Christians and taking over the coffee shop…
January 30th, 2008
When I am not working out of my office in Kansas City, I am usually at a coffee shop near my house in Geneva, IL so I can get free WI-FI, take some calls and get some work done. I am sure you do this at times as well — it is very common among the youth worker community. You are probably at a cafe right now!
Lately I have noticed (more than I ever have before) that Christians love to take over the entire coffee shop by gathering all the chairs into a circle (leaving tables naked with no chairs for anyone to sit at), spreading their belongings all over the floor, leaving their kids to run around the coffee shop bothering people who are actually trying to meet or get work done and talking so loudly you can’t even hear yourself think!
Now, I am all for Christians gathering in public spaces for Bible study, prayer, sharing life, whatever… but what message does it send when we (Christians) just take over a place and annoy everyone in sight and within ear shot. Even more annoying is the group that thinks this gathering is effective faith sharing! Somehow they think that if they spread their Bibles about and raise their voices that others in the cafe might somehow listen intently enough to make a decision to surrender their life to following Jesus. That is annoying. The percentages of that happening can’t be very high…
Also, I get that anyone has the right to gather in a coffee shop or cafe or any other restaurant as long as they are following the rules of the owner/franchise. I also get the good old “first come first serve” rule as it relates to seating. Moreover, I completely understand that cafe’s were not created exclusively for people who wish to hold meetings, appointments or take advantage of the free WI-FI. BUT come on! What do people think of us (Christians) when we take over the whole place and annoy the hell out of them!? Do people really think, “Wow, lookey here. These folks sure our committed to their faith!” I highly doubt it. I think people are saying, “Told you so, these people are annoying. I thought this is what Sunday at church was for!?”
Can’t we just be a little more respectful to others who wish to share the same space, breathe the same air and listen to the same folk music quietly playing over the audio system of nearly every cafe’ in the world?
January 30th, 2008 at 10:06 am
[…] A New Kind of Youth Ministry added an interesting post on Christians and taking over the coffee shop…Here’s a small excerpt […]
January 30th, 2008 at 10:10 am
You’re right, I’m in a coffee shop right now as I write this comment. This is why your a consultant; you know us well.
I spend many of my “office hours” out of the office working in coffee shops around my small town. This has been crucial for two reasons: 1) I have gotten to know those in my neighborhood coffee shop pretty well, and enjoy our morning interactions. I think they do too. And, 2) I always run into people from church and there seems to be a wall removed that otherwise exists at the official office. They are more themselves (and I probably am too) and we have been able to have pretty meaningful interaction without the pasted on smiles and requisite fakeness engendered by many church settings.
But, I have also noticed your observation. It is distressing because there is one group in particular that is fairly obnoxious (a group of men on Saturday morning). They pronounce (loudly) on every issue: politics, marriage, movies (”The Golden Compass is the most dangerous film in the last 10 years”), etc. Meanwhile, you can see others around them squirm, and I always wonder if I should do something. I never do. I love the idea of being the church beyond the four walls, but we have missed the boat if we think what that really means is just taking our Bible Studies and programs that we used to do inside the church and moving them to the coffee shop. The walls between the church and the world are not, in fact, literal and never were. They have always been metaphorical and to bring those walls down will take more than just location change, but real missional engagement with the world. In short, being the church that loves the world in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Sometimes just keeping it down is a first block coming down in the wall.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I agree man. I hate the loud talkers. Often I have found myself meeting with one of these people in a coffee shop. I’m usually so embarrassed by their lack of awareness to the volume of their voice and the proximity of others that I try to make up for it by becoming a low talker of equally ridiculous levels. In other words we sit their, them speaking VERY LOUD and I am whispering back to them. awkward.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Good observations. Maybe we need to look to invite people into the conversation in those arenas rather than dominating over the activities that surround us. (Obviously being sensitive to the actual work they are involved in at the time - observe and discern) Otherwise, I think that too often we actually “Annoy the hell INTO them”….
January 30th, 2008 at 10:35 am
eric-
yeah, i love coffee shops/cafe for the reason of meeting people. good stuff. and i agree about “keeping it down” possibly being a first block in the wall…
chris
January 30th, 2008 at 10:36 am
aaron-
you know what is worse than the LOUD talker — the LOUD talker who is also a CLOSE talker!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:37 am
dave
“annoy the hell into them” — very funny and quite possibly very true!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Indeed! The coffee shop Christians. You know immetially when they are there because in the parking lot you see 6 cars with your typical “christian bumper sticker”: My boss is a carpenter, the Christian fish, WWJD, Christians on board, etc….I can go on for hours.
And to make this situation worst is that these Christians are cheap and will only buy a cup of coffee while taking up the entire coffee shop for the entire Wednesday night. And….they do not even think to tip or start a conversation with the coffee shop employees.
Sorry…..I need to cool down. Unfortunately I did not resonate with this post. ; )
January 30th, 2008 at 11:00 am
sorry immetially = immediately
my bad.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
This was a great post. Not being a huge coffee drinker…I actually don’t spend much time there working. BUT, you have aptly described the times I have been there. Just another way I get embarrassed to be a Christian.
January 30th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I think you could also include how many Christians act at restaurants as reverse evangelism. I had a friend who was a waiter and said that he and his co-workers always tried to get Sunday afternoons off because, “Christians are the WORST tippers.” Oh, that me feel good all over.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:25 am
[…] A New Kind of Youth Ministry has an interesting post today about Christians taking over coffee shops. I found a couple of sentences in one of the first comments particularly engaging and eloquently worded: The walls between the church and the world are not, in fact, literal and never were. They have always been metaphorical and to bring those walls down will take more than just location change, but real missional engagement with the world. […]
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:22 am
Great points! I also love coffee shops for all the above reasons! It’s funny how we forget that Jesus said that we should take on the nature of a servant! We should give up our seats and sit on the curb and not be annoying when its busy! Second, the loud evangelism thing not only is uncomfortable, it is embarrassing. We aren’t called to evangelize through volume, if that were the case, the Street Corner Preacher would be effective. Instead we need to get involved in the lives of others. Involvement is the key! And for the record, involvement is not shouting over the noise but joining into the lives of others. I love the people that work and go to my favorite coffee house, I hope that we don’t ruin that by being inconsiderate! Great Post Chris!
February 6th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Great post Chris… like all of what I’ve read from you… very interesting. This is one reason why I try to frequent those coffee shops filled with pagans. Not joking.
Appreciate you…
February 6th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
hey bill-
we should connect one of these days… coming through chicago or kansas city anytime soon?