 Grande Mocha, extra hot |
| Review Date: March 17, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Stephan R. Breon, Kansas City, Missouri |
| Len Sweet builds on the delight of a great cup of coffee by showing how the church might capture some of the flavor, heat and zest discovered in a Starbucks store. The metaphore is worth exploring. Why should the church always take secondary places to the vitality present in culture? Read the Gosple According to Starbucks and you will find fresh insights for communicating the gospel in dynamic and relevant ways. Once again Len Sweet stokes grande passion for Christ. |
EPIC BREW
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| Review Date: March 4, 2007 |
| Reviewer: M. T. Kohanski, Ohio, USA |
I found this book to be outstanding! In our book study we are promoting each partcipant to review one of the Being Real Engages the World thought provoking questions daily to help them in their spiritual journey. Our class has gone from 5 people to 14 people because the original five liked it so much. There are 2 more discussion groups, one for over 70years and the other for 15-18years of age, being formed for a 6 week series to experience a different way to grow into Christ.
Sweet puts growing spiritually into a format that appeals to many people whether they drink Starucks or not. We are finding many points from architecture, space, service, mission to prayer and images coming up from remarks Sweet has made. Our discussion group is participating fully and meeting to combine our thoughts (provoked by our discussions) to find ways we can reach out into our neighborhood to help make our church connecting to others.
Sweet certainly has put out information, comparisions and questions that have helped us realize we need to put as much energy into growing ourselves spiritually, as we spend "talking" about how to this and that.
Sweet really has put into a small book a way to experience God and connect with our neighbors. Our group is having an irreistible faith experience with Jesus as the center. |
Captures the contextual intelligence that Christians can gain from studying the Starbucks way of doing business
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| Review Date: June 5, 2007 |
| Reviewer: FaithfulReader.com, New York, New York |
A while back I stood on a street corner in a major U.S. city and counted five Starbucks stores within my limited range of vision. I wondered what on earth they were thinking; weren't they concerned all these stores would cannibalize each other? Well, no, they weren't concerned at all, and their reasoning sheds light on the company's phenomenal success --- and what the church can learn from the Starbucks knack for engaging the culture and transforming it in the process. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO STARBUCKS offers a delightful romp through the world of a company that changed the way we take our cup o' joe. And along the way, the book offers a wealth of insights that will help the church engage the culture --- and maybe, just maybe, help transform it, changing the way people relate to God and express their faith.
But first, to the author. If Leonard Sweet's contribution to the literature of the church was limited to his academic, theological works on postmodernism, that would be enough to earn our gratitude. The fact that he also remembers the masses makes his writing a doubly valuable asset. This is one of his books for the masses, and for reasons I can't quite pinpoint, it's one of his best of that kind. Maybe it's the fascinating tidbits about Starbucks's history and corporate culture that pepper the book; maybe it's the oh-so-familiar behavior of caffeine-addicted consumers like me; maybe it's the dots he connects between extreme sports and karaoke and reality TV and a chain of coffee houses. Whatever it is, he brews up a whole lot of fun and pours out his best blend of information, insights, wisdom and casual writing style.
To help us "get" the Starbucks culture, Sweet uses the acronym EPIC: experiential, participatory, image-rich and connective. If you've ever entered a Starbucks store (forgetting for a moment the kiosks in airports and other locations), you know what Sweet means. At Starbucks, you're not buying a cup of coffee; you're immersing yourself in a cultural Experience. You're not settling for the ordinary; you're "living with a grande passion," as the subtitle reveals. Unlike fast-food franchises, Starbucks encourages you to Participate by allowing you to create your own customized beverage from something like 55,000 potential combinations; you can truly "have it your way" there. (Just imagine asking for a medium-well burger at Burger King.) Every Starbucks store is rich in Images, much more like a medieval cathedral than the gymnasiums that are home to so many of our worship services.
Perhaps most importantly --- at least for me --- Starbucks offers a Connection with others. I love this quote from the book: "In a culture without a front porch, in a culture where we built up the backs of our houses with decks and walls, not the fronts of our houses where we might connect with a passing neighbor; in a world where we invested in privacy over hospitality, Starbucks spoke these words: 'We'll be your front porch. Hang out here.'" The message to the church, found in all four EPIC words, is obvious: we need to provide a deeper spiritual experience, greater opportunity for participation, powerful images that tell the story of God, and a welcoming atmosphere that encourages genuine connection with others. I suspect the aroma of freshly brewed coffee couldn't hurt.
As in nearly all of his books, Sweet reminds us that faith as an authentic lifestyle is often missed when "right-thinking" --- and overthinking --- crowns reason as the master over our lives. Granting that level of power to "reason" has robbed us of a "grande gospel, frappuccino faith, venti life of romance and passion," he writes. "Starbucks took an old, unexciting standby --- hot, dark liquid in a cup --- and made it an EPIC beverage that millions of people feel they can't live without. That, in a very few words, captures the contextual intelligence that Christians can gain from studying the Starbucks way of doing business."
--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford |
Gospel According to Starbucks
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| Review Date: July 9, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Kathleen Galvin, |
| This is one great book on congregational development. My entire church board is reading it and we will be using it as a guide for the upcoming year. I've been preaching E.P.I.C. for the last three weeks and people--in the pews are taking notes! |
DO YOU CRAVE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES?
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| Review Date: July 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Maria Battista Hancock, Italy & USA |
'the Jesus example of meaning and passion over duty and obligation moves people' & I also love when Len says 'coffee is a sensory drink...' (chapeter 1) are you a coffee evangelist? 'the EPIC life is organic and unscripted' are you and extreme follower of the Christ? this book is like having a 1:1 conversation with one of the most brilliant minds of our times. how good to be reminded that god calls us 'friends' and wants to connect with us- and guys, THIS IS REAL STUFF. if you like the status quo of your being this book is not for you...on the other hand if deep inside you know YOU ARE AN EXTREME SPIRITUAL PLAYER- then DIVE! into this book and let's join in the revolution started by 13 men + their friends, 2000 years ago or so...
other favorites:SoulSalsaAquaChurch: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today's Fluid Culture |
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