I spent Tuesday morning at Ground Level Cafe in Naperville, a part of CCC. I had some great conversations with Lee Messersmith, their facilities manager, on the role and function of the coffeehouse in a church context, the role of design and branding, and how environment impacts upon experience.

We talked about how people get behind something thats missional – it’s about so much more than the coffee, though great coffee is important. We talked about the concept of the ‘third place’ and what it is in our cultures. We talked about how form follows function, and the need to tell a story visually. We talked about facilitating a worship service in a coffeehouse. We talked about the duality of a coffeehouse and the need for both business and ministry plans.

Lee shared this quote with me, unfortunately I can’t remember which book it is from, but I’ll find out. Think it says it all…

“You are not who you say you are. You are who your community say you are.”

CCC have some excellent stuff going on, including a School for the Arts which caught my attention. I read Dave Ferguson’s (lead pastor) book yesterday while at the airport/on my flight. He has some great thoughts on the need for complete clarity and for simplicity in presenting one idea at a time. I’ll blog some from the book, The Big Idea, tomorrow.