Have a cold one for Jesus

I don't talk much about our church, but this is a great story I can't leave untold. Actually, it's two stories.

First, just before Thanksgiving, our pastor told a story in one of his sermons. This is the gist of it: A guy's wife's family likes to drink beer. This guy has always been told that alcohol is of the devil, so he doesn't drink, and so becomes the odd man out during Thanksgiving. He tells the pastor, who asks if he's a recovering alcoholic and if he likes beer. The guy answers no and yes, and so the pastor tell him to have a beer and Thanksgiving and see what happens. The guy comes back and tells a great story about how he had a single beer, and the whole family instantly warmed up to him because they no longer saw him as being "holier than thou." So that's an unbelievable story to hear from the pulpit in the first place, but here's the benediction at the end of the service: Go in His peace, and have a cold one for Jesus. Amazing.

Second, today our pastor goes off on a tangent about drinking. He says, "Listen, I'm from Wisconsin, and I like beer. I like wine too, but I like beer." He goes on to talk about how crazy the South is about alcohol. He says, "You know, the same verses that talk about drunkenness also talk about gluttony, but nobody here ever talks about how bad it is to throw back a ton of fried chicken. And on top of that, no person's solution to gluttony has ever been to stop eating. The solution is moderation. And that is why I'll still drink beer."

It's so great to hear stuff like this come from the pulpit. At the same time, though, I'm disappointed that the church (at least here in the Bible Belt) is so ridiculous, and that I get so excited to hear a pastor endorse drinking in moderation. It seems so adolescent sometimes. Nevertheless, I appreciate so much that my pastor has the balls to say this stuff. It makes Sundays okay again.