There has to be a heading for stuff like this, something like, “You’ve got to be kidding but unfortunately not.” At the top of this category should be the new trend of churches–some of them evangelical–who encourage alcohol parties as a way of Christian fellowship. It’s no secret that many of the clergy and laity occasionally imbibe, some to the point of getting drunk. One mega-church pastor in Florida was recently arrested for DUI as was the late Oral Roberts’ son Richard. But these aberrations aren’t, thank God, the norm. But we may not keep it that way if some pastors get their way. They are introducing alcohol-fueled Bible studies. One such booze-endorsing pastor says, “I want to reach out to people in a loving, grace-filled way that meets people where they are.” Don’t even try to use your imagination about where that might lead. Gentlemen’s Clubs Budweiser Bible groups?
We won’t get into the issue of whether too-totaling is the only way to go. There isn’t room and that’s for another time. Alcohol abstinence is the way for our family, and I’d recommend it for your family. In an age with rampant alcoholism, the increasing legalization of pot by state legislatures, and an epidemic of prescription drug abuse do we really need to take down one more moral barrier on human conduct? With many Christian kids casually smoking weed should some church set a bad example of intemperate behavior? Have some American churches exchanged the demonstration of God’s authenticity in “spirit and power” for a Miller Lite buzz? Instead of trusting God’s Word to do the job, are some church saying that a little inebriation will encourage faith? Does the Holy Spirit need more “spirits” to get the job of evangelism done? Do we now change the slogan “What would Jesus do?” to “What would Jesus brew?
