Cleverly created signs always grab my attention. I saw a great billboard on Loop 820 in Ft. Worth yesterday. The sign advertising McDonald’s Coffee stated: “I am a coffee lover and not a millionaire.” It was an obvious jab at perceived overpriced java at Starbucks. That is good marketing!
There is another coffee sign that I am forced to see ever time I make the trip home from Ft. Worth that grabs my attention in a much different way. The temporary signage states that a drive through coffee house is coming soon. It will be housed in the now vacant building behind the banner. A drive through coffee house in a prominent location on the way to Ft. Worth is a good idea. They will capitalize on commuters as long as their prices appeal to coffee lovers and not millionaires. There is a very disturbing aspect to the rise of still another coffee house though.

In the background, leaning up against the small wood frame building, is another sign. It is the sign that signified what was housed in that building before a java entrepreneur made plans for it. The sign says: Church of Christ…… I think it lists the service times and other relevant information. A church has not met in that location for months now. The sign has therefore been cast aside. It will lean up against the building until the final clean up crew comes in and discards it permanently.

As they remodel, what will do with the pews? What will become of the baptistery? Is there still a pulpit in the building? Avid coffee drinkers will sit in there soon with their laptops and i-pods. New friendships will be forged and business deals will be made over a caramel latte. The espresso machine will hum in the background. In a matter of months, customers will not even know that a church met there once upon a time.

It is sad when a church dies. I have no idea what factors contributed to the death of this congregation, but they closed their doors permanently. I will be among customers of the coffee house soon. It will be a convenient place to set up my laptop and edit a sermon. But I won’t be able to order my medium blend coffee without hearing congregational singing in the background. I will sit at a table and wonder who was baptized in that building? And as I sip on my coffee, I will pray that a coffee house never occupies the building where I stand in to preach every Sunday. I know that any church can die. It happens for a lot of reasons. Many of the factors that contribute to the death of a church can be controlled. More often than not churches die because of human shortcomings. The sign propped up against the building that was once called a church is a visual reminder to remain committed to the growth and health of the church.

I will gladly drive down the street to find my coffee. I don’t usually buy it in McDonald’s, but maybe I should start now. I really am a coffee lover and not a millionaire.