The incarnation of coffee... and churches

The book "Starbucked," describes the state of the coffee-industry prior to the green giant's emergence. It was instant, watered down, weak sludge that people barely tolerated. Companies like Foldger's and Maxwell House even injected an artificial "coffee aroma" into their cans so that consumers would feel like they were getting a quality product. 

When Starbucks came along, it exploded in growth as if the market was simply waiting for it to appear. Seriously. It's like the whole country knew what it wanted -- the industry existed -- but nobody had ever seen it before. Starbucks became the living embodiment of everyone's desires.

Have you ever seen a church plant do this? A community gets "coffee-can churches" for years and years until, finally, a church comes along that fits what everyone really wanted in a church, but could never articulate it. This is true, incarnational church planting -- become the living embodiment of what people really crave and need.

Comments

[Lauren]

This is ridiculous. The problem in churches is that GOd has been put on the back burner and things such as coffee and whatever anyone else wants becomes first. Churches weren't made to suit everyone's needs. They were created in Acts, so that the Gospel could be shared to people in order to gain eternal value. In return, those churches grew in faith and numbers. Thats the problem with seeker friendly churches, they are too worried about stepping on people's toes, that they are forgetting that they have been offered the privelage of serving the ALIMIGHTY.

[Ben Arment]

thanks for reading Lauren. what's the link to your church? would love to read more about it.

[Ben Arment]

Yeah, that's what I thought.