The Revolutionary Cup of Joe

Over spring break, I sat in a well-known coffeeshop in south Orange County with a couple of friends.

Two things to address:

The first thing being that the atmosphere at this shop is outstanding. At the end of the bar is an in-store roaster. The wall that is lined with tall tables is also painted beige, but when you look closely you begin to see that the pattern in the wall is actually coffee bags that have been plastered over with open patches. The workers are knowledgeable, the coffee is amazing and the people were trendy. Overall, this place is a perfect level 4.

The second thing is revolution. Allow me to follow such an inspired, generic word with my own feelings. I sat at a table with my two friends. As I read Hemingway, one friend read a book on the Rwandan genocide, and the other listened to lectures on systematic theology. I began to think of all the sorts of things that have happened in cafes. Sartre preached existential thought to his fledglings in cafes. The beatniks found the poetry of the soul in cafes. Debatably, folk was revived in the acoustic sets of the 90’s in cafes. Sometimes I wonder why God has instilled this passion inside me. It seems as though He is taking me down a different path. Finding a passion for God in ministry has at times lessened and at other times greatened my longing to one day dive back into the world of coffee. I have come to find, while studying at a Christian University, that passion for God can be found in all kinds of ministry. I see entire departments passionate and waiting to serve and see God at work in their chosen professions. I see this university releasing thousands of twenty-something’s that are desperate to see the world worship the Lord. This sets a fire in me that screams for revolution. It reminds me that revolution begins in the strangest of places, in the churches, in the offices, in the galleries, in the universities, and -God willing- in the cafes. I feel as though I am thinking grandly of something so simple. Two brothers are sitting in wicker chairs on a patio, sipping espresso and discussing the depravity of man. A group of close friends has gathered on the sofa chairs in a corporate cafe to drink cheap coffee and hash out the concept of humanity’s necessity for Christ. A women’s small group gathering in the evening to drink tea and converse on the topic of absolute truth. Sitting nearby each of these scenarios is a curious person who might have never heard it put quite that way or a teenager who feels as though he has hit rock bottom. Truth is contagious. Revolution is all around us.

While I don't know if I will ever own that level 5 cafe that I have always wanted, there is one thing I do know. The coffee shop is my venue for the revolution my Lord and Savior has stirred up inside my heart. Do you know what your venue is?

Tour Life,
Hebrew Hammer Out.