I’d like to expand on last week’s idea.

The idea that coffee shops are the community wells of modern Western culture.

Where’s your communities watering hole? In your town, where do the people congregate naturally? If I were coming into your neighbourhood to meet with you today, where would you suggest we meet?

Like much of modern Western culture, it’s likely a coffee shop or diner. Establishing that location is finding the community well.

After you’ve found your communities well, it’s time to start investing time there. If you still have a desk top computer, that has got to go!

Make your work mobile, so that people see you frequently. Help them wonder who you are and what you do. Be around so much, that they feel obligated to get to know you and invest in you.

Then it’ll happen; you will belong there.

Once you belong there, people will expect to see you there. They’ll start small talk; chats about the weather or current community events. It’s at this point that you can make or break the ministry potential of having a place at the well.

Though difficult at first, close your laptop and ask them to sit down. Regardless of the sermon, lesson plan or project you’re working on; close the laptop and ask them to sit down. God has brought you this person, at this time, in this place.

Embrace the interruption and the chance to meet someone new or reconnect with someone you know. It’s highly unlikely that this person was going to walk into the church office and ask to speak with you.

Remind yourself of that and that this interruption is why you made the switch to the well in the first place.

Join the Conversation, Share Your Thoughts:

Should pastors avoid spending all their time in the church office? Why or why not?