A View From the Drive-Thru

In my last blog I wrote about working at McDonald's.  Not the sexiest job in the world, I'll give you that. However, this particular McDonald's was very unique.  The interior was decorated with scenes from fairy tale stories (try finding that at your local burger joint), which the kids loved.  But that was not even the best part.  What really brought the youngsters in was the drive-thru.
My local manifestation of the global behemoth known as McDonald's was originally constructed without a drive-thru.  On either side of the counter were small little rooms where customers could sit and eat (or have a birthday party) and at the back of those areas were the restrooms (given their proximity to the loo one only ate in these ante-chambers when the rest of the dining room was full).  When the owners of the store decided to join the 20th century and add a drive-thru they had no place to put it.  Ah, but this is America and we are a creative people when it comes to finding ways to make money by serving folks unhealthy food in their cars.  The owners constructed a little booth on the other side of the birthday party/entrance to the men's bathroom alcove (putting the party area in front of the men's bathroom was a brilliant move since nothing added to the fun of a 5 year-old birthday celebration like the smells that came wafting out of the men's room.  The Big Mac, it became clear, did not agree with everyone).
But how, you may ask, did the food get to the booth?  Now, that was the cool part.  Since they did not want to lose the seating or men's bathroom the owners had a conveyor belt built that ran between the front counter and the drive-thru.  The whole contraption hung from the ceiling so that people could walk underneath of it but it had glass on the sides so you could see the food get from the counter to the drive-thru.  This conveyor belt, dear reader, provided countless hours of entertainment to the masses who, having nothing better to do with their time, would stand in awe of moving french fries (cue up Proud To Be An American right about now).
I do not recall, or wish to remember, how much of my life was spent in that booth.  It was maybe 4 feet wide and about 10 feet long, and when you threw in all of the equipment (cash register, drink dispenser, ice bin, cups, coffee pots, etc.) it became very cozy.  You felt like you were on a deserted island in that booth.  The door was locked from the outside so the curious or criminally inclined could not get in.  Except for the breakfast/lunch/dinner rush hours, when another person or two was thrown in the mix, the drive-thru booth was run by one person.  Alone.  By themselves.  With no one to see what you did or how you did it (unless customers came inside to complain, then the manager might take an interest in your activities).
Did you know that over 80% of the business at a fast food restaurant comes via the drive-thru?  People like to satisfy their appetites in the safety and security of their automobiles.  Yes, there were people making the food and a person called a "runner" who was getting the orders together at the main counter, but it was the person in the drive-thru that saw most of the action.  The employee working in the booth got to take all of those orders, see all of the happy, smiley faces, wait while customers tried to get out of their cars and pick up the change they dropped all over the ground (which was really fun because the drivers-side door was about six inches from the side of the building) and, my personal favorite, suggestive sell.
All of us are familiar with suggestive selling.  It happens at most restaurants.  "Would you like some fries with that?" is suggestive selling.  "How about an apple pie?" is suggestive selling.  "Can I get you anything else?" is not suggestive selling.  Trust me on this one, I still have emotional scares from the frequent reprimands I got from the store's general manager.  The point of suggestive selling is to get you to buy more by suggesting a particular product that you have not already ordered.  The more you suggestive sold the happier the owner was.  Yet, suggestive selling is a difficult task.  Even the good ones, the "Can I get you a sundae?" All-Stars, struck out more often than they succeeded.  Suggestive selling involved a lot of rejection.  And there is nothing like being rejected, through an intercom, in a locked room, all by yourself.
Too often, I fear, people think of Christians as if we were restaurant employees trying to sell them something they did not order and do not want.  And just as frequently I believe that followers of Jesus feel like they are out there in that booth, all alone, under pressure to push their religion on other people.  Faith is not a product, even if some TV evangelists try to act as if it were.  It cannot be bought or purchased and suggestive selling is not what Jesus calls us to do.  Faith is about story, about how God moves in our lives and transforms us into the people God created us to be.  Evangelism is nothing more than sharing our story, not so people will "buy" it, but because our story is filled with so much good news we just have to tell other folks about it. 
Since humans first walked the earth we have told each other stories.  Some are made up, others based upon real events, but by sharing our stories we invite people into our lives, our joys and celebrations, struggles and failures, hopes and dreams.  Stories bind us together and, every once in a while, they can change our lives.  That is why, for thousands of years, God has spoken to us through stories.  So, don't fear telling your story or listening to other people tell theirs.  Who knows, God may be speaking to you in the narrative.