. May I live the same way the rest of my days, however many there are.

"This life is not my own, this world is not my home, the gospel must be known."

Blogging.

I've been avoiding my blog for the last few weeks. Every time I try to write a post, I get halfway through and can't seem to muster up the discipline to finish. Suddenly I want to re-organize my sock door, floss my teeth, or bake a pan of pumpkin bars I've been meaning to make for months.

I have 12 drafts started. Twelve. Then there's the 5 e-mails in my personal inbox that I sent to myself in the last week, saying "blog about _______" - with a few sentences explaining my thoughts on the matter that I can only hope will jog my memory enough to actually finish a post.

I don't think I really have a point in writing this. But it feels good to write it. At the very least, this will be one post that I start and finish without getting up to check my half gallon of milk in the fridge to make sure it hasn't expired yet.

Maybe this is why so many people have blogs. They just want to write, even if it seems pointless or uninteresting to the reader. I've heard before that somewhere between 60-80% of blogs are abandoned within 1 month of being created. That still leave millions of bloggers out there. Some blogs serve a specific purpose that wouldn't be fulfilled if no one read them. Other bloggers care not whether the reader is inspired or encouraged; they blog because of the things they discover in the midst of blogging.

Sharing Your Story.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how God works in the lives of all people, in the entire world - all at the same time. I remember sitting in a large crowd at a conference in college, and God stirring up things in my heart during worship and the messages from great speakers. And I remember thinking that he was doing the same things in the hearts and minds of every other person in that room of 1600 people. It's simply mind-boggling.

Everyone has a story to tell. I truly believe that God has been at work in the lives of everyone in the world, at one point or another. Not everyone takes the time to notice he's there. But some do, and recognize the way he intervenes.

I love what Shauna Niequist has to say about our stories:

"I bet God has done something in your life that would make our hair stand on end if you told us about it. I bet the story God has written in your life and your home gives voice and breath and arms and legs to the gospel every bit as much as a church sermon ever did. Preaching is important, certainly. But it can't be the only way we allow God's story to be told in our midst."

It is fitting that this idea that we need to tell our stories to the people around us closes out Shauna's book "Bittersweet," as it is a collection of ways that God has worked in her life. She is a fantastic story teller, even when the stories are hard to share.

Not all of us will write books or blogs, but we do all have a story to tell. And we have a responsibility to tell it. Shauna goes on to write about the obstacles we encounter when we try to tell our stories:

"When I worked at a church a few years ago, it was my job to help people tell their stories on Sunday mornings at our gatherings. And a funny thing happened. When we were at the coffee shop, and it was just me and them and their story, their story came out in fits and starts, unvarnished and raw. We cried and laughed and every time I was amazed at what God had done in this person's life.

And then almost every time, when they arrive [at church] on Sunday, they looked a little less like themselves. They were kind of a distant, polished, fancy version of themselves, and sounded a lot less like themselves. They stopped believing that their story was enough, and they started saying all the phrases and quoting all the verses we've all heard a thousand times, turning them from sacred songs into platitudes and cliches... We dilute the beauty of the gospel story when we divorce it from our lives, our worlds, the words and images that God is writing right now on our souls."

Vulnerability is hard. I'm an internal processor, a delicate balance of thinker/feeler, an introvert; it's hard for me to describe how I'm feeling sometimes, or even how I've seen God work in a situation. But there are these times when I can't help but share what I've seen or thought or felt or experienced. I guess that's why I started this blog a million years ago. (Ok, fine, eight years ago).

No matter how eloquent or elegant or effortless you speak (or don't speak), we need to share our stories. Shauna continues: "Let's stop acting as if religious professionals are the only ones who have a right and a responsibility to tell God's story. If you are a person of faith, it is your responsibility to tell God's story, in every way you can, every form, every medium, every moment."

I'd love to keep on typing out the rest of the chapter for you to read here, because it's just so good. But I'll refrain because I've probably made my point. Well, almost. Just one last thing. We tell our stories, not because they are about us and how great we are, but that they point to the someone in our lives that our stories are really about. Our stories fit into a larger story - one that God started a long time ago, and is continuing today through us. Don't be afraid to share your story with the people around you.

Global Missions: Students reaching Students.

See below for a sneak peak into the world of Cru Global Missions (formerly WSN). Students of the world, reaching students of the world. Changed lives, changing lives.

(Works best if you watching it full screen).