Coffee Shop Journal

The states have been divided up, red and blue. The parties are over, the ads have — mercifully — stopped on television. The election is over. Now I’m not going to hide it: even though this isn’t by any means a political blog, I was a McCain supporter. So last night’s festivities were less than exhilarating for me. But today is a new day and these are the thoughts running through my head.

• I love my country. I love that major ideologies can clash and restructure government, all without bloodshed or even intimidation. One truly powerful group of people will say to another group, “OK…your turn” and march out of control just like that.
• McCain ended his race like the patriot that he is. Well-played until the end, sir.
• Obama seemed presidential and ready to step into the role that will try his soul. I have already started praying for him, and his family, and the wisdom that he will need in the days ahead.
• The acceptance venue for Obama was amazing. The music, the crowds, the cheers…very cool.
• I am truly glad for African-Americans that they are able to applaud Obama’s victory. I know I’m as white as it gets, but I understand some of the pressures that blacks have endured through history. To see Obama take this step on behalf of black Americans made me teary eyed and happy for them.
• My focus is not on the President I serve, but on the King I serve. I don’t want to ever confuse one with the other. Political issues are not the same as spiritual ones. I will stand up for marriage, for life, for the moral issues in the kingdom. I will try to change hearts.
• I’m glad to be done with election season. There’s too much work to be done for our country or our churches to be split in half.

It’s a new day…I have work to do. Who’s with me?

“Over second and third cups flow matters of high finance, high state, common gossip and low comedy.  [Coffee] is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit, a foiler of sleep if you want it so.  From roadside mugs to the classic demi-tasse, it is the perfect democrat.”  ~Author Unknown

You heard it here: at least two cups of coffee for everyone before you vote!

This afternoon I dragged myself into Jeremy’s Starbucks and squeaked out an order for a redeye (brewed coffee with an added shot of espresso). He was serving Aged Sumatra, a bean that will be available tomorrow for purchase, along with their Thanksgiving blend. The Sumatra was amazing. It gave me a few more minutes of energy and life!

By the way, stop in to Starbucks tomorrow after you vote. If you tell them you voted, they will give you a free cup of coffee. You can watch the promotion below. I love that. Because when tomorrow is over, we’re all going to still live in this country together, and get back to working for the King, not the President. Have a great day, everyone!

Tonight, hope looked like Christ Fellowship’s City Place campus, the Ascent, packed to the rafters with people worshiping. To hymns. Absolutely astounding. Our musicians spent this week learning songs they’d never played before, just to increase the breadth of our musical worship. It was an amazing night.

I can’t explain why this evening touched me so. But as I looked around tonight, I saw people of all generations bonded together in singing songs that brought me back to my childhood. “How marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be…” I could hear my dad’s voice singing next to me in Sunday night church — where that song counted as a contemporary number. My dad didn’t really sing much; he rumbled. His big, barrel-chested 6′4″ body would rumble its way through some version of a bass line: security, singing next to me while I grew. I couldn’t stop the tears tonight, thinking about Dad. They were good tears. What a great memory!

And then there are the musicians themselves, leading us. This ministry of singing and playing…it transports people from a place of fear that the financial markets, political markets, any markets might fail. It moves us from where we are to where we need to be. Can hope be far behind if quality people like our worship bands can create an oasis of life in the middle of uncertainty? And just think…those songs have been sung through ups and downs, crashes of one sort or another. “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine.” The message is timeless. Our hope isn’t in an election, or our bank accounts. It’s in Him, and all that exists in Him. It’s in each other, and the community of grace we live in together.

They’re just hymns, just old songs that have fallen out of favor. But they may become hip again, because there’s something special about traditions that tie generations together in the ultimate source of hope. Just hymns. But it was a night that soothed my soul and brought back memories that are precious. Just hymns, but sung by the kids who are the future I’m praying over. Just hymns, but so much more.

It was certainly a night to remember! I loved every minute of Halloween. True, it had it’s issues: no trick-or-treaters to start with. And certainly there was extra food, like an oven-full of chicken wings. But there was also a night full of people doing life together! And that was worth it all. Here are a few highlights of the night.

• Costumes were a breath of fresh air after several years of “fall festivals.” I actually enjoyed my vampires, Heath Ledger jokers and rocker fairies. I also thoroughly enjoyed the creativity. My favorite had to have been Amanda, whose rubiks cube took top prize.
• We had kids from two church campuses mixed at the party. I’d like to see more informal events like these where the kid can meet and get to know each other.
• Boys love fire. If nothing else, they could go do dangerous things with the torches and the fire pit. And S’mores…they make everything worthwhile.
• The student ministries staff hung out with us during and after the party, and were — by far — the highlight of the evening. We loved sitting around the kitchen table and getting to know Mel and Shauno…two new staff members we hadn’t had a chance to connect with so far. Students popped in and out of conversations, and everyone got to seem a little more “real” to each other.
• Parents dropped off, picked up, stopped in and got to know each other a little bit.
• All ages mixed in that party, from first-graders to Moms. We can learn so much from each other by doing life with multi-generations.
• The Halloween Party — while certainly a lot of work — seemed like a return to simpler times to me. It seemed to value the relationships that we have in and out of church. There is something about being in someone else’s home, or bringing people into yours, that initiates a deeper, more real relationship.
• And last, this little life lesson learned: kids don’t eat chicken wings at a party.

Check back here late tonight…I’m getting ready for the big Halloween in the Hood bash! (Just made up that name…wish I’d thought of it). Buffalo wings ordered, Pizza coming, weather clear, sound system on. I think we’re all set. I’ll try to post pics and stories tonight.

Meet my friend Brad Margus. Brad was in our wedding (can it really be almost 23 years ago?). CNN did a profile on him last year, detailing his absolutely amazing fight to save two of his four children from a crippling disease. David and I have lost touch with Brad lately, but have continued to pray over his kids and follow his path to find a cure. This is a great video demonstrating what happens when abilities and skills meet passion and drive. Brad inspires us. You can read more about his foundation, the AT Children’s Project here.

This is part of Watercooler Wednesday.

For the first time in many years I am planning a Halloween party with excitement and anticipation. I’m searching out fun recipes, hunting for decorations that aren’t creepy but aren’t cheesy: not an easy combinatino to find. We’re creating music playlists and telling kids to bring their guitars or instruments to put a rocking band together (hopefully?). I’m even calling it a Halloween party without too much condemnation.

Why the transformation?

The financial crisis in the markets. You see, eventually a Wall Street crisis becomes a church budget crisis. Which means that this year there is no fall festival to supervise and manage at church. Volunteers and families like me are free to — wait for it — throw a party at home and see if the neighborhood shows up! Just think about it: what other time of year has the whole neighborhood either walking through the streets or sitting at their front door ready to practice hospitality? This year our yard is open for the party. I’ll let you know what happens.

The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you’re not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don’t take it personally when they say “no” — they may not be smart enough to say “yes”.

– Keith Olbermann

Isn’t that the truth? Just at the moment when you catch a glimpse of the stunning possibilities God might have for you, someone will inevitably pull their pin out to pop your balloon. It happened to me last night. Sitting on the porch God was speaking into the next season of my life. I was excited. I wrote my post, and then jumped onto facebook to see who I could connect with. And that’s when a family member popped all my beautiful balloons. I won’t say more about what they did — especially because it was simply an immature and poorly guided action — but I felt devalued as a person.

Here’s what amazed me, and later convicted me: their action had absolutely nothing to do with any real detail of my life. It didn’t affect me in slightest. In fact, they are the ones who are missing out on experiences and voices God wants to add to their life. Their action literally changed nothing.

But I let it erase all those lovely possibilities from my mind. I lost the vision. Their action put me into defensive mode for the rest of the night. As the quote says, I did their work for them.

Not today, my friends. Not today.

Mark Batterson, in the Wild Goose Chase chapter on not being caged by your assumptions, encouraged me to “swim in the sea of possibilities like a little child.” It’s a gorgeous, 75 degree South Florida day. I have work to do that God has given me. I have people around me who are depending on me — without even knowing it — to notice the ministry opportunites that skitter across my path during a day like today. Today I do not have time for people who are busy walling others out of opportunity.

In fact, perhaps like the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah, I will stand today on top of a wall and call down “I have a great work to do…I can not come down to your level.”

I post this because it’s midnight. And because I can. And because I laughed all by myself watching this. Watch how the chimp actually learns by trial and error!

And one further question: who taught the chimp to speak..well…whatever it is they are speaking????

There are some Starbucks stores I just can’t walk by even if I just downed a triple espresso and have no business going near more caffeine. Jeremy’s Starbucks, outside Macy’s in the Gardens Mall, is one of them. Not only have we gotten to know many of the staff by name, but we consistently enjoy a good experience in the store. Today David and I were pondering a few leadership lessons we observed while getting our fix.

• You have more than one business objective.

As we all know — mostly because Starbucks released it in their corporate press release!  — the core mission of Starbucks is to produce a quality cup of coffee. But really there are more objectives than that. In Jeremy’s store there are a few others: create community, give back to the community, be innovative, create your first impressions.

Takeaway: identify the priorities that help your core business succeed. Remember that you are in the people business, the social justice business, the hospitality industry…

• Build systems in to meet your objectives if they don’t come naturally.

Sadly, we’ve all been to a Starbucks just after they have been slammed by a rush. Tables are littered, there are spills on the floor, maybe sugar scattered over the condiment table. And yet it is Starbuck’s objective to make sure the lobby area is cleaned and straightened periodically — every ten minutes according to Jeremy. To remind himself — and staff — of this important but easily forgotten task, Jeremy has a timer going off especially during rush times. Simple solution.

Takeaway: what are the seemingly mundane, repetitive tasks that actually cause our whole system (church, home, business etc.) to run smoothly. Are we remembering to place a value on accomplishing them?

• The goal of leadership is to have a team that functions well without you.

Several times this week we’ve sat in Jeremy’s store and been taken care of as well as we are when he is there. And it isn’t (always) because the staff knows us. He has developed a culture of personal responsibility and community that can function without his physical presence for a period of time.

Takeaway: does our team fall apart without us? Do things run smoothly only because we are there to keep an eye on the minor bumps in the road or have we empowered our team to take responsibility for solutions and ideas?

• Keep a close eye on your staffing requirements and supply.

Jeremy makes sure he hires top-quality people, but only just enough to cover his hours. Why? Because a top-quality person doesn’t want to be competing for hours. They want to jump in and get the job done. An uncommitted sparse part-timer has a hard time absorbing and transmitting your company or church DNA. It’s not impossible, but harder.

Takeaway: tough times may require difficult decisions. Do you have the right number of staff to keep your energy levels high without burning anyone out?

• Exceed expectations.

Time and again Jeremy excels in this department. Today, for instance, he quietly switched our to-go cups to ceramic “stay here” cups, encouraging us to sit down and relax for a moment. It’s a little difference, but my inner coffee soul (yes, there is one) loves the look of a dopio espresso in a ceramic white cup. In another crucial area, he and his staff work hard on learning names and favorite drinks. Yes, this too is part of Starbucks culture, but it isn’t always practiced. Done well, this one idea alone leads to increased customer loyalty. We’re all in an energy-draining fight against anonymity. Simple solution.

Takeaway: look for the small areas where you or your staff can exceed an expectation on a regular basis.