First Christian Church of Starbucks

Everyday before I go to work, I stop at Starbucks to get coffee. It's a habit, but I could think of worse things to get addicted to.

I've stumbled over a series of posts about the "Green Apron Book" a book given to baristas at the chain. It lists these five values:

1. Be Welcoming: Offer everyone a sense of belonging
2. Be Genuine: Connect, discover, respond
3. Be Knowledgeable: Love what you do. Share it with others.
4. Be Considerate: Take care of yourself, each other, and the environment.
5. Be Involved: In the store, in the company, and in the community.

The question all these other blogs ask is, what if the church were marketed like Starbucks? One blogger cuts to the chase:

it occurs to me why many churches are in decline. Because we have Starbucks! Starbucks tries to be everything to your community that your church used to be. They attempt to offer a sense of community, belonging, caring people, civic responsibility, genuine relationships, and enriching experiences. They basically offer everything but Jesus (which is the one thing in the church's favor).

It's kinda sad that the church is losing out to a coffee chain.

I've been thinking about how these principles could relate to my church. What if First Christian made the Green Apron Book it's mission statement? What if we stopped just talking about wanting to change and just did this for a month? Would we?