Starbucks, Cold Brew & The Grace Of God

I pulled up to the drive through speaker and could literally taste the cold brew coffee I was craving (when it’s hot outside I love cold coffee!)  

Glancing at the menu board as the person taking my order asked me what I wanted, I saw a cup of cold brew coffee prominantly displayed.  

“I would like a venti cold brew please, no cream or sugar,” I said.  

“I’m sorry sir - we are out of cold brew,” was the reply, “can I get you something else?”  

Obviously disappointed, I actually did order something and then pulled around to the drive window to pay.  

“I’m sorry you didn’t get what you wanted daddy,” my daughter said to me.  

“It’s ok sweetheart,” I said, “they actually don’t have cold brew coffee here around 90% of the time.”  (Not an overstatement - the location where I was hardly EVER has it.)  

“If they don’t have cold brew coffee—then why do they advertise it so much,” she asked.  

I honestly didn’t have an answer - it was a great question, why would a company continually go out of it’s way to advertise a product (cold brew coffee) they actually did not have.  

However, it didn’t cause me to question the leadership it Starbucks - but rather caused me to think about the church…

…because…

…the church often advertises “grace,” but when grace is needed it seems to seldom be available.  

Yes, the church believes in the grace of God…for people who dress the right way, have G-rated weekends and always have a smile on their face.  

However…

• When a person is battling with depression
• When a person has an addiction
• When a marriage is falling apart
• When a girl becomes pregnant and isn’t married

…just like Starbucks and cold brew—the church is all to often out of grace.  

The reason most people in the South don’t go to church isn’t because they can’t find one—it’s because they’ve been to one.  

AND - when they were at their lowest, weakest and most vulnerable place in life—knowing bad decisions had been made and desperately wanting to make things right—they often received condemnation rather that experiencing the love of someone who cared enough to have a conversation and find out the “why” behind what was going on in their lives.  

I heard someone say recently said, “When the woman caught in adultery was brought in front of Jesus He said, ‘Then neither do I condemn you - go and sin no more,’ and yet today’s version of Christianity seems to say, “Go and sin no more—and then I will not condemn you.” 

And - in many cases people choose to win the argument over preserving the relationship - and in so doing drive people away, justifying it in many cases as church discipline.  

Don’t get me wrong - there are definitely times when lines have been crossed and correction is needed; however, when correction is rooted in a desire to be right rather than a genuine love for the person being corrected - then correction always turns into condemnation.  

How do I know so much about this?  

Simple - I used to be one of the guys who believed in grace - until someone actually needed it.  

Pride was the pedestal I propped myself up on, knowing the words to “Amazing Grace,” but believing I was such a good person that God somehow wanted me to be the one who chose who was and was not worthy of HIs grace.  In other words - I was advertising cold brew, but all I had was hot coffee.  

Then I hit a wall - hard, and realized that grace isn’t for “those people” - but also for the guy I see every morning in the mirror.  

And the people who made a difference in my life during this time were the ones who chose to show love instead of deliver lectures, to walk with instead of stand against - and the only reason I was able to make it through the most difficult season of my life was because of the people who believed in grace for me…even when I didn’t believe in it for myself.  

If you’ve been wounded by the church I want to say I am sorry.  In my quest for holiness and piety I steamrolled my fair share of people who needed mercy instead of me tearing them down.  

My hope and prayed is you will know that, even if the church showed you zero grace—Jesus still does.  

Jesus knew every sinful, self-centered decision we were ever going to make, and yet chose to create us anyway and arrange for our sin to be paid for.  

His love is unconditional.  

His patience is unbelievable.  

And His kindness is always available as a means to draw us to Him (Romans 2:4.)

I’m not sure if Starbucks will ever get their Cold Brew situation dealt with; however, I really do pray that as the church we will begin to see people as Jesus sees people, feel for people as Jesus feels for people - and draw them in rather than push them away with the understanding everyone deserves a second chance (and a third, fourth, fifth…)