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?

Don’t call it a comeback
I been here for years
Rockin my peers and puttin suckas in fear

-LL Cool J

It has been almost a year-and-a-half since my last post on theBeerean.com.  Jesus has been good to me in this time though.  I’ve done a lot and grown a lot as a Christian, husband, father, and friend.  But in all that time, don’t think that I ever forgot about theBeerean.com.

I’ve kept the site up and watched to see what would happen.  I’ve had several people email me saying thanks and asking questions.  I’ve seen traffic to the site stay pretty consistent.  I’ve even seen traffic from Google increase in my absence.

For the past year, I’ve wrestled with whether or not I should start posting to theBeerean.com again.  I’ve had requests.  I’ve had friends tell me I should.  Even Shannon said I should start the site up again. But I just didn’t know if life (and Jesus) would permit me.

I’m here to tell you, it’s time to start this little rodeo up again.  But don’t call it a come back!  Cause I never went anywhere.  I’ve never stopped enjoying beer.  I’ve never stopped making the beautiful connection between beer and my relationship with Jesus.  I’ve never stopped sharing this joy with those around me.  I’ve never stopped seeing beer as an tool to share the love of Jesus.

So keep your eyes open for new posts to theBeerean.com.  I’ve cleaned up the site, and we’re ready to go. I’ll be sharing my insights on Jesus and beer.  I’ll be helping with the basics of beer.  There will also be Beer Tip of the Week again (give me a few weeks for this though).  In addition, I’m looking to bring in some more categories to the site.  I have some great friends that will be sharing their love for wine and spirits.  I’m looking to take a few field trips to local breweries and vineyards in Albuquerque.

So tell your friends.  Tell your family.  Tell you Uncle Larry.  TheBeearean.com is open for business.  Pour yourself a cold one and belling up to bar.  I’ll bring the content.  You bring the comments.  Together we’ll do it all “to the glory of God.”

I write this from my iPhone while I’m at Discount Tire. This has been a crazy week. It’s been one thing after another. It has been a definate drinking week.

To make a long story short. We were given a vehicle that broke down. So we broke down and borrowed some money from our family to buy another vehicle. After buying that vehicle we found out that it needed new struts, engine mounts, and a new tire (a nail went through the bottom and the wall). So my world has been revolving around car troubles this week.

But during all this there have been some wonderful constants. God has provided and opened doors. Even though the van we bought has some minor issues we got it for $7,700 under blue book and the I can fix all the issues myself. My wife has been so understanding, supportive, and patient. Asa has done awesome and is constantly been cheering us up with wonderful smiles. The beer has been cold (I have to mention beer ).

Don’t worry though. There will be a Beer Tip of the Week. So don’t star rioting just yet.

To the Glory of God,

Greg

I end each Beer Tip of the Week with the verse, “whether you eat or drink, do it all to the glory of God.”  But what does that mean…how do we drink to the glory of God? How can someone be a God glorifying beer drinker.  I hope that I have given you some insight into this arena here already, but I hope to be more focused on this topic over the next few weeks in a series on the God glorifying beer drinker (I honestly have no idea how many posts I’ll do on this).

Here is my major concept that I live by (most of the time). There are things in this world that can be used to either do evil or do good.  Photography, sex, sleeping, running, watching tv, graphics design, surfing the net, eating and drinking are all neutral in and of themselves.  Therefore they can be used to either glorify God or drag His name through the mud.  Therefore I want to try to use everything in my life to glorify God.  I want everything that is neutral in my life to be used to point myself and others to Jesus.

But the major question is how do we do this?  How do I drink beer to the glory of God?  I have some major thoughts on this, but before I start posting on this I want to pose this question to you….do you glorify God with your drinking?  Have you even thought about how to glorify God with your passion for beer?  Do you think it is even possible?

If you aren’t subscribed to Stuff Christians Like, you need to be.  Jon’s satirical view on the Christian subculture is amazing.  With pin point accuracy, he deconstructs the stupid trends in the Christian Ghetto.  Today he decided to tackle the subject of finding out if a friend drinks beer too.

With the majority of Christian’s in America being against drinking (at least they openly are ), Jon gives seven ways that you can subtly find out if a Christian friend drinks too.  My favorite is number five…”The Anything”

When you are going to come over their house, call a few days before and offer to “bring anything you need, like drinks.” Make sure you stress the word “anything” over and over again. What is so great about this move is that it puts the pressure back on them. Now, they are faced with the decision to ask you to bring wine or Sprite. What will they say, what will they say? Oh the intrigue!

I’ve done this several times. You just have to be careful. Because most of the time they will throw it back at you and say, “Oh bring anything you want to drink.”  It’s like a couple of Jr. Highers trying to figure out if the other one likes them.  If I get the anything response back, I ask at that point if an adult beverage would be ok. It’s a little risky, but still better than showing up with a six-pack to their daughter’s 5-year-old birthday party.

So do you have any tricks for finding out if the new friends that you make are drinkers too? Or do you just wear you favorite Guinness hat and toss them a cold one when they ask if you have anything to drink?

Ohh and go here for the whole post by Jon.

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?

Yes you are reading the above graphic right. This is a beer tasting being hosted by a church. Now I don’t know much more than what you see above. But Brad Ruggles sent me this so I had to share. I don’t know about you, but I think beer tasting should replace potlucks as the main staple for church functions. What do you think?

I was probably still in Jr. High because it was while my parents were still married.  My brother (three years older) and I were staying at a friend of the family’s house (I didn’t know it at the time…but he was going to be my step-dad one day) while my parents were off doing something. While staying the night, I had my first opportunity to taste of the nectar that I love so much now.

My parents didn’t drink.  They weren’t against drinking beer…they just didn’t drink. So I had never been around alcohol.  I had seen my friend Coy’s parents drink beer all the time, and I was very intrigued.  But I  never had the chance to try it until then.

I still remember the experience like it was yesterday. After a few beers, all the adults had gone to bed for the night (well passed out), and my brother and I had free reign on the house.  After watching a porno (I forgot to mention this was pre-Christ), the following conversation ensued:

My brother: “Have you ever drank a beer.”
Me: “No.”
My brother: “I have.  I drink beer at my friends house all the time.  His dad doesn’t care.”
Me: “What does it taste like?”
My brother: “It tastes really good.  You should try it.”

At this point we went into the other room and got one of the left over beers.  The tall silver can seemed to glow in the light of the tv-lit room.  My mind began to race with excitement at the thought of tasting this adult-only beverage. As I began to lift the warm half-drank beer to my lips, I had images of grandeur in my head.  But I was snapped back into reality as the warm cat’s piss flavor filled my mouth.

Fighting back my gag reflex, I did what any Jr. High boy would do in my same situation.  I told my brother that it tasted awesome and continued to finish off the can.  It was nearly a decade before I would try beer again.

We could talk all day about the things that are wrong with this story (and probably should do that with a therapist at some point), but I’m more curious as to what everyone else’s first beer experience was like.  What was your first beer?   Did you like beer from the start?  Who introduced you to the world of beer? Inquireing minds want to know.

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.

Clayton recently left his job at Moore Consulting Group to become the Family Pastor at Every Nation, Tallahassee where he will be overseeing Children’s Church, middle school and high school ministries

Clayton has become a good friend and supporter of theBeerean.com and I want to personally say thank you for everything that you do Clayton.

A running joke in Christian music circles is the “Jesus per minute” rule (JPM), a musicians’ term that is derisive of corporate Christian music’s emphasis on happy songs.

It struck me recently that in many Christian blogs, books and sermons any sense of a JPM rule has been thrown out in favor of a CPM (church per minute) rule, SJPM (social justice) rule, PMPM (postmodern) rule, or a ILJBNTCPM (I like Jesus but not the church) rule.

However, when I read through Paul’s letters I’m convicted and challenged by the frequency with which Paul talks about Jesus. Paul doesn’t avoid subjects like morality, service to the poor and the church, but always places Jesus as the motivation, reason and example for all other things. He never lets anything but Jesus be at the center of his thoughts, action, motivations and explanations.

I am so very challenged by this. My tendency is to fall back into rational arguments, formulaic answers, and plug-and-play ideas. I look back on my conversations with my wife, my friends, my family and my coworkers to find the name of Jesus noticeably absent. Not that we should be the crazy Jesus person in the office, but have we gone too far in our attempt to not offend and/or fit in? How can Christ continue to be at the center of our lives if he is continually absent from our conversations?

Perhaps the amplification and centrality of Jesus is the reason churches like Mars Hill Church in Seattle find themselves with over 6,000 people in the most un-churched city in America and some even wondering if they are in the midst of a genuine revival.

Have we become too much about the “How” and not enough about the “Why” in our pulpits and small groups? What’s the last book you read about the person and work of Jesus? When’s the last time you had a conversation where you couldn’t stop talking about Jesus and what He’s done instead of the activities you’ve been participating in?

If I’m honest, it’s been way too long.