I was driving down the street in my neighborhood on my way to my standard Friday morning “blank” time. Each week, I schedule time to just sit quietly hoping to clear away the details, responsibilities, and stresses of the week in order to center myself. This time is a reminder to me of the truth that Jesus wants my heart more than my non-profit or church work/accomplishments.
A Challenge to Portland’s Hypocrisy
I was driving down the street in my neighborhood on my way to my standard Friday morning “blank” time. Each week, I schedule time to just sit quietly hoping to clear away the details, responsibilities, and stresses of the week in order to center myself. This time is a reminder to me of the truth that Jesus wants my heart more than my non-profit or church work/accomplishments.
I always look forward to this time with a sense of giddiness similar to that of a 1st grader looking forward to recess. On this day, like every other day, I drove by “Bikini Baristas,” a small drive through coffee shop whose motto is “Ordering Espresso can be Fun.” I’ve driven by a hundred times, but this time I started thinking, “What could I do to challenge a place like that?”
My first thoughts involved sneaking around at night with a gas can and matches, but that one doesn’t end pretty and would also most likely end with me spending the next few years of ministry in prison. Obviously, my thoughts quickly moved to more productive ideas that didn’t require me to commit a felony. I began thinking about the objectification of women through sex. Proponents of today’s social commentary demand advertising and venues like these coffee shops to feed and perpetuate an ever growing sexualization of women.
This city seems to be ripe with hypocrisy. It prides itself on the fight for gender and sexual equality yet seems to propagate the porn industry, especially in this neighborhood. How can the same city which values equality go completely silent in the face of thriving businesses that promote a view that women are simply bodies to be used to turn a profit?
I also find it ironic that in this “free”, “liberal” city that the ones who seem to be working the hardest against the sexual exploitation of women and children are the same people who have been stereotyped as promoting the inequality of women and the depreciation of the role of women in the family and society.
In my evolution of thought, I began to wonder two things. First, what would happen if we didn’t battle against the “Bikini Baristas” of this city? What if instead we presented a contrast? Would there be a line of cars at a drive thru coffee stand if it was called “Coffee and Prayer” or “Healthy Grounds,” a coffee drive thru where a person could get a morning kick and a morning prayer or verse of the day? Would people find a place of encouragement, hope, and prayer that touches deep into their souls rather than a place that appeals only to their surface desires?
Second, in a society that encourages affirmative action and equal opportunity employment; what would happen if a 50 year old survivor of breast cancer who had a double mastectomy and has extensive experience as a barista were to apply at the “Bikini Baristas”? What would happen if a 65 year old retired dance instructor were to apply at the “Pitiful Princess” strip club? Is there enough legal grounds to unveil the hypocrisy and darkness in our neighborhoods? Not only that; is there enough COURAGE to try?
