The Gospel According to Starbucks

I recently finished reading “The Gospel According to Starbucks” by Leonard Sweet (Waterbrook Press) and found it to be well worth the purchase price. Its subtitle, “Living with a Grande Passion” is appropriate and one idea in particular seemed very applicable to our ministry with the men and women of sport. Sweet used the acrostic, EPIC, to explain why Starbucks has done so well in capturing the imaginations of people all over the world with coffee and more.

 

EPIC stands for: Experiential, Participatory, Image-rich and Connecting. He further states that our expression of the Gospel of Christ would be more appealing to our generation(s) if it were also EPIC. Below are some ideas regarding the EPIC nature of our work together.

 

Experiential – our ministry is very much this way, if we are close enough to share the experiences with coaches and competitors. That’s a little dangerous because we could experience losses as well as victories. We may experience grief as well as exhilaration. Further, the more we enable the men and women of sport to experience our life in Christ, the more likely they are to love Him and commit their lives to Him. If we will pray WITH them and not just for them. If we will not treat our faith like an academic exercise and more like sharing a cup of coffee, they’ll be more deeply engaged. Help others to experience the love of Christ and they’ll find it more than attractive.

 

Participatory – our ministry is much better received when others can participate. I find that when I ask athletes to pray for each other, their hearts engage and barriers between people evaporate. When I ask others to read the scripture prior to discussion, they are thrilled to participate and their understanding of the Bible grows. When I take a coach or player with me to visit someone in the hospital, they participate in a rich part of Christ’s service. Let’s find more ways for people to participate in our ministries and they’ll find it to be an EPIC experience.

 

Image-rich – when we speak or write we must find ways to employ image-rich metaphors and stories to carry the Gospel. Recall the vivid images Jesus used in parables and all of his teaching. If we’re close enough to the sport, we’ll see the images everywhere. They are as close as last week’s game, yesterday’s practice or today’s conversation. Help them see the truth of the Gospel as illustrated by their own lives in sport. Those are the images with which they’re most familiar and which resonate most deeply.

 

Connecting – the people of sport are in an environment which simultaneously connects people and distances them from one another. Most sportspeople know that they’re at their best when they’re well connected with others, but their drive to excel and much of the general culture tries to separate them from those same people. We will do well to help them connect for support, relationship and to experience genuine Christian fellowship. Communion, koinonia, fellowship, the corporate nature of life in Christ is indispensable and EPIC. We can be the ones who introduce this dynamic form of ministry to men and women in sport. Practice hospitality well and thereby join millennia of Christ’s followers who made an impact on the world.

 

In summary, let’s be EPIC in our work with the men and women of sport and we’ll be as effective in sharing Christ with them as Starbucks has been in sharing coffee with the world.