A few years ago I was invited to a men’s Bible study that served beer to the dozen or so men who were present. I arrived late and noticed that everyone had the exact same beer located in the exact same location in relation to their Bibles: to the upper right, like a place setting at a dinner. It looked and felt awkward, hardly the rowdy and chaotic beer bash most men create with alcohol.
I didn’t mean to, but I made it even more awkward when I turned my beer down and asked for ice water instead. The men at the Bible study worked with college students on college campuses in our area. I understood why they were making such a statement with their beer. They had the become-all-things-to-all-people-that-we-might-win-some mindset. On the other hand, I don’t work with college students and I don’t drink for personal (and a few biblical) reasons. Sadly, it seemed that these men thought I was being legalistic and judgemental, for they didn’t invite me to come back.
Since that time there is an evangelical church in our area that has incorporated alcohol into their men’s ministry – big time – by holding men’s Bible studies in bars. Actually, I thought that was a pretty cool idea. Jesus associated with publicans, prostitutes and sinners. He even ate and drank with them. He didn’t care what the legalistic pharisees thought. So why should we?
But a couple of weeks ago I heard the story of another church in our area that incorporated alcohol into their men’s ministry. They started serving beer at every men’s gathering. The church had an unwritten code that their men should drink only one beer during their meetings. Unfortunately, there were some men who couldn’t hold to that code. They started drinking two, three and more beers. Eventually, their men’s meetings began looking and feeling more like a Super Bowl half time in a man cave.
The problem of drunkenness in their men’s ministry became so divisive that the church wound up disbanding and all but three couples in the church divorced!
“I don’t know of any good that has ever come from alcohol,” concluded the pastor who told me this story. “I don’t know any men who are more sanctified because they drink alcohol. I don’t know any men who are better husbands because they drink alcohol. And I don’t know any men who are better fathers because they drink alcohol.”
If your church is considering incorporating alcohol into your men’s ministry – or any other ministry for that matter – let this story sober you up, so to speak. And to this story, I want to add two more points.
- While the Bible doesn’t forbid drinking alcohol, the type of alcohol consumed in the Bible was highly diluted: usually four to five parts water to one part wine. Drinking “unmixed” drink was considered barbaric.
- Our culture has a severe problem with substance abuse, including alcoholism. There are people in your church right now who are genetically predisposed to alcoholism and whose lives will be destroyed if you offer them just one drink and they take it. They simply will not be able to stop drinking.
Do we want to reach people in bars with the gospel? Absolutely. Do we want to identify with college students on their level? Of course. But let’s do it with circumspection, without destroying the very people we seek to save and the very churches we seek to fill.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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2 thoughts on “Men’s Ministry and Alcohol: A Cautionary Tale”
THANK YOU!!!!!!!! So many people I respect in the church drink, and I just don’t get it. It is a slippery slope no matter how you look at it. Maybe I could handle alcohol, but what about my children, my friends? And like you say, Does drinking ever make me any better. Sure wish more Christians could see the wisdom of your stand. Thank you again.
I am not sure alcohol should be incorporated into anything; business or church. Clearly, Scripture teaches there is nothing wrong with the substance unless abused and no, the wine Jesus created was not a good Welchs grape juice. The evangelical church is abusing marriage one divorce at a a time. Should we remove marriage? We suffer a bit too much from Cary Nation, Billy Sunday and thousands of Southern Baptists preachers with this issue. Study the Word of God and if it leads you to non-imbibing, dont drink alcoholic beverages. To him that knows to do good and doesnt do it, THAT is sin.