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RSSAs many of you know, I used to work for Starbucks back in Cincinnati (Northern Kentucky to be exact). My store had many regular visitors, so we got to know about 30% of the people on a first name basis. The community was great.
One of the frequenters was named Joe. He was a very timid guy who always just got a cup of coffee. After several visits and conversations, I discovered the reason he only drank coffee was because he didn’t know what everything else was. And like myself, he did not want to spend $4 on something he may not enjoy.
So one night I gave him an americano for free just to see if he liked it. Being such a big coffee drinker, the americano suited him just right, and this became his drink of choice from then on.
Because of these events we actually talked more. One night he came up to me and thanked me for my kindness and wanted to return the favor sometime. He said that he offers entertainment for parties, and if I ever needed anything to just call the number on his card. As he slid his business card to me, the first thing I saw was, “Girls! Girls! Girls!” That’s right. He owned a stripper business.
I found the situation to be quite hilarious. There I was, a recent Bible College graduate getting handed a business card from a manager of a stripping company. Looking back, however, I wish I had more of these encounters. As awkward as the situation was, that is exactly what Jesus would have done.
- “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” -Luke 15:2
I want to meet more people like Joe. We all should. But how will you go about building a relationship with such people? I’ve been wrestling with the idea of playing music at local bars. Maybe that will be my avenue.
Jimmy D
May 06, 2009 @ 21:30:25
“how will you go about building a relationship with such people?”
If I may, I would like to take a stab at answering that question… I would suggest that you already know the answer. Do exactly what you did with Joe. Your hospitality and gentle spirit allowed you to build a relationship with Joe without you even realizing that it had the potential to lead to a moment that you could share something of eternal value with him. He came in, you invested in him by knowing his name in a world where people usually just don’t pay attention to names. You continued to build the relationship one investment at a time… Then you gave him a coffee to try. Trust was established with just small gestures of kindness. It lead up to Joe wanting to give you something (funny that it was a free strip show…but friendship was being established regardless of what he was trying to give you).
I think sometimes we try to hard to build a structured plan or “speech” that we can then give to someone that will win them over…when really all we need to do is excersise random acts of kindness and love. That is what you did and Joe ended up offering you a free show!!!!! I bet that if that happened again, you would offer Joe something much better than his offer…
Erin
May 09, 2009 @ 10:39:54
That’s awesome Mick! That is exactly the kind of people who need to see examples of Christ followers. I think you playing in bars is a great idea, it’s worked for Lance. The people you’d encounter might be thinking ok he’ll play here, this dude may not be half bad, maybe he’s got something good to say. Good luck! We’d come to see you!
Missio
May 21, 2009 @ 19:19:49
We noticed that you listed The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. You must have thought back to your Starbucks experience when Hugh talked about the beginnings of Adullam.
One of the questions Matt and Hugh often received following the launch of their book was “Loved the book, but how do I get my community to do that?” The newly launched The Tangible Kingdom Primer is our effort to help small groups and churches do just that. It is an 8-week guide to creating missional and incarnational communities.
If you would like to receive a free copy of the Primer, please contact us at: books{AT}crmleaders.org. Please provide your name, the street mailing address you would like it delivered to (no P.O. Box please) and your email address. In the subject line, put Tangible Kingdom Primer Blog Copy.
For more details on the Primer, please log on to http://www.tangiblekingdom.com