Seattle Update & Stuff I’m Lovin’

I am going to Seattle in a week!!!  Since I last posted I have found a place to stay and bought my non-refundable plain ticket.  Turns out my wife has had family there this whole time!  So I will be in Seattle from July 15th – August 6th, during which I will be doing a short term internship at Q Cafe.  I am really pumped to learn how the cafe is run and just be able to get help and encouragement with some of my ideas.  I am also going a few days before and staying a few days later than the internship so I am hoping to get around Seattle to a few more coffee houses, museums, a Mariners game, and maybe even one of the parks outside the city.

That is all the good stuff about the trip, now here is the negative stuff – my wife and I will be apart the longest we have ever been since we started dating in 2003!  I will be gone for those three weeks, get back, and two days later my wife leaves for a business seminar in Atlanta for four days.  Which doesn’t sound too bad but less than 24 hours after that she is flying back to AR to stay with family for a week.  We figure we will see each other for only about 72 hours in a 5 week period.  The thought hadn’t really hit us until this week.  Probably because we have had a lot going on between going back to AR in June and moving last week – oh yeah, we moved into a house last week!  So anyways, just the act of sitting here writing this is making me feel sad and a bit lonely.

STUFF I’M LOVIN’!

MUSIC – Two of my favorite artists/bands have just released new albums that really take their art in a new direction.  I have always been impressed with Mewithoutyou’s and Derek Webb’s incredible writing ability and therefore will always follow them regardless of their sound.  I say that because, at least in the case of mewithoutyou, many people will find the new sound remarkably different, but I welcome the changes!

• mewithoutyou – It’s All Crazy, It’s All False, It’s All a Dream, It’s Alright! - Everyone knows that mewithoutyou’s music is always passionate.  Often, in the past, that has come in the form of hard crescendos and screaming, but the band takes a turn in this album, mellowing the sound into more of a hornsy folk album rather than post-hardcore.  Ok, that sounds way to reviewish.  Suffice it to say this album is awesome!  As usual Aaron and the guys explore deep spiritual issues that are more than often lacking in any other form of music, “Christian” or not.  “The Fox, the Crow, and the Cookie” show cases Aaron’s amazing story telling ability (which I have actually heard is adapted from Suffi folklore but am not sure).  “A  Stick, a Carrot & String” and “The King Beetle On a Coconut Estate” are incredible, deep songs exploring the incarnation and the mystery of God.  As always, mewithoutyou pushes the limits of Christian music and this album does not dissappoint.  With songs like “A Fig With a Bellyache” and “Allah, Allah, Allah”, I wouldn’t doubt if this album earns a ban from Lifeway!

• Derek Webb – Stockholm Syndrome – Derek just released his controversial new album on his website Tuesday; however, right now you can only buy it on his website as it will not be available anywhere else until sometime around September 1st.  Anyways, this new album falls more in line with his One Zero Remix album and Moby that his acoustic albums as he has teemed up with Joshua Moore on the new record. So, if you are a fan of Derek’s acoustic and more traditional sounding work then this new album may not have much appeal.  That said, if you are a fan of Derek Webb then I can assure you it does not disappoint as this may be the best produced of all Derek’s work thus far and, as always, the lyrics are always on target.  Derek has a knack for offensive, incredible lyrics that expose the darkness of organized Christianity and the darkness of our hearts.  This tradition can be traced from the beginning in “Wedding Dress” to “T-Shirts” in his sophmore album and on through too many songs to name in his previous two releases.  Well, Derek has continued to strip his language bare to earn him a ridiculous explicit warning for dropping the *shit* bomb in one of the songs.  In context the language is completely appropriate and I am thankful that Derek fought so hard to keep it in there.  The song in question is “What Matters More” and is full of a righteous anger at the gap between what we say we believe and the way we actually live.  He continues to explore certain themes from his previous two albums, including our relationship with the government in “The State” and our seeming need to substitute God for lovers less wild in “The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum”.  Unfortunately I have had the album for less than 24 hours and have not explored many of the other songs much more that listening to them a couple times.  Other exciting news, Derek will be playing in Florida three times in October!  Unfortunate news, I may only be able to go to one of the shows!

BOOKS

• Peter Rollins – The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales – This book is incredible!!!  It is both remarkable and unfortunate how absent parables are in today’s Christian writing and teaching, especially in light of how prevelant it was in Jesus’ teaching.  So with this book Rollins offers us 30+ parables to chew on, wrestle with, or any other metaphor you want to use to describe book that requires a lot of openness and reflection.  Rollins rightly comments that the reason parables are not used today is because they do not make faith easy or turn it into three bullet points that the mind can understand.  Rather than challenging and changing your mind, parables challenge and change your heart.  GREAT book that should be read slowly, carefully, and openly!

Going to Seattle!!!

Remember that post I wrote a couple weeks back titled “My Dream”?  Well its about time I get serious and start working on it!!!  So in addition to starting the business plan this summer I am also going to Seattle.  I have been in contact with Eugene Cho for a couple months now trying to work out a short term internship at a non-profit cafe that he runs in Seattle called Q Cafe.  Q is very similar to what I want to eventually create and so I am going to spend a

Q Cafe

couple of weeks with his cafe manager and arts director to see how they run things.  Along with being a great place to build community, have great coffee, and listen to music, they also donate 10% of their profits to non-profit groups doing great things all over the world. 

The official time that I will be with the cafe is July 20 – August 3, but I am going to go a week early so I can explore Seattle and get a feel for the great coffee culture there.  So I say all of this to ask a favor of you…does anybody know anyone in Seattle that I could stay with from approximately July 13 – August 3?!?  Just a minor detail that still needs to be worked out!

So this summer is the beginning of a big journey for Amber and I.  We are looking forward to the adventure ahead and praying for God’s will in all of this (so please pray too!).  If you would like to receive a copy of the business plan, that will be ready by the end of the summer, please leave a comment and let me know (this will help me stay accountable too). 

Here’s to a great summer!!!

Why You Should Be Drinking Fair Trade Coffee, Now!

Over the past couple of decades we consumers have become increasingly aware of how our purchasing affects the world.  From destroying a rainforest we may have never heard of to forcing children into unfair employment, what we purchase can have a detrimental impact.  Now, I understand that the thought of us individually having this kind of power sounds like the height of hubris, but I really believe that we have simply been naive since the Industrial Revolution (i.e. the historical examples of the rubber industry and the not so historical examples of the chocolate and garment industries).  The agricultural industry has certainly not been excempt from exploitation and has in many cases been a leader in destroying the environment.  Coffee, for instance, became a cash crop over the past century and has since faced a corporate explosion due to consumer demand.  Unfortunately such an explosion, combined with traditional capitalist principles, meant that companies drove down production costs any way possible, including clear cutting environments and finding the cheapest labor possible.  This also led to the proliferation of an inferior product, as major coffee companies found that it was easier and cheaper to produce robusto species of bean instead of arabica.

Fortunately we no longer have to accept products that are inferior, environmentally destructive, and that keep families in poverty.  With the advent of mass communication, particularly the internet, we now have the ability to change things.  There are many organizations out there trying to show ordinary consumers that their purchasing can have an extraordinary impact, either for good or ill. 

One organization that is making a big difference, particularly in the coffee world, is Transfair USA.   

Transfair certifies different products that meet rigid standards that not only improve the environment but help coffee (and other products) producing families climb out of poverty.  They do this in several different ways, the highlights of which include improving environmental standards, organizing farming families into democratically controlled cooperatives, and securing a base price for coffee.

Improving environmental standards - Unfortunately, for the sake of profit, large coffee plantations tend to clear cut plots of land in order to grow larger amounts of coffee.  Traditionally this has not been the case as coffee, historically, has always been shade grown.  The cleared fields allow for higher and quicker yields but tend to produce an inferior product (most of the time producing robusto).  It also faces problems similar to other single crop fields, the need to continually fertilize and the use of pesticides.  Shade grown coffee is both better for the environment and produces a superior product.  It is better for the environment because it is not a monoculture and therefore requires less fertilizers and pesticides.  This method also provides a much more natural habitat for wildlife.  It is a superior product because, like wine, coffee tends to pick up the flavors of its environment.  Thus when it is grown near cocoa or a type of fruit, those flavors make it into the bean.

Organizing families into democratically controlled cooperatives – The majority of coffee throughout the world is being produced by small families (which is one of the main reasons that discretionary purchasing in this area can make such a huge difference).  What Transfair seeks to do is to organize these farmers into cooperatives that allow them to fight for higher prices for their products and improve their agricultural techniques.  The cooperatives are then able to pool their money and democratically decide how to improve their communities with their profits.  This also protects these families from being taken advantage of by middlemen who, in any other situation, would be necessary to get the beans to market.

Securing a base price for coffee – Coffee prices worldwide are at an all time low.  This has been tragic for families all over the world who make a living producing coffee.  So Transfair has set a floor price for beans (currently at $1.25 per pound) that allows farmers to create a sustainable way of life.  Fortunately this is bringing many families out of poverty.

I first really began to seriously consider the importance of fair trade after hearing a podcast by John Sage, one of the cofounders of Pura Vida Coffee, from an address he gave at Stanford University (iTunes Store, search “How Do You Take Your Coffee?”).  John explains a lot of what I wrote here, but then follows it up with a concrete example.  He tells the story of a woman that was part of a cooperative in Central America that Pura Vida buys its coffee from directly and the difference that Fair Trade has made in her family.  They flew this particular woman up to a conference they were hosting at a university in Seattle and the woman was able to tell  the college students her story.  She told them that because of fair trade prices they were now able to take their children out of the fields and put them back into the classroom and that perhaps one day her children would have the opportunity to sit where those college students were sitting.  Wow!  That is the power of discretionary purchasing.  By simply buying coffee for a couple dollars more than what we would normally spend we are able to help families across the world take their children out of the coffee fields and put them where every child belongs, in a classroom.  We are able to help families take the first steps out of poverty and into a sustainable way of life. 

Please, listen to the podcast I listed above and further educate yourself about the benefits of Fair Trade and begin to help make a difference!  We can make a difference – we just have to make the choice (but now that you know, aren’t you making a choice either way?).

My Dream

Can you believe that at the beginning of June Amber and I will have been in Florida for two years!  We left Arkansas in 2007 to come be a part of what God was doing at Crosspoint Church in Spring Hill, FL.  For the past two years Amber and I have served as interns (1 yr for Amber and 2 for me) and Amber has been an office assistant (for the past year).  My internship is over at the end of this month andwe decided that it was time to move on.  Not to leave Florida, but not to spend another year as an intern.  I won’t be dropping out of Crosspoint, but maybe fulfill another role that I will get to later.

Anyways, so what is next?  For those who may not know, Amber and I do not envision ourselves staying in Florida longer than another year.  We plan to stay until next June because I can teach and Amber can continue as a marketing director.  But after that…

 I have had an idea/dream that has kept growing over the past few years.  Three years ago I wrote the outline for a missions program for Crosspoint.  At the end I mentioned that I would like to start a coffeehouse to support missions.  Well, that last part has stuck with me and has always been in the back of my mind (or in the pit of my stomach) since we have been here and has morphed and changed along with me. 

So that is my dream – to open a non-profit coffeehouse!

Those who know my wife and I know we have always been passionate about missions.  I have also become much more globally aware of poverty, disease, and human injustice.  I am convinced that these issues are close to the heart of God and therefore should be close to my own heart.  There are so many great organizations and people out there bringing peace, love, and transformation to those in need and I want to be able to come along side them and support what they are doing.  I think that capitalism has the power to do this.  Therefore I want to start a business that will use its profits to make a difference in the world!  To support orphanages, clean water initiatives, microfinance organizations, and local foodbanks and shelters.

I want this business to be a coffeehouse for a lot of reasons!  First, I love to serve people.  I love to meet new people and hear their stories and make them feel welcome.  My dream is for this coffeehouse to become a third place (1st place is home, 2nd is work) where people come for friendship andconversation.  Second, I have fallen in love with coffee!  The bean itself has an incredible ability to transform communities.  Through fair trade (and other certifications which may be even better) coffee growers are slowly coming out of poverty, able to take their children out of the fields and put them back into classrooms.  I also love the drink itself.  There are so many layers and complexity to it.  Third, I love music and art, even though I suck at both!  I want to be able to support local artists by connecting them with customers and helping to spread their message.  Last, I do not feel called to a traditional ministry role, but I still feel God’s calling on my life.  I still desire to see God transform those I meet and want to connect them to His mission in the world.  In a coffeehouse I will be able to do this.  To make relationships and discuss God with people I form relationships with, what many refer to as incarnational ministry.

I have thought about this for a long time and have a whole lot more swimming in my head.  If you would like to know more then stay tuned because I will have plenty of posts to come on the coffeehouse.  You can also contact me and I would love to discuss it with you.  This summer I plan to apply for non-profit status and write the business plan, so please hold me accountable to that!

Finally, please keep Amber and I in your prayers.  When I sit and think about it I feel completely overwhelmed.  But I know I have to keep trusting God and continue to pursue this without abandon!

Chris Guillebeau and Traveling Around the World

Chris Guillebeau has been “challenging authority since 1978″.  His blog/website, The Art of Nonconformity, chronicles his adventures around the world and is full of encouraging material to conquer your dreams.  Chris has never had any sort of traditional employment.  After college (I think) he joined a volunteer organization in Africa.  Now he has an audacious goal of visiting every country by the time he thirty something (I believe he is currently at 130/192).  He makes a living selling products on his website and finding ways to squeeze airline miles out of credit card companies! 

I first came across Chris because I was searching for entrepreneurship blogs.  Somehow I ended up coming across his free manifesto, A Brief Guide to World Domination  (which, by the way, is excellent).  Chris has a lot of great material on his site for entrepreneurs and for people who just want to live differently.  Also, I love to read his travel journals.  We also share a love for one of the coolest cities in the world, Hong Kong!

I encourage anyone to check out his blog and his free materials.  Also check out his products for purchase, but he will tell you not to buy them unless you actually need them. 

So, in the spirit of world travel, here are the top 10 places I would like to visit in the world (not really in order):

1. South China Tour – Hong Kong, Guilin, and Sichuan Province – been to South China before but not to Sichuan or Guilin.  And Hong Kong is the coolest place on earth!
2. Eastern Europe – I really don’t have much of a desire to visit the popular areas of Western Europe.  Instead I would rather explore the cities of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.
3. Bora Bora, French Polynesia – is this pick too turisty?  Oh well, from the pictures it looks like one of the most beautiful islands in the world!
4. Whistler or Kamloops, B.C. – Been to Vancouver, but that is on the edge of the Canadian Rockies.  Next time I want to go deeper into the beauty of British Columbia.
5. Cape Town, South Africa – My friend Chris will not stop bragging about how beautiful this city is.  I love cities that are limited by their geography and Cape Town definitely fits that description.
   

   Cape Town is pinned against Table Rock Mountain in the distance.

6. Nepal – A country that rises from 3,000-29,000 feet has to be interesting and beautiful!
7. Botswana – I would love to see the great animal migration when the Okavango Delta floods (it looks great on Planet Earth!).
8. Appalachian Mountains – I have seen pictures of the beautiful balds on the Appalachian Trail and will one day camp on one!
9. 9.  Maldives – Hey, they could be gone in my lifetime.
10. 10.  Jordan – Would like to visit Wadi Rum and the amazing city of Petra.

What are the top places you would like to visit?