February 26, 2008 was a significant day in the business world because Starbuck’s shut down its entire operation for about three hours to re-train the thousands of baristas who put the seemingly endless menu of coffee and tea drinks together. If I understood the news report, the reason for the shut down was that some of the drinks were not being prepared correctly; apparently the recipes were either ignored or “creatively augmented” in a number of the thousands of shops across the nation. Corporate life being what it is, the guys in quality control determined the solution to the problem was the drastic measure that hit us in our coffee cups on that “fateful” Tuesday.
Now I have to admit that I enjoy an occasional trip to the famous coffee bars. My son once worked in a Starbuck’s and proclaimed unequivocally, “It’s a cult!” While I am not devoted to the company, I appreciate the sense of excellence that I have always managed to find when I invest my $3.75 for a “tall vanilla skinny latte” or “mocha frappachino.” (BTW: Why is the shortest cup labeled tall?) I digress….
As I watched the TV coverage of the shutdown I was stuck by an implied comparison: The company made a commitment to excellence; I wondered to what degree we in the church hold that same value for the work that we do. Imagine for a moment how much money Starbuck’s sacrificed during that 3-hour training period. Let’s speculate: If each store averages 30 customers an hour who spend approximately $5 each ($150 total/hr), times 3 hours ($450 gross/store) times… what, 5000 stores? That’s $2,250,000! I’d call that a major commitment!
Well, the point here is not to boost Starbuck’s already inflated stock price or go overboard in doing some free advertising for them. The idea is to applaud their concern for quality in the products they produce. How much do you value excellence in your faith pilgrimage? What sacrifice do you make to improve the quality of your Christian walk?
The Apostle Paul—a Christian Quality Control Officer if ever there was one—repeatedly called for us to "live a life worthy of the Lord." (Col. 1:10) In Philippians 1:27 he said it this way: "Conduct yourselves in manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." In Ephesians 4:1 he says, "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." The quality standard is pretty high! The measure is Christ himself and the gospel to which he has called us, and living up to that standard—though functionally impossible because of the sin in our lives—remains the primary objective for those who have asked Jesus to be Lord.
Paul’s letter to the Colossians provides just one curriculum (among many) for the re-training we all need to do in order to produce the best “product” we can through our lives. In 3:1-2 the apostle challenges disciples to "set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…." He follows with a veritable laundry list of “do’s and don’ts”: things to eliminate and things to add so that the life we present to the world is as close to the ideal (Christ-like) as we (with the help of the Holy Spirit) can make it. Take this challenge (the formula is pretty simple): Look up! Work hard! Try this--Re-read Colossians 3. I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.
The theory is fantastic. The problem comes with “local management.” Our internal “quality control system” has been letting us down sense the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The challenge is to recognize the value of doing a “shutdown” in order to retrain our lives to produce the product that God intends. The question remains: Are you committed to excellence in your Christian walk?
