This Coffee and Service got me thinking about lots of things.
One is that if my spies are correct Raunds is well on the way to having three coffee shops. For a town with a population of approx 8,500 and very few local jobs (the local Co-operative with 2 shops is the largest employer with 29% of the jobs in the town)! All are local companies, no chains. Which will really get this right?
Second, is to think about how this idea fits in with the Church. For many the Methodist Church will have felt like the little local coffee stores over the years. Every week you go it is a different preacher and the consistancy does not seem to be there. Fortunately, this is changing.
Firstly many churches (like Raunds Methodist Church) now have trained worship leaders, they are based in their own church and worship there every week. So by using them within the worship provides much of this consistancy.
Secondly, circuits like the Nene Valley Circuit have been innovative in other ways with local preach pairing for example, this way Churches have a closer relationship with the preachers.
Also a variety of other means are having an impact such as the Local Preachers meeting, a recognition of the need for continual development by preachers, extra attention given to information sharing, common resources such as Roots.
As you may have noticed, I am a fan of Tom Peters, he is totally fanatical about changing the way we perceive and do work, about what will make business succeed. It is radical stuff. But it also totally requires that the basics (his favourite example is the toilets) are done exceptionally well.
This is just as true for the Church (notice the connection with my earlier post 42: Turbulent Cleric: BUSH AND A DISTORTED VIEW OF GOD because what does it say about our understanding of God if we don't provide quality toilets or quality everything else in Church?) we absolutely have to get the basics right and do so consistantly.
There are lots of places and ways that define what the basics should be for a Church, but it seems to me that if you don't experience the two most important commandments in every aspect of your visit to church then we have not got them right.
Fortunately, the Methodist Church really seems to be groking this at the moment. The wording may be different but from every level of the Church we are seeing signs that we are taking this seriously and that as we do so the Holy Spirit is being set free.
In my own little world there is lots happening that shows people committed to this and taking action themselves. We see it everywhere from the Mission Committee at Ringstead Shared Church, to repainted windows at Thrapston Methodist Church, to the harvest display at Old Weston Methodist Chapel, to the plans for Christmas and work on the building in Raunds, to the new ways the congregation at Stanwick are reaching out to the community.
I was following around a lot of links as I wrote this. Some of the ideas were triggered by:
- Dana VanDen Heuvel: Tribal Knowledge & Why Starbucks still gets it right every time.
- Alex Barnett spaces blog: 7 reasons Starbucks gets it right every time.
- IT Conversations: Jason Fried - Basecamp.
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