Thoughts While in the McDonald's Drive Thru

The other day I was hungry. It was around noon so this was not too odd. What was odd was that I found myself in a rather long line at a McDonald's drive thru. I had time....lots of time. I did my usual playing with the phone routine, checking email and Facebook updates that remarkably hadn't changed in five minutes.. I looked in my rear view mirror and caught the guy behind me with his index finger two joints deep into his nose. “Must have a deviated septum.” I thought. This continued car length after car length until I finally reached the menu board.

Over the years I have noticed the ever changing appearance of the American drive thru. Especially McDonald's. McDonald's hires the best marketing geniuses to bring us such culinary delights like the Chicken McNugget, Double Quarter Pounder, the Dollar Menu and the Mc DLT. That last one came from the the same guys who brought us “New Coke”. What they brought to the table after being fired from Coke was an innate ability to be out of touch with just about every living person on the planet. They were last seen walking out of Microsoft headquarters carrying pink slips for bringing the world Vista. Apparently they make rounds through corporate America forcing their marketing blunders where ever they go.

My first suspicion came when I finally reached the speaker and was greeted, not by a human voice, but by a pre-recorded message asking if I would be interested in whatever the deal of the day was followed by, “Order when ready.”

What the heck was that? I thought, as I proceeded to order.

“I'll have a number three meal with a Coke, and that's all.”

I must say that it was pure genius for McDonald's to steal the Chinese menu method. This must shave at least three seconds off a typical drive thru order. They lose that advantage with what happened next.

The voice on the other end, a human one this time, repeated my order, and then asked if I would be interested in a McFlurry or apple pie. Note that I ended my order with, “...and that's all.” I do this deliberately. You see, I am trying to speed this up as much as they are. I figure if I use little cues like that then maybe they will pick up on that and save me from telling them no when they ask if I would like something else. Really, I had plenty of time to decide what I wanted to order, if I wanted something else I would have ordered it before I said, “...and that's all.” Unfortunately they still ask and each time that is three seconds I will never get back....So it goes..

There used to be a day when you would pull up to the speaker at the drive thru and you were greeted by a sometimes friendly voice. You would then place your order. They would repeat it back to you with your total and you were done. What was missing was the impersonal automated recorded sales pitch for something you never gave any thought to, and the feeling that one gets when approached by a used car salesman.

I think what bothered me most about the whole experience was that my first encounter was with a machine. It was the same frustration I feel when I try to call any business these days. Rarely are we greeted by a human voice anymore. Usually we are picked up at the third ring by an automated voice answering system that runs us through a list of options to get us to yet another automated voice with it's own set of options, and so on, and so on, etc, yada yada hey.

Over the years we have lost a connectedness that, at times, I think, we will never get back. Texting has replaced phone calls. Most social interaction can be done from the comfort of our home through social networks like Facebook and Myspace. These tools are great. I use them like everyone else and have caught up with people that I lost contact with over twenty years ago. They are great ways to keep in touch, but we need real connections as well. You can't share a meal with someone on Myspace. You can't receive a hug on Facebook, though they do have that poke feature that creeps me out. C'mon, why would something that would get you punched in the real world be acceptable in the cyber world?

I left that McDonald's drive thru with a number three and a Coke, and a whole lot of unresolved issues with the direction society is going.

Maybe I would have been better if I just watched the guy pick his nose a little longer.

It is what it is......

Thoughts While in the McDonald's Drive Thru

The other day I was hungry. It was around noon so this was not too odd. What was odd was that I found myself in a rather long line at a McDonald's drive thru. I had time....lots of time. I did my usual playing with the phone routine, checking email and Facebook updates that remarkably hadn't changed in five minutes.. I looked in my rear view mirror and caught the guy behind me with his index finger two joints deep into his nose. “Must have a deviated septum.” I thought. This continued car length after car length until I finally reached the menu board.

Over the years I have noticed the ever changing appearance of the American drive thru. Especially McDonald's. McDonald's hires the best marketing geniuses to bring us such culinary delights like the Chicken McNugget, Double Quarter Pounder, the Dollar Menu and the Mc DLT. That last one came from the the same guys who brought us “New Coke”. What they brought to the table after being fired from Coke was an innate ability to be out of touch with just about every living person on the planet. They were last seen walking out of Microsoft headquarters carrying pink slips for bringing the world Vista. Apparently they make rounds through corporate America forcing their marketing blunders where ever they go.

My first suspicion came when I finally reached the speaker and was greeted, not by a human voice, but by a pre-recorded message asking if I would be interested in whatever the deal of the day was followed by, “Order when ready.”

What the heck was that? I thought, as I proceeded to order.

“I'll have a number three meal with a Coke, and that's all.”

I must say that it was pure genius for McDonald's to steal the Chinese menu method. This must shave at least three seconds off a typical drive thru order. They lose that advantage with what happened next.

The voice on the other end, a human one this time, repeated my order, and then asked if I would be interested in a McFlurry or apple pie. Note that I ended my order with, “...and that's all.” I do this deliberately. You see, I am trying to speed this up as much as they are. I figure if I use little cues like that then maybe they will pick up on that and save me from telling them no when they ask if I would like something else. Really, I had plenty of time to decide what I wanted to order, if I wanted something else I would have ordered it before I said, “...and that's all.” Unfortunately they still ask and each time that is three seconds I will never get back....So it goes..

There used to be a day when you would pull up to the speaker at the drive thru and you were greeted by a sometimes friendly voice. You would then place your order. They would repeat it back to you with your total and you were done. What was missing was the impersonal automated recorded sales pitch for something you never gave any thought to, and the feeling that one gets when approached by a used car salesman.

I think what bothered me most about the whole experience was that my first encounter was with a machine. It was the same frustration I feel when I try to call any business these days. Rarely are we greeted by a human voice anymore. Usually we are picked up at the third ring by an automated voice answering system that runs us through a list of options to get us to yet another automated voice with it's own set of options, and so on, and so on, etc, yada yada hey.

Over the years we have lost a connectedness that, at times, I think, we will never get back. Texting has replaced phone calls. Most social interaction can be done from the comfort of our home through social networks like Facebook and Myspace. These tools are great. I use them like everyone else and have caught up with people that I lost contact with over twenty years ago. They are great ways to keep in touch, but we need real connections as well. You can't share a meal with someone on Myspace. You can't receive a hug on Facebook, though they do have that poke feature that creeps me out. C'mon, why would something that would get you punched in the real world be acceptable in the cyber world?

I left that McDonald's drive thru with a number three and a Coke, and a whole lot of unresolved issues with the direction society is going.

Maybe I would have been better if I just watched the guy pick his nose a little longer.

It is what it is......

I have an idea......

I have an idea......

I have an idea......

I have an idea......

Things to think about while I ponder about things.....Mental Multi-Tasking

O.K. I am not too sure that I can go with this one. I am all for napping on long flights. I'm not too sure that it's a good idea for pilots...read here.


That's what I say...read here

Do we really want this kind of technology in the hands of some guy wanting to power his huntin' cabin? read here

These are fom Guatemala City. The side that rarely makes the news here. pictures here

I am writing more and will post more soon. These are things that I have been thinking about as a result of surfing the web.

Things to think about while I ponder about things.....Mental Multi-Tasking

O.K. I am not too sure that I can go with this one. I am all for napping on long flights. I'm not too sure that it's a good idea for pilots...read here.


That's what I say...read here

Do we really want this kind of technology in the hands of some guy wanting to power his huntin' cabin? read here

These are fom Guatemala City. The side that rarely makes the news here. pictures here

I am writing more and will post more soon. These are things that I have been thinking about as a result of surfing the web.

Help, The Anointing Has Lifted and I Can’t Make It To My Limo!

Note: This is a very rough draft of one chapter of a book I am writing called "For Real, Being Real in an Unreal Church". It is, like the rest of the book, unfinished. I wanted to post this because this is what is going on in my head right now.


Shortly after we were saved, after the glory cloud lifted and we started seeing that even though they were in church, people were still people; we had the chance to see the inner workings of a real life, not too sure how biblical, pastor search committee. During this time we saw a variety of “preachers” come to audition. It was during this time that I realized that a majority of preachers and pastors are full of themselves, especially the self proclaimed bishops, evangelists prophets.

After one such “audition” the prospective pastor, an over the top spitting, screaming towel carrying man o’God called the worship team to play during the altar call. Somewhere between then and the mad rush to Applebee’s this guy ducked out the side door into the office across the hall. As we, the guardians of truth and all that is holy, known as the search committee filed into the office we saw this guy with head in hands looking as if he ran a marathon. When asked how he was his rely was, “The anointing really takes it out of me.” Being a new Christian at the tome, I didn’t read too much into it. But his words stuck with me.

From Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary one form of anointing “was also an act of hospitality (Luke 7:38, 46). It was the custom of the Jews in like manner to anoint themselves with oil, as a means of refreshing or invigorating their bodies (Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 104:15, etc.). This custom is continued among the Arabians to the present day. (emphasis mine)


As I look back I realized that this guy was more about his power, and not too much about God. If this man were truly anointed he would have the energy to do what God set before him. I’m pretty sure that hiding from the people after service was not part of God’s plan for this man.

I read an article from J. Lee Grady recently titled Reality Check: The Case For Relational Christianity. The following is an excerpt from that article.


A friend in Alabama recently told me about a preacher who came to his city in unusual style. The man arrived at a church in a limousine and was whisked into a private waiting room behind the stage area. The evangelist gave specific instructions to leave his limousine's engine running (I guess he wasn't concerned about rising gas prices) so that the temperature inside his car would remain constant.

This evangelist then preached to a waiting crowd, took up his own offering and retired to the waiting room for some refreshments. Then he left the church with his entourage without even speaking to the host pastor.
Reality Check: The Case for Relational Christianity June 23, 2009


It was the combination of my encounter with the anointed pastor and J. Lee Grady’s article that gave me the title, and got me to thinking (again) about the absurd heights we place church leaders.

We have created a cult of personality within the church. We have taken 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” (New King James Version) and let charlatans and wolves into our churches, all the while living in fear that hail the size of VW Bugs and lightning will hit us if we dare question anything, cause you know there is that part in the bible where David had the chance to kill Saul, but didn’t, so somehow that applies to the new covenant. (There is also 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15 that really have no connection to today’s modern church) This gives these leaders carte blanche to do whatever they please without any fear of real consequence in this life.

Another thing that happens to these untouchables is sad and regrettably avoidable if there were such a thing as accountability, and that's sin. A result of placing these people into these elevated celebrity status is that they are left alone, to their own devices and eventually end up in some sort of sin that shocks us and makes us recoil in disbelief saying, “But aren’t they God’s anointed?”

We have heard countless stories of pastors having marriage problems, infidelity issues, porn addiction, runaway children, etc. These issues, and countless others have kept leaders isolated felling like they can’t tell anyone they are human and they need help because, after all, aren’t they God’s anointed?

We need, as J. Lee Grady puts it, a reality check

Help, The Anointing Has Lifted and I Can’t Make It To My Limo!

Note: This is a very rough draft of one chapter of a book I am writing called "For Real, Being Real in an Unreal Church". It is, like the rest of the book, unfinished. I wanted to post this because this is what is going on in my head right now.


Shortly after we were saved, after the glory cloud lifted and we started seeing that even though they were in church, people were still people; we had the chance to see the inner workings of a real life, not too sure how biblical, pastor search committee. During this time we saw a variety of “preachers” come to audition. It was during this time that I realized that a majority of preachers and pastors are full of themselves, especially the self proclaimed bishops, evangelists prophets.

After one such “audition” the prospective pastor, an over the top spitting, screaming towel carrying man o’God called the worship team to play during the altar call. Somewhere between then and the mad rush to Applebee’s this guy ducked out the side door into the office across the hall. As we, the guardians of truth and all that is holy, known as the search committee filed into the office we saw this guy with head in hands looking as if he ran a marathon. When asked how he was his rely was, “The anointing really takes it out of me.” Being a new Christian at the tome, I didn’t read too much into it. But his words stuck with me.

From Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary one form of anointing “was also an act of hospitality (Luke 7:38, 46). It was the custom of the Jews in like manner to anoint themselves with oil, as a means of refreshing or invigorating their bodies (Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 104:15, etc.). This custom is continued among the Arabians to the present day. (emphasis mine)


As I look back I realized that this guy was more about his power, and not too much about God. If this man were truly anointed he would have the energy to do what God set before him. I’m pretty sure that hiding from the people after service was not part of God’s plan for this man.

I read an article from J. Lee Grady recently titled Reality Check: The Case For Relational Christianity. The following is an excerpt from that article.


A friend in Alabama recently told me about a preacher who came to his city in unusual style. The man arrived at a church in a limousine and was whisked into a private waiting room behind the stage area. The evangelist gave specific instructions to leave his limousine's engine running (I guess he wasn't concerned about rising gas prices) so that the temperature inside his car would remain constant.

This evangelist then preached to a waiting crowd, took up his own offering and retired to the waiting room for some refreshments. Then he left the church with his entourage without even speaking to the host pastor.
Reality Check: The Case for Relational Christianity June 23, 2009


It was the combination of my encounter with the anointed pastor and J. Lee Grady’s article that gave me the title, and got me to thinking (again) about the absurd heights we place church leaders.

We have created a cult of personality within the church. We have taken 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” (New King James Version) and let charlatans and wolves into our churches, all the while living in fear that hail the size of VW Bugs and lightning will hit us if we dare question anything, cause you know there is that part in the bible where David had the chance to kill Saul, but didn’t, so somehow that applies to the new covenant. (There is also 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15 that really have no connection to today’s modern church) This gives these leaders carte blanche to do whatever they please without any fear of real consequence in this life.

Another thing that happens to these untouchables is sad and regrettably avoidable if there were such a thing as accountability, and that's sin. A result of placing these people into these elevated celebrity status is that they are left alone, to their own devices and eventually end up in some sort of sin that shocks us and makes us recoil in disbelief saying, “But aren’t they God’s anointed?”

We have heard countless stories of pastors having marriage problems, infidelity issues, porn addiction, runaway children, etc. These issues, and countless others have kept leaders isolated felling like they can’t tell anyone they are human and they need help because, after all, aren’t they God’s anointed?

We need, as J. Lee Grady puts it, a reality check

Stuff Breaks

So, the other day my truck broke. No big deal other than I am using our car to go to work. That is not that bad either seeing that I am closing shop here and I won't have the awkwardness of pulling up to a customers house in a 1998 Buick Regal. Nothing instills confidence in your general contractor like him pulling up in a car.

My truck goes in the shop on Thursday. My van is disabled and going to be sold on Monday. Our computer crashed for the last time, but that is ok, the library is a couple of blocks away, and I have a smart phone.(Now if the owner of the smart phone were smart enough to use it) My laptop is about to give up the ghost, and our can opener is junk.

All of this would make most people think I am cursed. Yet upon further investigation I can sum it up with: Old stuff breaks.

My truck is nine years old and has 125,000 miles on it.
My van is a 1980 E150.
My computer is six years old.
My laptop is just as old.
My can opener came from Dollar General.

So let me rephrase that: Old stuff and crap breaks. It is a curse to be sure. It is the same curse that we are all under. Beating our heads whenever something fails is not only senseless, it's stupid. Ain't no Charlie Brown woe is me going on here. I will just wade through the muck and mire to come out victorious, praising God.

Time out-let's get something clear
I speak-more truth than you want to hear
Scapegoat-to cover up your fear, you can't bring me

You ain't-never seen so much might
Fight for-what I know is right
What up-you got yourself a fight, you can't bring me

Stand up-we'll all sing along
Together-ain't nothin' as strong
Won't quit-we ain't in the wrong, you can't bring me

You...can't...bring...me...down!

Bring me down-you can't bring me down!
Bring me down-you can't bring me down, no!
Bring me down-you can't bring me down!
Bring me down-you can't bring me
down, you can't bring me down!

S.T. You Can't Bring Me Down

Stuff Breaks

So, the other day my truck broke. No big deal other than I am using our car to go to work. That is not that bad either seeing that I am closing shop here and I won't have the awkwardness of pulling up to a customers house in a 1998 Buick Regal. Nothing instills confidence in your general contractor like him pulling up in a car.

My truck goes in the shop on Thursday. My van is disabled and going to be sold on Monday. Our computer crashed for the last time, but that is ok, the library is a couple of blocks away, and I have a smart phone.(Now if the owner of the smart phone were smart enough to use it) My laptop is about to give up the ghost, and our can opener is junk.

All of this would make most people think I am cursed. Yet upon further investigation I can sum it up with: Old stuff breaks.

My truck is nine years old and has 125,000 miles on it.
My van is a 1980 E150.
My computer is six years old.
My laptop is just as old.
My can opener came from Dollar General.

So let me rephrase that: Old stuff and crap breaks. It is a curse to be sure. It is the same curse that we are all under. Beating our heads whenever something fails is not only senseless, it's stupid. Ain't no Charlie Brown woe is me going on here. I will just wade through the muck and mire to come out victorious, praising God.

Time out-let's get something clear
I speak-more truth than you want to hear
Scapegoat-to cover up your fear, you can't bring me

You ain't-never seen so much might
Fight for-what I know is right
What up-you got yourself a fight, you can't bring me

Stand up-we'll all sing along
Together-ain't nothin' as strong
Won't quit-we ain't in the wrong, you can't bring me

You...can't...bring...me...down!

Bring me down-you can't bring me down!
Bring me down-you can't bring me down, no!
Bring me down-you can't bring me down!
Bring me down-you can't bring me
down, you can't bring me down!

S.T. You Can't Bring Me Down