Book Review–The Gospel According To Starbucks

I finished reading The Gospel According to Starbucks at where else Starbucks!

The title gave me some opportunities to talk about my church to a few patrons this morning–that is a bonus! Also, free refill again!

But I digress. Leonard Sweet is a gift to the Christian community. He recognizes trends and observations before others. You don’t have to agree with all he says but I don’t think we can’t ignore his observations.

The main idea of this book is not Starbucks. He uses Starbucks to show how they connect with their customers. He urges the church to observe what they do. Please, please understand Sweet is not telling churches to become Starbucks and paint their churches like Starbucks or even serve Starbucks Coffee. He uses Starbucks to show how they have connected with the culture–in fact they have transformed the culture. If you go to Starbucks they expect you to know “their” language -Venti, Grande and Tall (large, medium and small).

Sweet says that people go to Starbucks not for the coffee but for the experience. He says that is what the church should be. People should come to connect with God not just go through the motions.

He uses a acronym EPIC to describe what the church should be like

• E- Experiencial
• P- Participatory
• I- Image-rich
• C- Connective

Experience- Sweet asks when is the last time you saw people lined up to go to church? Well, Everytime I’ve been to Northpoint in Alpharetta I have been in a line. The atmosphere is electric. Sweet says we should be so authentic at our churches that people will line up to hear the message that we have preached through our lives. Again, this isn’t about looking cool or trendy tricks, it is about being authentic.

Participatory-Sweet told a funny story about when he went to a Starbucks in Ohio and ordered a “Black eye” and the bartista said that wasn’t in the Starbucks Bible (their handbook). He said Starbucks makes people learn their language and he is multilingual. Sweet said we need to become G.O.O.D. Get Out Of Doors. He said churches need to be less of the Staff perfoming and more of the church participating.

Image-rich-Sweet said we live in an image rich society. When you go to Starbucks it has an image-rich atmosphere. He said the church needs to preach with passionate images much like Jesus did. He used metaphors. I think I have this one down in my speaking. I usually have about 100 slides per message.

Connective-Finally people love to connect over coffee. Sweet said the church used to be the central place in the community. Meetings such as homeowners, government planning meetings, AA, etc… used to be held at churches. Not much anymore. He said the church should be like the front porch in a home where people feel welcome and hang out. He asks this question:

If your church fails as a sacred space for connection, what is missing? (p.133)

My post tomorrow will be about another point he brought up. (Teaser)

I highly recommend this book. I know this is the 2nd book in a row that I’ve given a high rating to. I hope they all do. I give The Gospel According to Starbucks 4.75 hockey sticks out of 5.