Communicating passion

In the book The Starbucks Experience, it tells a story about Starbucks challenge in introducing the Starbucks coffee experience in the tea-dominated market of Japan. Once for the Japanese, coffee was experienced in simple powder form or cheap 3-in-1's. The need: heighten the tea-loving people's coffee experience. Author Joseph Michelli calls it the art of bringing sophistication to coffee experience. And this was what Starbucks did: Painstakingly educate the Japanese market about coffee, it's kinds, where they come from, encourage discussions and inquiries through strategic use of spaces among others, and teaching them how to appreciate good quality coffee, it's tastes and aromas. Thus they succeeded in bringing a heightened appreciation of coffee in Japan. (Trivia: Starbucks Coffee Jelly originated from Japan!)

Just as the leaders of Starbucks succeeded in elevating the appreciation of coffee by elevating their experience of the product, how do we as ministers (people who do ministry) encourage our congregation's appreciation of the Christian experience?

Bringing sophistication to the Christian experience. It may sound contradicting, but let me define the terms. When I googled "What is sophistication" it gives this meaning, "uplifting enlightenment." So bringing sophistication to the Christian experience does not mean complicating the Christian experience, but lifting the person to an enligtening awareness and appreciation of the beauty of the Christian experience. For example, how do you help move a person to an enlightening awareness and appreciation of God's Word or prayer. The opposite of this would be simple-mindedness as the book of Proverbs describe a person who lacks an inquiring and analyzing mind.

Have you ever experienced difficulty in communicating and letting other people catch your passion? For example, a worship leader who is well educated and skillful in music theory, is frustrated because her team is not able to appreciate or see the beauty in transposition or vocal harmony, for them harmony or no harmony--it's the same banana. For the Sunday School director, the need to be equipped to produce creative means of teaching children is his heart's passion, but other teacher's in his team do not see the importance of it, thus pulling a lesson from last year's and a lesson creatively prepared during the week is one and the same banana. And for me as a preacher, my passion is for our congregation to come to a higher appreciation the beauty of God's Word, to have a desire to seek the Scriptures recreationally, and not just Sunday "Christian practioners" who are occupied with Christian fads and sensationalism, hungry for pleasant words and good fortunes (Is 30:9-11).

This is the challenge, just as Starbucks was able to introduce coffee to Japan, how do you bring a person to an higher enlightenment and appreciation of the Christian experience? How do you communicate your passion effectively so that as you see what God sees, others will see what you see? Just as Starbucks educated the Japanese market to appreciate coffee, how do you educate your congregation in appreciating the Christian experience?

Here are some thoughts:

Catch a God-given vision - Doing something to please people will never last, follow a vision that is worthy of God's passion, a vision bigger than yourself.

Build relationships - People won't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Relationships are built on trust.

Teach it formally and informally - Bruce Wilkinson in the Seven Laws of the Learner, teaches retention of one's content by talking about it formally and informally. The Hebrews passed the law to their children in their everyday living. "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates ..." (Deut 11:18-20). Not only share your passion on the pulpit, share it over coffee and other informal settings.

Cast the Why before the How - Constantly communicate the vision by casting the Why--the importance of your cause. Answer, creating skillful music is important because ... teaching creatively is important because. When they see the Why before the How, you are encouraging creativity in coming up with Hows because there are always multiple solutions to a problem.

Don't be ashamed to ask for commitment - A person will follow a leader secure of his own convictions.