The Cafeteria And The Cosi

Truth can be found in strange places. That strange place for me was in a seminary cafeteria as I ate my lunch today.

Let me try and paint a quick picture here to explain.

Our seminary's cafeteria is small. It reflects the smaller attendance that is typical these days at a specialized higher-education facility like a seminary. The lunch offering is small. There is nothing remarkable about the way the food is arranged, or even about the food itself. It's pretty average. After all, it's just a cafeteria.

Now compare this with the Cosi deli across the street. Cosi is comparable to a Panera Bread or maybe a Quizno's. In delicatessens like these, everything has been analyzed with an exquisite eye for detail: from the way the line will form at the register to the style of lighting to the placement of the soda tap to the style of chairs and tables. No stone has been left unturned. Granted, all of that nice ambience comes at a modest cost. Let's just say it's no cafeteria.

And so I looked at the people eating in the cafeteria with me, and I realized that sometimes we don't really want all of that wonderful ambience and atmosphere that's found in a nice restaurant. Sometimes we just want a plain turkey sandwich and a small bag of chips. Sometimes we don't necessarily care if upscale, trendy music is playing softly in the background. Sometimes we simply want simple.

For those of us who work in the church, we often find ourselves trying to be a Cosi. We want our entryways to look inviting, and we want every detail of worship, from the music to the multimedia, to be flawlessly polished. In all the effort, sometimes all people want is a simple cafeteria meal.

So what's the balance?

While aesthetics certainly shouldn't be ignored, we also should remember that the church has always been a refuge for the weak and the poor, the insecure and the fragile. If you're really poor, you probably don't feel 'welcome' in an upscale delicatessen. While a church should be a nice, clean, and inviting facility, a church should always remember the 'cafeteria' factor. Let the building be simple and average enough to represent everyone—the rich and the poor, the upstanding and the outcast, the lost and the found.