Be careful what you wish for: it has to be authentic
Categories: Coffee Shops, Living our faith
There is no doubt that “authentic” is the new buzzword these days. You see it as an advertising adjective everywhere you turn, and in ministry world we’ve been recreating “authentic” experiences and longing for “authentic” interactions with community. I even noticed today in shopping for a new messenger bag for my computer that I wanted it to be have an authentic, vintage appeal. Wherever this consumer-oriented, technology-laden generation turns, it now wants to be and feel authentic.
Be careful what you wish for!
Authentic comes with a price tag. Consider, for example, the Santa Barbara Starbucks where we began our day this morning versus the Java Joint, an authentic local coffee shop here in town. Both served amazing coffee. We enjoyed our time in each. But I noticed something about Java Joint: the distressed brick walls showed different colors of brick reflecting its previous lives in retail. It’s bathroom was carved out of a store room, and had rickety fixtures original to the building. The people who wandered in from the street were often just that: street people. At Starbucks the air-conditioning was running well, the bathroom smelled clean and the colors harmonized.
When you search for authentic, you may be surprised by what you find. Be prepared in ministry, design and life, to greet the flaws in “authentic” with gratitude at their originality and acceptance of their character. And when striving to be authentic, remember that the cracks in the facade aren’t scars to be hidden, they are the life God has given.
August 25th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I’ve noticed the ‘authentic’ surge too. I think I might even have contributed to it. The search for truth, and truth appearing as truth I guess. Is it something to do with that ‘God-shaped hole in the heart of every man’ (and woman)?!
I was admiring my ‘authentic’ skin today. I was giving my daughter a cuddle and suddenly realised that that slightly weathered looking hand curving round her shoulder belonged to me. Every freckle, every line, every little scar and scratch. How weird it must be to have plastic surgery and rewrite your own physical authenticity. I think I’d miss my freckles…
August 27th, 2008 at 7:43 am
i think i like to think how things were meant to be more than the authentic way things are… i long for the garden but realize for the first time even perfect situations have a snake nearby. God must have hated it like we do, i am sorry for the hurt it caused Him. it was not His plan, He put us in a place prime for success. but even there a snake craftily set out to rob, kill and destroy. authentic took a turn and has not been authentic since. who we were meant to be is not authentic to who we are now. perhaps it is in authenticity we see the glimmer of who we were meant to be and that is what is appealing?
all the same for now, i like new bathrooms, fresh paint and clean smells–sometimes authentic places can be plain smelly.:)
August 28th, 2008 at 9:22 am
this is short but unbelievably deep and wide Marla! I’d love to see you expand on this and turn it into an article for relevantmagazine.com! authentic and relevant. these are the buzzwords I’ve heard so often….. i heard paul scanlon from the U.K. say the line between relevant and relic is hardly detectable. at what point does ultimate authenticity become a fakeness in itself? —too much coffee today!