Thursday, November 20, 2008

Church and Starbucks

This video is making its way around a few blogs that I read, so I might as well post it. I honestly haven't totally made up my mind about it yet, because I find the message a little convoluted. I mean, I get what they're going for, but I think they could have used a different example. Anyway, go ahead and watch and leave a comment. I'll save further reflections for later.


Ben said...

I think I pulled my face muscles from cringing too hard.
The premise is pretty ridiculous, but I think they hit a nerve somewhere.

Coffeepastor said...

I get their basic point: the church, as well-intentioned as it may be, can be uncomfortable and/or inhospitable to "outsiders."

But then the metaphor turns stupid: "javaluia"? They didn't need to scream at the viewer, "This is like church! Do you see how this is like church?!" They could have done enough subtle things to make their point (filling out the visitor form, visitors being singled out by raising their hands, the greeter not doing his job, the locked door, the stupid slogans, etc.).

I'm also not altogether sure if the Starbucks thing works, either. In this day and age, there are plenty of churches trying to be like Starbucks, and now we have a spoof of Starbucks trying to be like church. There's a certain irony in their choice. They could have done a restaurant chain, or even something like the post office.

Present and Accounted For said...

A bit of overkill