Sugar Packets and Paper Cups, Part 1

Four years of college.  Two masters’ degrees.  One doctorate.  A career leading the church and teaching the very Word of God.  So why do I care about sugar packets and paper cups?

Simple.  Because sugar packets and paper cups have consumed the last few weeks of my life.

When I arrived at the church a few months ago, I noticed we were missing the primary element of the sacrament of fellowship–coffee.  So I set out to fix it.  I went through the proper channels to allocate the money, approve having a new area of ministry and found a leader, H.  The leader was the perfect leader–a new believer with a passion for good coffee and a desire to serve.

In orienting H to the ministry, I sat down with her to find out how she wanted to do coffee.  I asked her for a list of start-up supplies she needed and told her I would pick them up for her to help kick things off.  I bought coffee, creamer, sugar packets and paper cups.

We were all set.

Friday evening before the first coffee Sunday, I get an email from one of our elders.  “I saw the cups and sugar packets in the kitchen.  We need to talk.  Can you meet me at the church tomorrow morning?”  We had a meeting that morning anyway, so I agreed to meet.

For an hour he explained to me how his wife runs the kitchen and fellowship ministry.  She buys all of the supplies and what we bought just won’t work.  We are 10 oz cup people, not 12.  We are loose sugar people, not packet.  And, by the way, we are Folgers, not Starbucks.

Using all of my personal restraint, we made it through that conversation.  The end was an agreement we would all communicate better and the elder’s wife could buy the supplies and she would leave the ministry leader to make the coffee and run the ministry.

Problem solved.  Right?

Wrong.

The next morning, the elder and his wife were at the church building to meet H.  They wanted to tell her how to make the coffee, how much to use, how many cups to put out, where to put the coffee pots, etc, etc, etc.  The end result was H wondering if she should has stepped into something she shouldn’t.

So, again, we talked.  This time about how to treat volunteers.  Empowering.  Resourcing.  Supporting.

I have to tell you.  Stuff like this makes me not want to be a pastor.

So ends, part 1.  Oh that part 1 were the end.