Serve by Design

I have often written about the impact of ideation on one of my favorite beverages – Dr Pepper! It wasn’t too long ago that I was snookered into buying Dr Pepper: Dark Berry Zero Sugar! I hated it and couldn’t give it away! This new attempt at ideation is another one I will be quickly sending off to the idea-garbage heap! This latest one was inspired by a TikTok campaign aided by the likes of Sonic Drive-In’s who are adding dill pickles to the sacred Dr Pepper formula! This is just wrong! What is this world coming to?? Static Media: shutterstock.getty.com The slogan “new and improved” may be the motto for product ideation, but I vigorously resist any attempts to cater to a sour-pickle-cult-following of social media “noodle heads” who want to mess with my Dr Pepper! Surely there are better ways to generate new ideas and at the same time protect the integrity of a product without going crazy! Now, I have no problem with ideation when it comes to Blue Bell Ice Cream choosing to add a new...

It was twenty years ago, May 19, 2003, that I was awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. This degree was seven years in the making! The first four years went by at a very satisfying pace. I worked through seven seminars that covered a range of topics in theology and practical ministry. I loved every minute of those weeklong campus experiences in January and May each year! Draft, Dissertation, Diploma! The collegiality of a D.Min. cohort puts you in close contact with ministers from various denominational backgrounds. I found the camaraderie both academically challenging and spiritually stimulating. Many of us ate our evening meals together in local restaurants. We stayed up late in the dorm rooms we shared discussing matters of ministry. We also partnered with each other in various presentations during class time. I grew professionally and spiritually during those years with new study friends. After seminars, the program shifted...

The kitchen table was the center of conversation for our family during my growing up years. I have fond memories of my mother leading share times around that table at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was also the setting where mom would engage neighbor friends with a good cup of coffee just before school each day. My after-school reporting came at the same place as mom wanted to know everything about my day. Customers, while waiting on their cars to be serviced at my dad's nearby shop, would also sit, sip their coffee, and visit around that same table. It became the center of our family’s “conversational universe!” Coffee and Conversation at Matt's! I know that many busy families have a hard time these days getting all their loved ones to sit down and eat a meal together. The pace of life and individual commitments seem to have encroached on these daily opportunities to be and do life together at a common table. It’s hard if not impossible to get everyone to take a few minute...