Saturday, March 31, 2007
Mexico Action
View more pictures HERE.
From March 16 through 20 I joined five others from my church on a missions trip to Mexico City, Mexico. It was a short trip, but our goals were clear. We went there to establish a missional partnership with Senda de Vida (Life Path Church). Our church has had a vibrant local missional partnership with Love INC, their mission being to mobilize churches in Rapid City to help those in need. We had been on the lookout for a cross-cultural missional partnership for some time. By way of a couple key recommendations we began email communications with Alex Sicilia, the pastor of Senda de Vida.
What we found was that Senda de Vida is in many respects the Mexican version of our church, young leadership and a similar size congregation being only the beginning of the similarities. Senda de Vida currently has fourteen cell groups that meet regularly all over their city. Our church has around a dozen community groups that meet in various homes and in the church itself. Both churches are passionate about sharing the message of Jesus Christ with our communities and seeing lives impacted!
During the course of our few days together I was deeply moved by the people, particularly their love and hospitality toward us. They opened their homes to us, loaded their tables with incredible food, lavished us with hugs and kisses, and shared their lives with us. When it came time to leave Mexico City we realized we were leaving behind brothers and sisters.
On this trip we were able to help them paint some things in their worship center, held a youth rally, participated in Sunday morning worship, had a moving meeting with the leaders of the church, explored the city a bit, and even had time to squeeze in a couple games of soccer. Looking long-term we see our missional partnership being two churches in diverse settings that are committed to teaming together to more effectively carry out their mission of seeing people transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. It is essential that there is a two-way relationship – both churches contributing in significant ways. There are many things that our church has already learned from Senda de Vida and I believe that will only continue to happen as the years go by.
View more pictures HERE.
What we found was that Senda de Vida is in many respects the Mexican version of our church, young leadership and a similar size congregation being only the beginning of the similarities. Senda de Vida currently has fourteen cell groups that meet regularly all over their city. Our church has around a dozen community groups that meet in various homes and in the church itself. Both churches are passionate about sharing the message of Jesus Christ with our communities and seeing lives impacted!
On this trip we were able to help them paint some things in their worship center, held a youth rally, participated in Sunday morning worship, had a moving meeting with the leaders of the church, explored the city a bit, and even had time to squeeze in a couple games of soccer. Looking long-term we see our missional partnership being two churches in diverse settings that are committed to teaming together to more effectively carry out their mission of seeing people transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. It is essential that there is a two-way relationship – both churches contributing in significant ways. There are many things that our church has already learned from Senda de Vida and I believe that will only continue to happen as the years go by.
View more pictures HERE.
Labels: ChurchLife
# posted by pk : 4:53 PM
Comments:
Paul,
You did an EXCELLENT job of leading this trip. I enjoy learning from you bro.
Also, you hit a home run this past Sunday! Way to go!
Brandon
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You did an EXCELLENT job of leading this trip. I enjoy learning from you bro.
Also, you hit a home run this past Sunday! Way to go!
Brandon
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The Swan Song...
As I recently got a new stamp in my passport - more on that soon I'm sure - it brought back many memories of that adventure that nearly filled up my passport: CrossingTheGlobe '04-'05. The website and its stellar pictures will fade from the online otherworld within the next month. If you want to see what I saw one more time, then simply click the links.
Labels: TravelLife
# posted by pk : 4:09 AM
Comments:
Still awesome. After that web site comes down, will you still have that whole photo set and format, etc. available, like, in a directory? Or just the original shots?
That was the joy of having Keith Jagger on the trip with me. He looks just like me ;-) So I could take the exact pictures I wanted and just say it was me ;-)
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Thursday, March 15, 2007
A Look Around the Place...
Take a tour of the new apartment HERE.
On March 1 I moved into a new apartment here in Rapid City. The real incentive for the move is that now I have a roommate: Tyler Drewitz. Tyler started coming to our church last year and he has quickly become a great friend. We share a love for movies and hearty food.
Labels: EverydayLife
# posted by pk : 8:56 PM
Comments:
I'm not sure what I'm more jealous of...the western toilet or the dryer. Probably the toilet. I'm sick of squatting.
Thanks for the pics you lucky bastard!!!!!!
Thanks for the pics you lucky bastard!!!!!!
Two Words: Flat Screen. You can easily determine the inhabitant of any given dwelling by looking at their primary visual elements. A place with a steel frame bed, hand me down furniture and an entertainment center fit for royalty speak volumes. Cheers to bachelors.
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Tuesday, March 06, 2007
All My Friends Work at Starbucks
It’s true – well – almost true. It seems true. I can think of at least four different friends that are in management level or higher in almost as many different states. Several others are your everyday pleasant baristas. Observing this pattern, here are some reasons why I applaud Starbucks as a corporation:
1. They give the reins over to youngsters – The managers I know are all in their early to mid-twenties. These are store managers! In other words, the success of the entire establishment rises and falls on an individual who just got his/her drivers license half a decade before. This blew my mind when I first heard it, and now I realize this is just how they roll. I also am friends with a district manager who is in his mid-twenties. In my line of work (pastor) I’ve never heard of a district manager/superintendent who was younger than fifty or so. So whether it is out of necessity – they're growing like gangbusters and need heaps of store managers – or brilliance, Starbucks believes in young, sharp go-getters. They are able to do this successfully because . . .
2. They invest in their people – Starbucks is raising up a generation of young leaders. Their training in areas such as leadership, customer service, striving for excellence, making relational connections, responsibility, and many others is thorough and useful far beyond the four walls of the coffee shop. Fast-forward thirty years and I wonder if we will see CEO’s of wide-ranging corporations across the land that launched their careers as lowly baristas. On top of great training, partners (code word for Starbucks employee) want to stick around because . . .
3. They care for their people – If you know anything about Starbucks you have probably heard that it is the place in town to have a part-time job that offers full-time benefits. Did you know that as a corporation Starbucks spends more money annually on employee benefits than on its coffee? They know their most valuable resource is their workers, not their product. On top of great benefits, partners also build up generous stock options as well as sweet discounts in the community (does your employer guarantee you a discount when it is time to secure a wireless phone contract?). But beyond just caring for their people . . .
4. They care for all people – When it comes to corporations, Starbucks is a leader of the pack when it comes to doing business in a way that leaves the world a better place. Instead of making a buck at the expense of grunt laborers in Sri Lanka or the soils of South America, they actually go out of their way to build up these communities. Above and beyond Fair Trade practices when it comes to coffee, they build schools, health clinics, and invest in social programs. Starbucks isn’t in this for a quick buck; they’re in it to make this planet a better place. Read more on this HERE.
So what are the detractors saying?
/// They are pushing the local coffee shop out of business – Ha! This one is laughable. The coffee shop movement that Starbucks has generated has actually proliferated the number of local coffee shops. A few decades ago it was a novelty to have an establishment devoted to selling primarily coffee (burgers or donuts maybe, but not coffee).
/// No free wireless internet – Sad, but true. Thus another reason why there will always be a need for the local coffee shop that offers free wi-fi. This is my main point of bitterness with Starbucks and the second biggest reason I rarely patronize them. The biggest being . . .
/// I don’t like coffee – Yup, that’s me too. I just don’t like it. I’ve tried. I hear that when I have kids that will change ;-)
So why write a piece on a business that I don’t even buy stuff from? Because I respect them. I see them as innovators in the business world. I applaud their efforts on social justice issues. They promote hip but insightful music and literature. Because I wish churches exhibited these four strengths as robustly as the neighborhood coffee shop.
2. They invest in their people – Starbucks is raising up a generation of young leaders. Their training in areas such as leadership, customer service, striving for excellence, making relational connections, responsibility, and many others is thorough and useful far beyond the four walls of the coffee shop. Fast-forward thirty years and I wonder if we will see CEO’s of wide-ranging corporations across the land that launched their careers as lowly baristas. On top of great training, partners (code word for Starbucks employee) want to stick around because . . .
3. They care for their people – If you know anything about Starbucks you have probably heard that it is the place in town to have a part-time job that offers full-time benefits. Did you know that as a corporation Starbucks spends more money annually on employee benefits than on its coffee? They know their most valuable resource is their workers, not their product. On top of great benefits, partners also build up generous stock options as well as sweet discounts in the community (does your employer guarantee you a discount when it is time to secure a wireless phone contract?). But beyond just caring for their people . . .
4. They care for all people – When it comes to corporations, Starbucks is a leader of the pack when it comes to doing business in a way that leaves the world a better place. Instead of making a buck at the expense of grunt laborers in Sri Lanka or the soils of South America, they actually go out of their way to build up these communities. Above and beyond Fair Trade practices when it comes to coffee, they build schools, health clinics, and invest in social programs. Starbucks isn’t in this for a quick buck; they’re in it to make this planet a better place. Read more on this HERE.
So what are the detractors saying?
/// They are pushing the local coffee shop out of business – Ha! This one is laughable. The coffee shop movement that Starbucks has generated has actually proliferated the number of local coffee shops. A few decades ago it was a novelty to have an establishment devoted to selling primarily coffee (burgers or donuts maybe, but not coffee).
/// No free wireless internet – Sad, but true. Thus another reason why there will always be a need for the local coffee shop that offers free wi-fi. This is my main point of bitterness with Starbucks and the second biggest reason I rarely patronize them. The biggest being . . .
/// I don’t like coffee – Yup, that’s me too. I just don’t like it. I’ve tried. I hear that when I have kids that will change ;-)
So why write a piece on a business that I don’t even buy stuff from? Because I respect them. I see them as innovators in the business world. I applaud their efforts on social justice issues. They promote hip but insightful music and literature. Because I wish churches exhibited these four strengths as robustly as the neighborhood coffee shop.
Labels: ChurchLife, EverydayLife
# posted by pk : 10:01 PM
Comments:
My question is do they promote things like social work and such because they want to do it as company, or because that is what is "hip" now? If people were to dismiss Fair Trade in favor for "local" would we see Starbucks stay with the bit of Fair Trade that they do, or move to "local coffee" instead or in cunjunction with Fair Trade.
We have talked about the Green Revolution before, what I wonder is if it shows an actual change in business ethics or merely exploiting what is "hip"?
Overall, my questions would be, is Starbucks innovative and caring, or brilliant at identifying itself with the correct counter-cultural ideas that are held by "hip" people? If we woke up tomorrow, and no one cared at all about, or even didn't like, Fair Trade, social justice, employee care, or the other areas that starbucks represents, would starbucks continue to hold them? The Church would.
We have talked about the Green Revolution before, what I wonder is if it shows an actual change in business ethics or merely exploiting what is "hip"?
Overall, my questions would be, is Starbucks innovative and caring, or brilliant at identifying itself with the correct counter-cultural ideas that are held by "hip" people? If we woke up tomorrow, and no one cared at all about, or even didn't like, Fair Trade, social justice, employee care, or the other areas that starbucks represents, would starbucks continue to hold them? The Church would.
Much like politicians, corporations are swayed by public opinion. Instead of responding to votes from ballot boxes, corporations respond to votes from wallets. There is a growing awareness among consumers for the need to take care of the poor guy in Indonesia and to take care of our planet. Starbucks, whatever its motive, has positioned itself as a leader in responding to the desires of the consumers/voters. And in doing so they are putting peer pressure on other corporations to take the same things into consideration.
You make a great observation Criffton . . . the Church should be leading the way in such areas no matter what the public opinion is. I think we have a long way to go.
You make a great observation Criffton . . . the Church should be leading the way in such areas no matter what the public opinion is. I think we have a long way to go.
pk-
long time, no see (Fuller's wedding). Being an avid (almost obsessive) Barista and former employee of the 'bucks I can tell you a thing or two about that drinkable black gold.
Fair trade, though "hip", will not tarry in Starbucks' repertoire of coffee despite what local shops do. TOL (tree of life to those who no longer/never resided in marion, IN) serves Fair Trade coffee that isn't Fair Trade Certified. There is a mountain of paperwork and thousands of dollars that coffee farmers have to fork out to become certified. Needless to say, the largely third-world based coffee market has little to spare to become certified.
Bottome line: as the specialty coffee world expands, so does the knowledge base of consumers and companies. This has shown an overall increase in both quality of coffee and quality of living for those who produce it.
long time, no see (Fuller's wedding). Being an avid (almost obsessive) Barista and former employee of the 'bucks I can tell you a thing or two about that drinkable black gold.
Fair trade, though "hip", will not tarry in Starbucks' repertoire of coffee despite what local shops do. TOL (tree of life to those who no longer/never resided in marion, IN) serves Fair Trade coffee that isn't Fair Trade Certified. There is a mountain of paperwork and thousands of dollars that coffee farmers have to fork out to become certified. Needless to say, the largely third-world based coffee market has little to spare to become certified.
Bottome line: as the specialty coffee world expands, so does the knowledge base of consumers and companies. This has shown an overall increase in both quality of coffee and quality of living for those who produce it.
Hey Chris - Let me ask a clarification question. The way I understand it, Starbucks sells many lines of coffee that are not fair trade certified, however those lines are at or even above the fair trade standards of practice. Is that correct? And that is what TOL is doing also? Just curious.
i am curious who else you know that is working for starbucks..especially this DM???
i hear that josh stokes has left...is that true?
just to set your mind at ease about the free wifi...starbucks happens to be the first coffee shop and food service company (like panera and others) that offered internet at all. T-mobile took us for a ten year contract and when that is up...i can almost guarantee Starbucks will offer free internet. sometimes being the innovator of something has huge downsides...NO FREE INTERNET AT STARBUCKS!(i think the contract is almost up)
also in response to criffton's comment: i do not believe starbucks has promoted social work and fair trade to be hip. starbucks firmly believes in giving back to the communities they are involved in from the local coffee stores surrounding community (and environment) as well as the local community where we buy our coffee from.
the reason thus far starbucks has stayed with fair trade and not local (this is not from the corporate office by any means...merely my observations) is that the coffee we purchase is almost all mainly from mountainous regions. i don't know of many coffee farms in the mountainous regions of the US. the coffee grown at these altitudes requires no pesticides and less fertilization because of the rich soil at these altitudes.
also i think starbucks would stay by their principles. our 6 guiding principles have been with us for the long haul and i believe have made the company what it is. i believe those in control realize this also. profitability is our last guiding principle and because of the focus on the other 5...Starbucks makes millions.
just some ramblings. wow this is long!!
i hear that josh stokes has left...is that true?
just to set your mind at ease about the free wifi...starbucks happens to be the first coffee shop and food service company (like panera and others) that offered internet at all. T-mobile took us for a ten year contract and when that is up...i can almost guarantee Starbucks will offer free internet. sometimes being the innovator of something has huge downsides...NO FREE INTERNET AT STARBUCKS!(i think the contract is almost up)
also in response to criffton's comment: i do not believe starbucks has promoted social work and fair trade to be hip. starbucks firmly believes in giving back to the communities they are involved in from the local coffee stores surrounding community (and environment) as well as the local community where we buy our coffee from.
the reason thus far starbucks has stayed with fair trade and not local (this is not from the corporate office by any means...merely my observations) is that the coffee we purchase is almost all mainly from mountainous regions. i don't know of many coffee farms in the mountainous regions of the US. the coffee grown at these altitudes requires no pesticides and less fertilization because of the rich soil at these altitudes.
also i think starbucks would stay by their principles. our 6 guiding principles have been with us for the long haul and i believe have made the company what it is. i believe those in control realize this also. profitability is our last guiding principle and because of the focus on the other 5...Starbucks makes millions.
just some ramblings. wow this is long!!
as a former starbucks employee, on the lower level, my only concern is that starbucks coffee has become an "god" for some in the corporation...i wasnt allowed to think of coffee as coffee but as this amazing "experience", almost a magical solution to the problems of my daily life, that can (if given under 3 mins) turn a person's day around and that all the starbucks stuff and gifts they sell will hold a family together through the rough holidays- now hows a tumbler gonna do that? however, i do think they are a corporation that is at least setting some example for other companies...i just think coffee needs to be remembered as coffee (that when bought sometimes helps coffee farmers in poorer parts of the world but also goes toward the building of thousands of more little starbucks around the world that might not all be as necessary as our caffine addiction would make us think)...then again, what do i know, i only made it to barista
pk-
sorry to be so late with a response to your questions. I wrote a long response to your questions, but they got lost on this chasm of information we call the web. But enough chit-chat; let's get down to business.
The answer to your questions considering fair trade are "yes". Fair trade has been criticized because the system set up gives certification only to those who can afford the whole process and paperwork. Therefore, many farmers forego the certification while still paying fair wages. incidentally, they are often also the farms who chose to grow organic, but that's a whole other conversation.
About a third of the coffee that Alliance World Coffees carries is fair trade, though not all of it is certified. The title, in this situation, has sadly become,in some instances, more important than the concept: giving people who work hard and produce quality products the wages they deserve.
As to Eve's comments, I agree in many respects. Starbucks has done great things for the American market; primarily, to expose Americans to specialty coffee. They also do well with creating a sensory based environment that is both relaxing and stimulating. They take care of their farmers and their employees.
However, and I hate to burst the Starbucks bubble, some of their claims are less than substantial.
1. They claim to have superior beans and roasting processes("Better coffee, better ingredients, etc..."). They claim to have all gourmet coffee. I must make it known that only 10-15% of the coffee market in the world. Since Starbukcs consumes more than that percentage of the coffee worldwide and obviously has no monopoly on the coffee growing, it is forced to buy lower quality beans.
They mask these beans by over-roasting (according to hundreds of years of experienced roasting standards) their beans. They call it a "signiature" roasting style. I call it burnt. It's no fluke that most the people who drink Starbucks feel that other gourmet coffees as "weak" or "flavorless".
While I don't care for their coffee and the Starbucks "3 minute mantra" that neglects care to vital drink making processes, they do care more than most companies about the welfare of people.
sorry to be so late with a response to your questions. I wrote a long response to your questions, but they got lost on this chasm of information we call the web. But enough chit-chat; let's get down to business.
The answer to your questions considering fair trade are "yes". Fair trade has been criticized because the system set up gives certification only to those who can afford the whole process and paperwork. Therefore, many farmers forego the certification while still paying fair wages. incidentally, they are often also the farms who chose to grow organic, but that's a whole other conversation.
About a third of the coffee that Alliance World Coffees carries is fair trade, though not all of it is certified. The title, in this situation, has sadly become,in some instances, more important than the concept: giving people who work hard and produce quality products the wages they deserve.
As to Eve's comments, I agree in many respects. Starbucks has done great things for the American market; primarily, to expose Americans to specialty coffee. They also do well with creating a sensory based environment that is both relaxing and stimulating. They take care of their farmers and their employees.
However, and I hate to burst the Starbucks bubble, some of their claims are less than substantial.
1. They claim to have superior beans and roasting processes("Better coffee, better ingredients, etc..."). They claim to have all gourmet coffee. I must make it known that only 10-15% of the coffee market in the world. Since Starbukcs consumes more than that percentage of the coffee worldwide and obviously has no monopoly on the coffee growing, it is forced to buy lower quality beans.
They mask these beans by over-roasting (according to hundreds of years of experienced roasting standards) their beans. They call it a "signiature" roasting style. I call it burnt. It's no fluke that most the people who drink Starbucks feel that other gourmet coffees as "weak" or "flavorless".
While I don't care for their coffee and the Starbucks "3 minute mantra" that neglects care to vital drink making processes, they do care more than most companies about the welfare of people.
Churches should display the last 3, but the first is not the role of the Church. The Church, as a entity to feed, equip, support, train and expand the people of God, should necessarily be directed by those most mature and strong in the faith (not necessarily "older" per se, but more mature). This has been the case from the times of the Old testament (see (Deuteronomy 25:7; 2 Chronicles 32:6; Proverbs 31:23; Isaiah 13:2), and contiued in the New (see Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5; see Acts 20:17; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 John 1; 3 John 1). None of which should be taken to mean those of us who are younger do not have roles, but the "reins" if you will, are not properly ours alone.
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