When I think about going out and getting a nice cold-one, I always picture it in a pint glass.  In my mind, the pint glass is the most universal of all beer glasses.  Almost every bar I’ve been in….actually ever bar I’ve been in uses a pint glass to serve their beer in it.

There are a lot of reasons why the pint glass might be so popular.  They are cheap to make, easy to store, easy to drink out of, and are not as fragile as other glassware. The pint glass seems to be the workhorse of the beer glass world.

The pint glass is characterized by it’s nearly cylindrical shape with a wide-mouth and a slight taper from top to bottom.  It comes in two standard sizes. The 16-ounce is the most common, but the 20-ounce would be more popular (obviously).  A 20-ounce pint glass can be recognized by the slight ridge towards the top of the glass which helps with handling and stacking.

The list of beer styles that are good in a pint glass is quite long.  Name a beer and it’s probably going to work well with a pint glass. This is why I would recomend any person wanting to start their beer glass collection should start with pint glasses.

The couple reportedly walked around the bar, bibles in hand, telling people off for swearing.  They even got to the point that they banned people from the pub for cursing.  They were eventually fired by the owner, but instead of leaving graciously…they have barricaded themselves in the flat that is above the pub and have taken the owner to court.

After reading this story, I decided that to many of us are decent Christians that would never be as bad as this couple was at sharing their faith.  So I thought I would come up with some simple steps that you can take if you would like to live up to their level of stupidity.

1. Tell people they are sinning when they are not.
   I love the fact that they took over a pub and then took away gambling and darts.  Gambling I can kind of understand, but it’s not really a sin.  Greed is the sin.  But darts just confounds me.  How could throwing a sharp object at a wall be a sin.  That just sounds like good fun to me.
2. Focus on the sin and not the sinner.
   Here is a news flash.  Sinners sin.  That’s what we do best.  It’s that whole sin nature thing.  Telling someone without a regenerated (I don’t like using big words…but it fits) heart to not sin is just dumb.  It’s like telling a dog to not lick its butt…they might stop…but they won’t like it.  The only way to truly reach someone is to show them their complete depravity…not showing them they have a few little dirty spots in their life.
3. Preach morality and not Jesus.
   This kind of goes with number two, but has a little different slant to it.  If you really want to piss someone off, tell them that cleaning up their act will get them into heaven.  There are a couple of reasons this will work.  First, you’re lying to them.  The only way to heaven is Jesus.  Anything else is a lie.  Second, if they try your method, they are going to get frustrated really quickly.  Remember the whole unregenerated heart thing.  They can’t help but to sin.  So you are asking them to stop doing something they can’t stop themselves from doing.  You are asking them to live biblically without the power of Jesus to do so.
4. Sue them.
   If all else fails, just take them to court.  Nothing says Jesus loves you like a subpoena.

Well I hope this helps.  If you find yourself with a great opportunity to share the love of Jesus to some broken people and you want to screw it up, just remember to follow these four simple steps.

If you missed the posts, here is a quick recap.

Clayton Bell reminded us of the need to amplify and centralize Jesus.

CJ Mills gave us a great post on how beer is made.

Ross Middleton posted the question about what to do when a Christian brother is getting wasted.

Once again thanks guys for all your help.  I really enjoyed getting to read posts from the readers.  It was great getting to see views and writing styles other than my own.   If anyone else is ever interested in doing a guest post, the door is always open.  Just shoot me an email with your post to greg [at] thebeerean [dot] com.

I was at a bachelor party about a year ago for a friend of mine who is still currently a Christian seminary student and we were just hanging out at a restaurant/bar type place. Some of the guys started buying him some shots. No biggie. Then some other guys at the place found out it was his bachelor party and they started buying him shots also. He had also had some beer too that night if I remember correctly. He started drinking a lot and getting drunk and people were still bringing him more alcohol. By the end of the night he was totally trashed.

While I don’t have a problem with drinking alcohol, I do have a problem with getting drunk. I believe it is sin and it separates us from God. My dilemma in this moment is that I am not super close with this guy. I have known him for a while and he is a Christian brother but all of his close friends who are Christians were also there and none of them were trying to stop him from drinking any more except for one guy, who got overruled because of majority.

There were also some unbelievers there. So my problem was, I didn’t think that what he was doing was right, but I didn’t necessarily feel like I had the liberty to speak into his life when he had other Christian friends much closer to him than me also there.

I didn’t know if I should be that guy to stop it. If I had felt like I had known what to do, I wouldn’t have had any problem being that guy, so instead I just kind of sat there and did not encourage him to drink anymore. Looking back, I’m not sure I made the right decision. I would love to hear people’s thoughts on a situation like this so that I could learn if I am ever in a situation like this again.

I know most people have heard about the KISS method (Keep is Simple Stupid). I’m going to call this the KISSS method. My friend Mario shared this concept with me the other night when we got a few drinks together.

He said any time that you go out to get a few drinks to stay with the same style of beer. This will allow you to distinguish the different flavors in a beer from one brand to another. If you jump from one extreme to another, it is going to hinder your ability to really get the full flavor of the beer.

So the next time you go to the bar for a couple of cold ones, remember to Keep It the Same Style Stupid.

The Coyote Ugly owner decided to not fight for the location and decided to cancel the lease at the location. The property owner Stefan Latorre sent out a press release on Tuesday announcing the cancellation.

The release came days after nearby residents and churchgoers flooded city officials with complaints that the bar would bring heavy drinking and unruly behavior to a corner shared by a day care center. It also came hours before residents were to speak about the issue at a City Council meeting.

Latorre also used the press release to let the residents know that their fears were based upon the fictional movie and not on reality.  He also went on to state that this isn’t something new to the location.

“The Coyote Ugly organization was, by far, the best alternative we had received for this space that has been the home of numerous bars, restaurants or bar-restaurant combinations, none of which lasted long-term,” Latorre wrote.

Latorre went on to say that he is going to continue to find a bar or bar/restaurant to fill the property.  In my favorite quote of the whole article Latorre tells the residents of the area,

We hope people who choose to live in center city will understand and fully appreciate the circumstances that come with living in a vibrant urban area,

Translation:  You people live in a freakin’ urban area.  There are going to be bars.  So shut up and get over your self-righteous selves.

You can read the whole article here.

Have you heard about the church in Charlotte NC that fought to keep a Coyote Ugly Saloon from moving in across the street from them? I first read about it in an article from the Charlotte Observer last week (no I’m not subscribed to the Charlotte Observer…I just have a Google Alert set up to send me anything with the words church and bar in it).

To be honest, I didn’t know what to think when I first read about the situation. I can understand where the church might be coming from. Most of us wouldn’t want a place that is known for half-dressed women using sex to sell booze to horny men moving in next to where we meet to worship.

But the other side of me says this is a great opportunity. This is an opportunity to have the lost right at your front door. The people that go to this place, go to try to fill a void in their lives. Those that are in the church have the only thing that will ultimately fill that void. Jesus.

Honestly I don’t know what I would do in this situation. To promote the placement of this bar would seem to be promoting lewdness, drunkenness, adultery, and cheesy bar chains. But to not promote seems to show that you are a church that is all about keeping the lost and hurting away from the only source of hope.

Seems liked you’re damned if you do and your damned if you don’t.

What’s your thoughts?

There are those out there that will say that we should not use our freedom in Christ to drink (there are times that we should put aside our freedom, but I’ll talk about that in a future post).  They will use lame excuses like how our kids will become drug addicts.  They will say that drinking alcohol no matter what is a sin and those that do drink alcohol should question their salvation.

But I was reading through Galations this week and I came across some really profound verses that helped me to understand the connection between our freedom to drink a nice cold one and the gospel even more.

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. – Gal 2:4-5

It is clear that in these verses that Paul makes a direct connection between our freedoms and the gospel.  Whoever these guys were that sneaked into the church, were trying to take away the freedoms of the believers.  They were trying to take away what God had given them as freedom in Christ.

Paul’s reaction wasn’t, “well we have to help these weaker brother’s in Christ, so we’ll give up our freedoms.”  His reaction was to not even yield for a moment.  He held high the banner of his freedom in Christ in the face of his opponents.

What was even better is the fact that he didn’t do this for his own selfish gain.  He did it so the gospel would preserved for those that were around him.  He wanted the Galatians to see that Christ came to set us free. That in Christ we don’t have to be in slavery to the things of this world.   That Christ came so we could have the freedom to worship Him with every aspect of our lives.  That we don’t gain salvation through rituals or good works but through Christ alone.

So my charge to you fellow beer drinkers is the same as Paul’s:

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. – Gal 5:1

Go therefore have a drink and spread the good news.  Tell them Jesus sent you.

photo by: maccanti

ChristiaNet.com just came out with the results of a poll that they took on their site asking the question, “Does drinking alcohol hurt a Christian’s witness?”. The results I must say were pretty interesting/annoying/dumb/”who said you could have a web site”.

To quote the article:

Out of 2,300 Christians surveyed, a whopping 66% felt that drinking alcohol would hurt a Christian’s witnessing ability for Christ.

Whopping?! I didn’t realize that 66% was considered whopping. That last time I checked you had to have at least 85% to even consider it a whopping.

So from the results of this poll they determined that it would hurt a Christian’s witness if they drank alcohol. The president of ChristianNet.com even said:

Christians should attempt to avoid drinking alcohol, especially when in the presence of non-believers.

Here is the thing that really makes me mad. When did we start determining our theology based upon popular vote? I say give up the polls and look at what God’s word says on the subject. Are we free to drink (in moderation and consideration of those that have issues)? If we are, then I would say God gave us that freedom so we can use it to give Him glory. Instead we are taking polls.

The other thing that makes me mad is who are they asking this question. If our theology is based upon what the bible says, then what determines our methodology? I would say our cultural context (it’s kinda how Jesus did it). Now I could see how a poll like this could help us to determine our methodology. The only problem is we are asking the wrong people. If you want to find out if a freedom that we have is hurting our witness, don’t ask a bunch of stuffy Christians who think drinking is wrong in the first place.

Ask the people who need witnessing. Ask those on the outside, “Would you respect the Christian faith if Christians showed you that you can enjoy alcohol yet not let it overtake your life?” Ask them if they would be more willing to listen to what a Christian has to say over a nice cold one in a bar or in picket line in front of the bar.

To summarize, let me drop the Piper bomb real quick:

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

God is not most glorified when we hole ourselves up in our Christian ghettos and throw gospel tracts at the lost when they get near. But God is glorified when we show our complete satisfaction in Him in all areas of our lives…even drinking a beer.

So here is my response to your poll ChristiaNet.com. Does drinking alcohol hurt a Christian’s witness? No. I say NOT drinking alcohol hurts a Christian’s witness.

Photo by: rick

With my recent post on how Christians that love beer are called to be missionaries to the world of beer, I thought I would give you some quick tips on how to be a missionary at your local bar.

1. Leave a big tip.
   In the words of one of my friends, “Your Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but you’re leaving a 5% tip.”  What is it with most Christians being so tight with their money?  I workded as a waiter through college, and I have to say that I was embarressed to be a Christian sometimes.  I didn’t work on Sunday’s, but the people that did hated it.  And it was all because of the Christians that came in after church.  They were rude, annoying, and terrible tippers.  In the world of waiting, this is like having Satan as your customer.  Show so some love and leave a nice tip.
2. Don’t be afraid to be a Christian.
   Now I’m not saying walk into the joint carrying your John McArther Study Bible, wearing all white, having a huge comb-over and singing Amazing Grace (you’ll get your ass kicked).  What I’m saying is to not be afraid to share the hope that you have inside of you.  Whether that means spending some time reading your Bible while enjoying a nice cold one or helping someone get through a tuff situation by sharing about Jesus, don’t worry about openly being a Christian (whooo! that was a run-on sentence).  The reality is that most people are actually really cool with it (and sometimes really curious).
3. Get to know your bartender/support staff by name.
   Bartenders and support staff are normally nameless faces.  You’ll be amazed with how much further a relationship will go if you know someones name.  Enough said. 
4. Care for the people that work there and the regulars.
   I’m not talking about superficial-I’m-pretending-like-I-care caring.  Actually care for the well being of these peoples lives.  This is both spiritually and here on earth.  Care about their lives, their families, their finances, their jobs, their souls.  Take interest in them and their lives.
5. Pray for them.
   This kind of goes in line with the previous tip.  The reality is that if you care about their lives you should be praying for them.  When they tell you about their troubles, pray for them.  When you think about them during the week, pray for them.   As you get to know them better, ask if you can pray for them right then and there. 
6. Bring your Christian friends with you.
   God has designed us to work together as a body.   We called to work together.  We are called to unity.  We are called to lift each other up.  We are called to use our gifts where they are needed.  So why do we always think of evangelism and missions as a Lone Ranger affair?  If you are doing this alone, I would say that you are working from an area of weakness and not strength.  So don’t go it alone.  Plus, you just look weird drinking by yourself.
7. Listen.
   This goes hand in hand with the caring tip, but I think it deserves to be by itself.  You need to listen to the problems of those that are around you.  Bars can be a breading ground for loneliness and dispair.  Be observant of those that around you in the bar.  Be there to listen.
8. Toast “to the glory of God.”
   You might think this is corny, but it works for me.  It helps me remember why I’m at the bar.  It’s a reminder of what my ultimate purpose is.  It helps me to remember that there is Someone greater than beer.
9. Pray for yourself.
   “Pride comes before the fall.”  Don’t think that you can do this without God.  He is your ultimate strength.  Pray for strength.  Pray for guidance.  Pray for opportunities.  Pray for humility.  Pray for patience.  Pray.
10. Share the gospel.
    In in the end, missionaries share the gospel.  You can be nice.  You can pray for people.  You can listen to their problems.  You can do all this and more, but if you don’t share the gospel, it’s pointless.  The gospel is the only thing that has the power to change anythig in their lives.  If you don’t share the gospel, you’re nothing more than a nice guy who likes to drink beer.