It is no secret that I am fascinated by the emerging diversity among Christ followers on the issue of drinking. The issue is complex, and people have very strong opinions. VERY STRONG. Every time I begin a conversation with someone about this, we inevitably drift to a story about that person's alcoholic father and why they don't drink or a recollection of their suffocating, oppresive, uber-religious childhood and why they do drink. You can't argue with a story oozing out of someone's heart.It is hard to deny that our generation is much more open to drinking than our parent's generation. (Part of it may be due to the higher percentage of college attendees among our generation.) In fact, one of the most interesting trends among our generation is what has been called the "Theology on Tap" movement. This is the new ministry trend that fuses alcohol with the church. A seemingly strange pairing, I know. Many churches are hosting bible studies in bars and BYOB small groups. I recently journeyed into the belly of this movement to study the mindset driving it and what those on the other side of the debate think about it.
Check out my story, "Rethinking Drinking?" at RelevantMagazine.com
3 comments:
Drinking is not a sin.
My thought is, if people are not hanging-out with us, staying out of church because we don't drink - THEN LET'S DRINK! and connect with them, love them, share Jesus with them.
Let us NOT become like the Pharisees, but rather let us connect with "sinners" as Jesus did.
When I stand before Jesus is he going to be more upset that I drank, or more upset that I didn't reach-out to "sinners" in love, engaging them on their terms?
Hey Jonathan,
Thanks for your interview on global warming earlier this week.
As I young seminarian myself, I really appreciate your willingness to foster some boat-rockin' conversations.
Peace,
Alexander
hi jonathan... not even sure if relevant is for guys AND girls but i stumbled across your article and related to a lot of what you wrote. thank you.
Post a Comment