Soapbox Post

Last night Seth and I went to eat in downtown Fort Worth at Uno’sPizza. After walking five blocks in heels, I was already a bit on the grumpy side. On our way back to the parking garage, I was set over the edge as we saw a group of extremists waving signs and shouting phrases at people like “Jesus HATES alcohol” and “Get right or go to hell”.

Seriously, this made me sick. Then I heard the leader of this cohort shout hateful things to a girl who had flipped him off. “You just need to grow up and get right,” were his exact words. It took everything in me to not intervene on her behalf and shout, ”NO, you just need to grow up and get right. I am pretty sure that Jesus made no coverts through yelling hateful phrases and waving condeming signs in peoples’ faces.”

 How about “He without sin cast the first stone.” I wonder if he has ever heard of that one?

I know I am on a soapbox, hence my blog title, but it is no wonder that Christianity is so unattractive to people. I wanted to go ’Jesus in the temple’ on them and grab the signs out of their hands and rip them up.  I think for so long we have been more into what the church is against and what ‘Jesus hates’ instead of sharing the very real and attractive truth of what Jesus is all about: us.

I can feel my heart beating faster and blood pressure rising, so I think that means it is officially time for me to step off of my box and go release energy through a quick jog.

Lessons from a Starbucks Barista

The past 4 months I worked as a Starbucks barista. I learned an enormous amount of information about coffee. Who knew that the coffee bean originated from a cherry? I also learned about people, connection, and building genuine relationships with unbelievers.  These are a few simple lessons that I learned while wearing that green apron.

• Love people JUST THE WAY they are.  I learned to let people know that I didn’t expect them to be anyone other than themselves. Jesus loved people junk and all.
• “Just say yes.” This Starbucks Coffee Company policy could go a long way if we would apply it to going out of our way to meet the needs of others around us.
• Always exceed expectations. Simple enough.
• Know people and know their ‘drink’. What if we really got to know people beyond a name?
• Lots of coffee at night=little sleep and many bathroom trips.
• People need and crave connection. Some will visit Starbucks numerous times a day for this simple reason. If you genuinely ask someone about their life, you might be surprised at how much they will tell you.

I was sad that I had to give back my two green aprons and even more sad that my 30% discount and weekly free pounds of coffee are no longer available to me, but I know that God positioned me in that store to teach me about people and myself. Next time you order a Grande White Mocha with no whip, think about the barista behind the counter, and ask, genuinely ask,”How are you?”.