church at starbucks?

starbucks has it right. i went into one this morning on my way to school. karen wasn't feeling well, and a white chocolate mocha always helps her feel better. it was really busy in there this morning, and i sank into my normal impatient state. but looking past my disgruntled state of mind, i began to pick up on something: everyone knew each other. Customers, baristas, everyone. they cam in, got in line, and began talking to all the other people in the store. the lady behind me to the lady in front of me: "they must be selling gold in here, because it's never this busy!"

lady in front of me: "i know. i know i'm late when it's this busy. how was your Valentines's day, Jill?"

"it was great! the kids make it better. you know the kids, right?"

and this carried on the entire time we were in line. then i started noticing the exchanges between the customers and the baristas. it was the same thing. asking about the kids, how the week had been going, and calling each other by name.

after i got back in the car and dove into the decadent beverage that is a white chocolate mocha, i began to think: what makes stabucks the giant among coffee companies? drive through any major city and you'll see one on every block, sometimes even closer together than that. and it's not overkill. that many are needed to sustain the demand. what is driving this company to dwarf all other coffee companies (besides the fact that America runs on coffee and is addicted to the caffeine)? why are people choosing starbucks over every other store. then it hit me.

community.

each starbuck is like its own little family. the baristas know the customers. not just their faces, but their stories. the customers know each other. and their families.

in talking to a friend of mine that works at a starbucks, i've learned that this is starbucks' intent. they hire baristas who are personable and will get to know their customers. i've seena poster in a starbucks bathroom that had several different blurbs by baristas talking about some of their regular customers. so why is this appealing?

people need a place to belong. a place where, as the "Cheers" song says, "everybody knows your name." there is an inate longing in each of us to have a place to call home away from home. where people accept you where you are. God himself even had this in the Trinity. starbucks is that place by design.

as i processed this thought, i wondered why so many churches miss this when a secular COFFEE COMPANY is using the idea to perfection. i then took it a little further. what would our middle and high schools look like if the teachers cared enough to cultivate this kind of idea into the regular curriculum? how much different would our youth look with a place they belong AT SCHOOL? i am praying that God will continue to cultivate this thought in me as i interact with my middle schoolers. who better to give a place to belong than a "searching for who i am" middle schooler?

well, at least they could find it in starbucks.