Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
— Exodus 3:1-5 [NIV]
Last year’s comments by Pastor John Piper’s about sipping coffee in church, sparked a highly, caffeinated debate. (Fox News). Now that this site is back up and running, I would like to add my two sips to that discussion.
Some Personal Background About Me
To understand my point of view in this debate, you need to know a few things about me.
I Am Not Addicted to Coffee, At Least that is What I Tell Myself
Let’s start by my admitting that I look forward to that first sip of coffee each morning. Even the smell of coffee as it brews gives me a smile on an otherwise dead face. However, I do not consider myself addicted. My first cup is more often than not is decaf and as hot as my coffee machine can give. Coffee can either be hot or ice cold, but lukewarm? Never. To keep it hot, I microwave it every thirty minutes or so just to get it back to an acceptable temperature. Yes, it can take a few hours to finish that first cup, but I am in no hurry.
Unlike most, I have never relied on caffeine to wake me up in the morning. What zaps me awake is the burning sensation I feel each time I sip coffee that is just below the boiling point.
The only exception to this ritual is when I splurge and make myself a hot mocha. Unlike my normal cup of strong , black coffee, the mocha version cannot be reheated to my liking due to the milk in the mix. As a result, I tend to drink mochas in under 10 minutes. My addition to dark chocolate may also have something to do with tossing them back so fast. I limit myself to one a week, most of the time.
My Church Experience While Growing Up was Old School
The other thing you should know before giving my two sips is my church experience as a child. I grew up in a conservative Greek Orthodox church. So conservative that the women sat on the left side of the isle and men on the right. The service was in Ukrainian, which I never learned since it was not spoken at home.
Each Sunday, I had to sit quietly with four brothers, who also did not understand what was being said. Five boys, sitting together, bored out of their minds and nothing to distract them other than each other. To this day I can feel the glare of my dad looking at me whenever I began to tap one of my brothers or my dozing off during the sermon. I can only imagine what he would have done if I brought my bowl of cereal to snack on during the service.
On to the Sipping Coffee in Church Debate
I understand some people do need their coffee in the morning, whether or not it is an addiction. People are creatures of habit, especially in the morning when they are only half awake. Coffee just seems to make the morning chaos more manageable. Yet fifty years ago no one would have thought to bring their coffee into the church service. What changed?
Well, local coffee shops started opening up around the country and around the world. You have to admit, that was creative marketing. What cost you twenty cents at home now requires you to drive somewhere and spend two or more dollars for the same drip coffee. Ok, not quite the same, you can have them add another shot of caffeine into you cup. Don’t forget to add another four dollars for something to dip into that cup of coffee.
In the last thirty years, coffee shops have become the go to place for both physical and virtual conversations. People from all walks of life and age gather there to work or relax as they sip their specialty coffee. If coffee shops have become the place to meet, is it any wonder that churches, hoping to fill their own chairs, have started serving coffee as well?
This is not even a new trend. My first church coffee house experience was back in 1975. Coffee was available after the service, along with a stale selection of donuts from the local grocery store. However, over the years, what started with five gallon percolators have transitioned to sleek brewing stations. Coffee is now available anytime, not just after the service. You can grab a cup after, before, or even during the service if it’s necessary. Simply put, the church’s coffee shop experience has expanded into our sanctuaries.
Does Coffee Belong in Our Church Services
With my childhood church experience, I tend to agree with Pastor Piper. I actually struggle with people bringing coffee into the church service to sip on. Let’s not get started on those who come in late but manage to grab a coffee at the local shop. Yes, I am being judgmental. Yes, I am unforgiving. And yes, God is working on me to let it all go.
Over the last several years I have grown to the point where I can resist the urge to glare at those people as my father did to me. If your church allows coffee in the sanctuary, go for it. After all, they are setting the standards for their respective church services, not me. But what about God’s standards? For some reason I can’t get Exodus 3:5 or Webster’s definition of Sanctuary out of my head each time I enter.
When We Conform to the World
Let me take my point of view a step further.
Second to coffee shops as a place to relax and unwind is the local restaurants and bars. They offer stressed out workers a “Happy Hour” to relax in after work. A snack or two along with wine, a micro-brew, or even hard liqueur for those bad days. If churches are trying to compete with the world, why not join in and offer alcoholic beverages at their coffee stations as well? Many a sermons I have sat through that could have been improved with a glass of wine to sip along. Granted, most services tend to happen before noon, but that is not really the point.
The point is, should churches, in trying to reach those in the world, mimic the social aspects of the world? Should the church conform to the ways of the world to draw the world into church? I always felt the opposite was true. The Church is to be a place of refuge from the rest of the world, not part of it. [Jn 15:18-19].
In all honesty, Jesus doesn’t really care. He has no problem with our sipping coffee before, after, or even during the service. I even think Jesus would be the first to offer us a box of popcorn to munch on during the service, especially if He knew we missed breakfast [Mat 15:32-37]. He knows we are a broken people. Jesus knows we need a savior, and not just any savior, we need Him. He alone can free each of us from the idols in our lives, even coffee. That is why he chose to die on the cross, needed to die, needed to pay the price that releases us from the bondages of this world. To be removed from the world to live a life with Him. I guess the question is knowing the price He paid, shouldn’t we care how we honor Him in worship and in our sanctuaries?
Blessings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Rob Nimchuk
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