Coffee Giveaway

Maybe, just maybe, I'm too pessimistic in life. About some things, at least. There are other things about which I think my pessimism is fully justified until I see some evidence to the contrary, but that's well off-topic.

On Saturday, we tried a second attempt at a hot coffee giveaway in front of Wal-Mart, the first having been called off on account of snow. The goal: give away coffee, refusing to take anything in return. Sounds simple, but lets face it - when you see tables and people in front of any store, do you (a) stop to consider what they are doing, or (b) avoid eye contact, speed up, and avoid them as much as possible - perhaps using little old ladies as a human shield?

I was sure it was doomed to failure, but I felt that way about our car wash, too. The initial experience confirmed my fears - lots of human shields, no one really wanting coffee. I took the easy task of holding a sign, which became harder as the temperature dropped and my fingers numbed... but it meant I didn't have to be the one getting rejected over and over, and that's a welcome change of pace (no. I promise. I won't go there, and I will stay on topic). I did, however, talk to a few brave souls that ventured over to the table - meaning, I answered questions if they asked. I also made eye contact with people, smiled, and wished them a good morning.

I was amazed that as the day went on, we had not a few people who were genuinely curious what in the world we were doing, but who didn't want any coffee. "What is this for?" "We're a new church in the south, and every two weeks we try to get out in the community to serve in some way, like..." It's really useful to be able to rattle off some of the events and service projects we've done, and it's proof that we're not out here trying to slip in under your radar but that we simply believe it's important to serve others, just because. Having a track record of doing so, both with a variety of non-partisan groups and on your own, is a useful way of demonstrating your motives, I think.

I also decided that "bless" is a Christianese word that we need to get out of the habit of using. I think it's a useful word, but when you shout at a passerby that you want to bless them, I wonder if they are curious who sneezed. I much prefer "give" and "serve," which both convey the what-we-are-trying-to-accomplish message, without unnecessary obfuscation.

Finally, it's always great when I see new faces at our Servant Evangelism projects. We had several at this one, and it's encouraging beyond words to watch people grow from being hearers of the Word to doers, also.