Coffee Shops in Missoula

Ahem. I know we all need to care about global warming, nukes in Idaho, delisting the wolves, and so on, but there's other things that matter too. Like coffee. Lots of coffee. Finding the best coffee. And telling others about it, since after all, we're all in this together and we might as well have a great cup of joe to help us on our way.

Most of my friends know I have a weakness for coffee shops (probably an understatement), and Missoula certainly has a number of options to choose from if you're looking for a great cup of joe. Since I've been here about 6 months now, I'll weigh in with my perspective on some of the establisments that I've discovered thus far. So here's my take on the coffee scene in Missoula...

• Bernice's - great coffee (very strong!), with a nice southern exposure and plenty of glass to stare out of. Downsides include lack of electrical outlets and wireless access, but the variety of folks who call this place home more than makes up for that - you can actually strike up a conversations with people at adjoining tables here, and I like that a lot. If you stay for lunch, try their Herb hardrolls (some kind of cream cheese stuff in the middle, for only a buck... very nice!)
  
  
• Butterfly Herbs - not only the best coffee I've found in Missoula, but also at one of the best prices anywhere ($1.50 gets you a cool mug with unlimited refills). If you like to talk to lots interesting people, this may be one of the best bets around - just belly up to the bar and wait a few minutes. Biggest downside: lack of table space and electrical outlets (I always end up feeling guilty if I sit there for more than a few hours, like I'm stealing from someone else's cache of coffee coolness). If you stop in, be sure to try the Chocolate Berry Blues (choco-covered blueberries)... I start salivating just thinking about them.
  
  
• Break Espresso - one of the best places to drink coffee all day long (eg. it's not so strong that you start shaking after 2 cups) - your best bet is to purchase the coffee card (13 drinks for the price of 10), and then refills are just 25 cents apiece. Lots and lots of tables (by far the biggest coffee shop in town). My only complaints - I wish they replaced a few of the smaller tables with single bigger ones, so you could actually sit and talk to strangers if you feel like it. That and the wireless has been pretty flaky of late. Oh yeah - you simply HAVE to try their ham and cheese breakfast bagel (but dang! they need a new toaster!). And the conversations in the men's bathroom is worth the visit all by itself (How come the woman's bathroom doesn't have stuff like this scrawled all over it? And how would I know?)
  
  
• Liquid Planet - Liquid Planet is one of the very first coffee shops I visited when I came to Missoula, and my initial reaction was "wow, this place is cool". I still think it is, but I don't find myself going in very often. Maybe it just feels a little too commercial. Good coffee, great hot chocolate (my kids LOVE it!), and the breakfast crepes are to die for. Definitely worth checking out. The internet is free now, but lack of outlets can be a problem.
  
  
• Trout River - one of my most recent discoveries, I almost hesitate to even mention this place (kind of like a favorite fishing hole). The Hunter Bay coffee is ok (not great), and refills are too expensive (75 cents), but the atmosphere is exceptional - nice big windows with a south-easterly exposure, great background music, and the place is almost empty (in other words, it's a great spot to study). I really really like that aspect (and heck, it's connected to the fly fishing shop next door... kind of like heaven in that regard).
  
  
• Catalyst - another interesting little shop on Higgins, with pretty decent coffee (and as many refills as you want). I need to spend more time in this place to really get a good feel for it, but I liked it when I visited. The balcony area was cool, but the lack of wireless means I'll probably never spend a lot of time there.
  
  
• City Brew - I used to spend a lot of time in the place back when I lived in Billings (but then again, there aren't exactly a lot of coffee shop options in Billings). Decent coffee (their Ethiopian Harrar is excellent!), free wireless, outlets, nice people, etc. But it still feels too much like a Starbucks for me.
  
  
• Starbucks - yeah, right. Starbucks is kind of a "last resort" for me. I don't think I've purchased a cup since I've come to Missoula. And I'm not missing it. Plus they charge for their Internet. Sheesh... (Hot Tip: Butterfly Herbs sells bumper stickers that say 'Friends don't let friends do Starbucks'... Priceless!). If I do have to drink at Starbucks, I avoid the coffee and order an Americano (much more consistent).
  
  
• Food for Thought - good food, ok cup of coffee, lots of local campus traffic. Nice place to hang out and watch people. But boy those chairs are hard on my butt.
  
  
• Bear's Brew (or something like that) - it's only a block away from Food For Thought. I've only been in once - the atmosphere would have been nice, but guys, can you PLEASE get rid of the little Christian fishy on the sign and ditch the whole Christian music over the sound system. Rich Mullins aside, I cannot STAND most contemporary Christian music (and heck, I'm a pastor - imagine what it feels like for all those poor folks outside of the church). Blech! Blech blech blech. Like getting coffee grounds in that last swig from the bottom of the cup.
  
  
• Barnes & Noble - I love coffee, especially when I'm surrounded by books, but its still too commercial for me (all those Starbucks complaints apply here as well). B&N is kind of a last ditch option for me, when I can't even find a Starbucks. Needless to say, I haven't spent much time here of late. (Aside: how come The Book Exchange doesn't have coffee and internet? That could be really cool...)

So that's pretty much it for right now. If someone knows of places I'm missing I'd love to hear about it. Until then, I still stand by my earlier lament (see I Need an Infusion) - what I miss most in coffee shops in this town is a big common study table where lots of people can sit together, study, and then chat every now and again when they feel like it. I still haven't found that kind of community aspect yet, but I'll keep on quaffing, and if I do, I'll be sure to let you know...

Even in Missoula

"Hey, I just want to know, do I look like him?"

That's what he was asking, the guy leaning in over the table, interjecting himself into our conversation. He looked only at me; he did not acknowledge the man I was having coffee with.

It took me a moment to understand why: Jimmy, on my right, was black. This guy standing to my left, however, was not. Yet half an hour earlier, I had asked him, "Hey, are you Jimmy?"

He had been standing alone on the other side of the coffee shop, waiting for someone, head turned to the side, unshaven face making his features look darker. And as soon as he had turned to look at me, it was obvious he wasn't the person I was there to meet. But that's the hard part of connecting over coffee with someone you haven't seen since they were in high school - neither of you knows for sure what the other person's going to look like.

So it was my mistake, and now that Bearded Guy realizes I took him for Black Guy, he's evidently insulted, insulted enough to actually walk up to our table and toss out his smart-assed comment. I was stunned. And then I was pissed. I realize that is strong language, but there are times when nothing less than strong language is appropriate.

I fumbled for words, saying something lame like "Well, I haven't seen him in years..." but Bearded Guy just sauntered off. Jimmy, to his credit, never even blinked. He just sat there for a moment and then continued the conversation.

Someone said a while back that they hoped we'd be tolerant here in Missoula. Not of this kind of behavior. Sorry folks, but its just wrong. And it pisses me off, because the church is meant to be a place where God's grace is extended to all who seek it, where there are no second class citizens, where justice rolls like water. Martin Luther King didn't make that up you know - he was just quoting the prophet Amos. Racism should piss us off, even in Missoula. Especially in Missoula. And especially in the church.

The church is meant to be a place of justice. And sometimes, that requires us to take a stand and say things are wrong. It also requires us to put our money where our mouth is and strive to make them right. Because the church is meant to be the place where heaven and earth meet, where God's agenda breaks through and actually makes a difference in the world.

If diversity bothers you, you probably won't like our church. But that's ok. After all, the kingdom of God is not for everyone...

Who Is Welcome?

Here at All Souls, we do not distinguish friend from foe on the basis of color, race, creed, or even sexual orientation. Yes it is true that we worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, three-in-one, Holy Trinity. And yes we see the Bible as his word to us.

But all are welcome to participate in our community of faith (and many do!) - even those who disagree, even those who doubt, even those who struggle, even those who do not yet believe.

With the Scriptures, we confess that Christ came to save sinners (which means us, even more than it means you). And we believe that Christ offers hope to all who desire change. In short, we believe that Christ is vitally important, and the sole criteria for whether someone is in or out as a follower of Christ is their attitude towards Jesus, towards his word, towards fellow pilgrims. Everything else is secondary.

In the same breath, we note that Jesus himself was patient with people who were still trying to figure out what they thought about him, probably because he knew that faith is often a process. So Christ welcomed those who didn't believe - he hung out with "sinners", he went to their parties, he shared their joy and tears. Christ invited the undecided to check him out, not from afar, but up close; not because they agreed with him, but simply because they were people whom God loved.

Consequently, anyone is welcome as a friend in our community, regardless of their spiritual convictions (or lack thereof). The sole criteria is that you be human, be yourself. Jesus valued authenticity, and so do we. So welcome, one and all. We look forward to getting to know you.

What Kind of Person?

Picked this up off of NewWest earlier today - 25 year old Jackson Hole skier Justin Kautz died after skiing off a cliff to avoid an avalanche.

What struck me about the article is that Kautz doesn't come across as just another partier, or even just another powderhound - instead, it seems to me that he was actually thinking about what it means to live a life well:

Friend Jenna Cropley said Kautz lived like we all want to: “purposefully and passionately.”

Just a few months ago, Kautz quit his job as manager at Stiegler’s restaurant, took out a business loan and started woodworking full time—a trade he learned from his father.

‘“This is what I’m going to do to make money,” Cropley remembered him saying. “‘How is making wood things going to change anybody? My writing is my real work, that’s what will impact people.’”

Indeed, he always carried a book of poems or politics in his backcountry pack next to his shovel and extra layers. He even laminated his skis with inspirational quotations and had the phrase "lines to ski, stories to tell" taped to the back of his ski helment.

He wrote short stories, made a complete Powder Magazine mock-up with original photographs and writing, published several articles and had nearly completed a book of short fiction to be called The Ford at Penuel.

“Justin was passionate about skiing, true, but he would skip even the biggest powder day to write,” said former girlfriend Elise Stiegler. “And yet, even then, if you came by, all he wanted to do was make tea and talk.”

Friends say Kautz lived the change he hoped to see. He donated 10 percent of all the money he made selling wooden sculptures and engravings to Invisible Children, Inc., which works to educate people about children kidnapped and forced into military service in Uganda.

This is the kind of person I want to meet here in Missoula - someone who is passionate and intentional, not just about enjoying the great outdoors (or great beer like Kettlehouse), but about thinking, about writing, about living, about community, about others.

I know folks like this exist here - after all, Missoula has a reputation for producing people like Kautz - but I haven't run into many of them yet. Which probably means I just haven't searched hard enough.

Of course, I intend to keep looking, and the next time I find myself in Sean Kelly's I think I'll raise a glass to the memory of Justin Kautz...

What Kind of Church?

As we run into folks around Missoula, one of the questions that comes up quite often is, "So what kind of church are you going to start?" And that's a difficult question to answer.

On the one hand, it's hard to know what's really being asked - kind of like when someone says, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Do they really want to know? Or are they just exchanging pleasantries? Are they interested only in externals, like career and earning potential? Or do they actually care about what kind of person you want to become?

On the other hand, even if you do know what someone is asking, it's still very difficult to put into words. You cannot quantify what a church is simply by describing its location, its creeds, its theology, its liturgy.

A church is not simply an organization - it's an organism, a moving target, a work in progress. It consists of many members, all walking through life in different ways, directions, manners. It aims for a standard (to be like Jesus, to share the good news about him, to care for the poor and needy, etc), and yet it always falls short of the goal, too - not simply because we inevitably disagree over specifics, but because we are all sinners, we are all bent, even those of us within the church.

As a friend of mine once reminded me, "Yes, the Church is a whore; but that whore is the bride of Christ and your mother, and you have no right to abandon her."

Ouch. And actually, it's even worse that that. The church is a whore because I am a whore, which is precisely the point of the gospel:

"I am a whore I do confess, put you on just like a wedding dress,
and I run down the aisle, run down the aisle, to you..."

- Derek Webb, Wedding Dress

So what kind of church DO we want to start?

Hmm, are you sure you really want to know?

If so, you might want to start by considering What If..., or by taking a look at our Core Values. Or how about the The 'Following Jesus' Manifesto from Today At The Mission (written by someone who lives / works in a homeless shelter), talking about what it really means to be a follower of Christ - it's not like we embrace every single one of these literally, but we sure like the gist of them:

1. Stop talking about Jesus. Just stop. If we loved the people around us half as much as we say we love Jesus the rest of this manifesto would be entirely redundant.
   
2. Live a secret life. Invest the time, effort and vulnerability necessary to delve deeply into the scripture and prayer. Spend long periods of time in stillness. There is no shortcut to this, there is no other way. Without a deep and secret life we soon find ourselves talking about Jesus instead of being like Jesus.
   
3. Stop pretending. I'm a Christian, and I suck. So do you. Let's get that out of the way, shall we?
   
4. Give more than you get. There will always be more than enough.
   
5. Be present for those around you. Following Jesus has nothing to do with your work, your resume or your income. In fact, nothing that matters does.
   
6. Treasure broken-ness. Our broken places are sacred spaces in our heart. Honour them. Value them. In doing so you love the unlovely, publicly declaring the beauty of God's image in everyone. Greet the broken with comfort and cool water.
   
7. Throw a party.
   
8. Know Jesus well enough to recognize him on the street. This is rather important, because he can always be found on the street - and he usually looks more like a pan-handler than a preacher.
   
9. Accept ingratitude and abuse as a fixed cost. Embrace them, and then go the extra mile.
   
10. If you follow Jesus, you will anger religious people. This is how you will know.

Strong words. Yet this is a snapshot of the Christian life that resonates with us. We might not agree with all of these credos, or put them quite this way; we might want to add a few more or nuance them slightly - but on the whole, these are the kind of people we hope to become, and this is the kind of church we'd like to plant here in Missoula.

Of course, you can't describe a church in ten short bullet points. But you can paint a picture, and much of what we will be writing about over the coming months will be intended to do just that - to offer sketches, glimpses, hints of what we're about and where we hope to go.

We may not ever be able to describe what we are after exhaustively, but given enough time and snapshots, I think the vision we are pursuing will start to become clear. And in the meantime, we'd still love to hear from you...