Drink the kool aid – verb, slang term – 1. the action of wholeheartedly buying into the vision of a religious organization, even to a fault. 2. a crude reference to the tragedy of People’s Temple massacre as lead by Jim Jones.
Last night, Kristen and I watched Undercover Boss, and we giggled that people were really proud to work for Choice Hotels. Now, I actually like their hotels because I like to travel on the cheap. But it was hard to imagine making that company my life’s work. It’s one thing to drink the kool aid for a hotel chain. But it’s another to drink it for a church.
Let’s face it. Every good organization has some kool aid drinking going on. Those people have their own language, their own culture, and their own traditions. People inside the organization don’t even see it. But visitors come in as outsiders and walk around wide-eyed, not getting it.
People drunk on kool aid can be peculiar to be around… but there’s fewer things finer in the world than being happily under the influence of kool aid! I used to get weirded out by this phenomenon… but now I see it a lot differently. I actually think it is kind of beautiful.
As I talk to folks who work at churches and other Christian organizations I see two distinct types of people:
- People who drank deep of the organizations kool aid and are purveyors of it themselves.
- People who are too skeptical of all organizations to ever drink the kool aid, therefore wander churches aimlessly looking for the right place to worship or work.
With these two types of people I guess I have have two different types of advice
For those drunk on kool aid:
- Enjoy it! Be happy in Jesus where you are!
- Every once and a while, come up from your intoxication to make sure your life is balanced (doing stuff outside of your church) and that what your church is up to lines up with the priorities of the Bible.
For those skeptics afraid to drink deep of kool aid’s fount:
- It’s crazy to think about, but the early church was full of kool aid drinkers. (Acts 2:15) Sometimes you (really, I mean “we” since I struggle with this) need to stop being über critical and just drink the kool aid to find what you are looking for.
- Your (and by you, I include myself) inability to drink the kool aid at any religious organization reveals something about your own heart. It’s not that there is something wrong with “them,” it may just be that there is something wrong with you.
In short: Stay thirsty, my friends.
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