Every time I visit family in Seattle, I always have at least one family member act out their seemingly civic duty of taking me to the nearest Starbucks for a caffeinated beverage. (I refuse to say coffee because I don't like coffee unless it is doctored beyond recognition with lots of cream and sugar and other goodness to take the coffee flavor away.) Well, last time I was at a coffee shop with my grandparents, I noticed two girls sipping their caffeinated beverages in a corner. One girl was talking excitedly while the other listened intently, occasionally nodding. Being the avid people watcher that I am, hopefully without being creepy, I spotted a lanyard around Miss Excited Talker's neck that said JESUS. This excited me for multiple reasons. 1. I had the same lanyard that I used to have my keys on before it broke, and I am vain enough to believe that I have very good taste.
2. Miss Excited Talker was a fellow believer and she was possibly discipling or sharing something about her faith with the girl she was with.
3. My suspicion was confirmed that Christians are obsessed with coffee.
Today I spent the afternoon hanging out with one of the young ladies I mentored from The Intersection after school program. She is fourteen years old, is obsessed with Twilight (Jacob specifically) and loves God. Saweeeet combo! After we ate lunch, I asked if she was up for going to a coffee shop and hanging out with me. She could play around on my computer, while I worked on support letters for Edge Corps. Done deal. She got an iced coffee, and I got a green tea latte.
While working on support letters I couldn't help but think about how heavily coffee shops have been influenced by Christian culture, or rather, how Christian culture has been influenced by coffee shops. When I first came to Christ I would have older women ask me, "Wanna do coffee and chat?" which roughly translates into, "Wanna talk about your relationship with Christ and perhaps iron out what you're struggling with?"
At first, (as a freshman and new believer) I wasn't sure what to do, not liking coffee and all. Should I order coffee anyway because we were "doing coffee"? It seemed dishonest to get tea. We weren't "doing tea." Also, should I come prepared with a list of my struggles? You know, a systematic checklist of sins that I was working through. I was unfamiliar with the Christian Coffee Protocol.
Yes, these thoughts and more were running through my head at Kaldis today with my little fourteen year old disciple who is seven inches taller than I am. She was on Facebook, while I was writing personalized notes on my support letters asking people to join my team. Perhaps next year, God will put some freshmen women in my life who are hungry to know more about Christ and the Bible. Perhaps I will call them and ask if they want to "do coffee." Perhaps they will be nervous about it because they will not like coffee. Perhaps I will ease their fears and order a vanilla bean frappe first so that they see that coffee is not a prerequisite for coffee dates in my book.
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