The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

(Luke 7:34 ESV)

Everywhere you look in the book of Luke, Jesus is getting criticized for one thing or another.  He was criticized for going to parties.  He was criticized for healing people.  He was criticized for his teaching.  He was criticized for eating.  He was criticized for drinking.  At the heart of all of his criticism is the fact that he hangs out with sinners.

Here is the hard truth.  If you choose to drink as a Christian, religious tight-wads are going to criticize you.  If you choose to drink with lost people, you’re really going to be criticized! Like Jesus, they are going to categorize you as a drunkard.  Here is the point tough.  How are you going to handle the criticizing?  Are you going to fold?  Are you going to let the religious tight-wads get to you?

Will you stand strong though for the truth of the gospel?  I hope you do and where you label of drunkard with pride.  Here is a few thoughts on critics from Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church.

So how do start a blog up again?  What should your first “real” post be about?  I started theBeerean.com on April 20th, 2008 with one simple thought in mind.  There needs to be a blog for Christians who like beer.  My ultimate hope with the blog would be that:

God stirs in His people to redeem the world of beer for His glory and that people might come to know His Son, Jesus, as their ultimate treasure and salvation.

It was a lofty vision statement, but I still stand by it.  This blog ultimately isn’t about beer.  It’s about Jesus.  More clearly…it’s about how we can use our beer to worship Jesus. This blog isn’t another Christian ghetto for you to avoid the world.  Instead I hope to show you a different perspective on beer…a truly Christian perspective.  As I’ve grown over the past two years, I see even more clearly how this is possible.  I also see four distinct areas in our lives that we are called to use our beer with a purpose.

Gospel Identity

We are called to not find our identity in beer, beer knowledge, or drinking capacity.  Our identity is to be found in Jesus.  Any other identity we try to hold on to is ultimately worthless in comparison.

Worship

We are worshippers.  There is no way around it.  Human beings were created to worship.  Therefore we will either worship creation or Creator.  So you will constantly be hearing point you to worship our Creator with one of his best creations…beer.

Community

God lives in community.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live for all eternity in community.  Therefore if we want to image them like we are suppose to, we mus also be in community.  So why not do it with a nice cold one.

Mission

This is probably the drum the you’ll hear me beat the loudest.  We are a people who are sent on a mission.  God gave us beer to enjoy, to worship Him with, to be in community with others…but we are ultimately called to share the joy that can be found in Jesus with those that are hurting in this world.  I have always and will always see beer as a great tool that has been given to us.  We must use it wisely.

So how do you restart a blog?  You go back to the basics.  What are you about?  What is in your heart?  This is my passion.  Will you join me?

I love having a nice beer while hanging out with family waiting for the bird to cook. A glass of wine goes so well with dinner when it’s ready too. You also can’t forget about toasting in the New Year. Alcohol and this time of the year just seem to go together. Everyone seems to be offering you another beer or glass of wine or egg nog or peppermint schnops or Irish coffee or glass of scotch (I’m getting thirsty).

I want to remind you though that your relationship with Jesus is more important than your next drink. With the spirits flowing so easily this time of year it’s east to abuse it (especially if your drunk uncle is egging you on). Your sin can easily be compounded by the fact that you are around friends and family. Not only to do you sin by getting drunk, but you ruin your witness.

Therefore, remember to stop and think before you take Uncle Bubba up on that next round of drinks. It’s not a sin to enjoy a nice cold one, but it is a sin to get drunk…plus no one wants to see your Santa Claus underwear again this year.

Click here to watch the video if you can’t see it.

***Spoiler Warning***

Watch the video first.
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Honestly, there is this weird tension in me right now.  I’m sad that I’m saying goodbye to being the main contributor on this blog, but I feel a since of relief.  As you can probably tell, I haven’t had the time to devote to this blog as I did when I first started it several months ago.  Because of that, I’ve become overly guilty and stressed.  I love beer, and I love the friends that I’ve made through this blog.

I’m also feeling a sense of excitement at the possibilities.  As I said in the video, thebeerean.com is now open for anyone to contribute.  You simple have to be a registered user.  To start off with I’ll be checking posts before the go live…but as someone shows that they aren’t a spammer I’ll give them full rights to post their articles right away.  I hope that thebeerean.com continues on after me to be a vibrant community where believers can share their views on God, Jesus, the Bible, and beer.

Don’t worry though.  I’ll still be around in the comments and at my personal web site.  I fully intend to be part of this community as it grows.  And don’t forget, “We’ll always have Paris.”  Wait no…umm….

Remember “whether you eat or drink, do it all to the glory of God.”

Our good friend Clayton Bell posted today asking for more content on the net that is produced for Christians.  He used theBeerean.com as an example of just this. But he ended his post with the question:

Am I asking for the type of content that will continue to entrench Christians in our own little ghetto?

I would have to say yes and no to this question.  This is actually that I have been struggling with over the last week.  I was asked by someone on the 4th of July why I don’t just do a beer blog…why does it have to be a Christian beer blog.  Now before I give you my answer, let me inform you of something first.

I hate (yes hate…I want to use a word that strong) the Christian ghetto.  If you don’t know what the Christian ghetto is, it is the world that Christians have created so they don’t have to interact with the rest of the world.  The easiest way to recognize it is how the word Christian is thrown in front of everything.  Christian bookstore, Christian music, Christian t-shirts, Christian radio stations, Christian restaurants, and Christian amuesment parks are a few to start. The last time I checked, Christian was an awesome noun and a horrible adjective.

So to think of the possiblility that I might be added to the ranks of the Christian ghetto scares/hurts me.  I hope you never get the idea that I write this blog to keep you from having to interact with any other aspect of the beer world.  That has never been and never will be my intention. If anything it is quite the opposite.

So back to my answer to the question posed by my friend on the 4th.  I don’t write a Christian beer blog.  I write a beer blog from the perspective of someone who has been radically transformed by the gospel.  My reason for writing isn’t to create our own little Christian beer blogging world, but to give you a different perspective as you do go into the world of beer. I want you to see that beer is more than just a tasty beverage.  I want you to see that beer is an instrument to be used to bring glory to God.  This blog is used to encourage you to get out of the ghetto and to glorify God with everything that He has given you.

So to answer your question Clayton, I think the content that you ask for could just add to the Christian ghetto.  If it’s just offering up the same content as the world and slapping on the label of Christian so people don’t get “dirty.”  But you’ll never see that on this blog (and if I ever do…call me on it).

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.

We’re going to Shannon’s boss’s house tonight to go swimming and watch fireworks from their house that overlooks Albuquerque.  I’m going to drink some good beer (and maybe some wine) and do some much needed relaxing/partying.  But something came to mind.

Every time I read about Jesus going to a party, feast, festival, holiday, or celebration, he is preaching the gospel.  Jesus always used the natural gathering of people to share God’s desire to show His glory in their lives.  Holiday’s weren’t a day off for Him.  Instead they were a great opportunity to be used.

So how are you using the 4th to share the gospel?  Do you see holidays only as a time to relax and retreat?  Do you see holiday’s as a time reach out to those who are far from God?  Am I an idiot, or am I hitting a nerve?

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.