May 17, 2012

Coffee Talk: Mega-church style

It's no secret that coffee and church go together like, well, heresy and preaching. Besides the ubiquitous Coffee Hour that has followed every gathering of Christians since the Last Supper, rarely is a mega-church built these days without a coffee shop on the premises.

Christians drinking coffee is a good thing -- I highly recommend it. Unfortunately these church coffee shops get named by Christians who likely only drink decaf. Below are few of my "favorites" though, in full disclosure mode, I admit a recurring fantasy to retire and open a coffee shop called "Sacred Grounds."

[caption id="attachment_4579" align="alignleft" width="300"] Peachtree United Methodist Church, Atlanta, GA[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4576" align="alignleft" width="300"] Gulf Shores United Methodist Church, Gulf Shores, AL[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4575" align="alignleft" width="300"] Life Church, Laurel, MS[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4574" align="alignleft" width="300"] Faith Church, Dyer, IL[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4573" align="alignleft" width="202"] Bethel Life Worship Center, Greenville, PA[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4572" align="alignleft" width="300"] Covenant Glen Church, Rosharon, TX[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4571" align="alignleft" width="283"] Valley Word Church, Salem, VA[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4570" align="alignleft" width="300"] Relevant Church, Carrolton, KY[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4569" align="alignleft" width="280"] Missouri United Methodist Church, Columbia, MO[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4567" align="alignleft" width="300"] Victory Life Church, Sherman, TX[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4566" align="alignleft" width="300"] Coquitlam Alliance Church, British Columbia[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4565" align="alignleft" width="157"] New Life Church, Sullivan, IL[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4564" align="alignleft" width="300"] Franklin Road Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, TN[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4563" align="alignleft" width="300"] Faith Church, New Milford, CT[/caption]

6 comments:

Laurie Atwater said...

How about "Chapel-ccino" or maybe "Jubi-latte"?

Father Tim said...

Good ones, Laurie! And then there's the well known holy dude St. Arbucks.

Gillian Butler said...

There was a "Sacred Grounds" coffee shop on the premises of a Quality Inn near my house. They are no longer in business. On a decidedly less Christian note, I enjoy going to the Seven Virtues coffee house; good coffee and food, virtuous atmosphere :)

Fr. Jack Marshall said...

I like the poor devils in Seattle, stuck with Seattle roast!!

Cynthia Hallas said...

I can believe all the names of the coffee shops, but really, there's a congregation whose actual name is "Relevant Church"???

Trent DeJong said...

I have some concerns regarding church coffee. Christians often apply the concept of "stewardship" when it comes to the allocation of funds. It doesn't do to waste money. Consequently, those who by the coffee for consumption at church do so responsibly and buy inexpensive coffee. In the case of coffee this is exactly the wrong thing to do. I've written a piece about stewardship and coffee. It's a look at coffee under the headings of "Creation-Fall-Redemption."

If you are interested in enjoying coffee, and being a good steward of creation and loving your neighbor, read this: http://www.squidoo.com/coffee-and-conscience