questions and coffee with don miller

Don Miller knows the best coffee shops in Portland. Of course, if you've read his book "blue like jazz," this probably doesn't surprise you. He introduced us to one of these amazing coffee shops called the sip and kranz. Don is the most gracious author I've ever met. (disclaimer: I haven't met enough authors to count them on one hand.) He agreed to take time away from writing his next book to come and meet with a group of college students just to talk about faith, life, and modern culture.

Briefly, here are some thoughts from our conversation:

1. The cutting edge of secular culture is redeeming the Church. Don's point here was that when it comes to things like understanding how community is to be practiced in all aspects of life from town planning to daily routines, the front edge of culture is closer to figuring out what Jesus intended than the Church. If this is true, the huge question is: why? Why has the Church been left behind? This one will be swirling around in my head for some time.

2. The Church has only recently bought into trickle-down economics as the best solution for attacking poverty. Don's point was that this approach has certainly been effective, but it has become very politicized. The other end of the spectrum, that is directly aiding the poor through social policy, has been villainized in the Church with names like liberal, leftist, and democrat. Why isn't there space within the Church for both?

3. Our question: Don, so what does it actually look like to live out authentic faith in community with each other? Don's answer: Marriage. Hmmm.

Don's a pretty cool guy. Ridiculously smart, and very well-read. And he never even had to finish college to get this way (Mom, are you reading this?).