church like wine

I was sitting in this great little french restaurant with my wife in Oklahoma City of all places (Soliel...try it...it is very good). I was sipping a burgundy from france and just enjoying the flavors and complexity when I had a thought. There was a time that I did not like wine, especially red. I grew up catholic and on sundays I would take communion and I always hated the taste of the wine (or perhaps it was the taste of Jesus' blood...as it had transubstantiated by the time I tasted it). But over the last ten years I have come to really enjoy and even have a love for red wine. It is funny because as I sipped I remembered those sips as a child, and my thoughts turned to church.

I thought how the catholic church had been a round a long time and had very complex beliefs, history and ecclesiology (a fancy word for how they do church...I went to seminary can you tell??) I still go to with my mom to church on occasion. I think I can appreciate the catholic church more now than I did back then. So this whole idea got me thinking about church. It seems as I look around evangelicalism (the place I called home for many years) there is a lot of bud light being served and drank in churches these days. And you know there are times that a bud light hits the spot (although I have to admit I can't think of the last time I wanted one). But it seems that most churches around me, and actually evangelicals as a whole, have lightened everything so much, they are not endanger of getting drunk on the spirit any time soon. There is no mystery, no wonder. "We have the bible, it has all the answers...so sit right back and take a sip...we will explain it all to you." A bud light requires nothing of you.

So where does that leave me...as far as church goes I have no idea, but I do know there is a brewery in town that makes an ESB. It is carmel in color and starts of bready sweet but finishes with a hoppy bitter finish. It is my favorite right now. I guess the church I want is a microbrew. but don't be fooled...Blue Moon is a popular microbrew...brewed by coors. Soon we will see all the big churches serving, or at least trying to serve microbrews...maybe that's it...everything just got to big for me. I want a place to live out the simple life of malts, yeast, hops and water.

I'm heading to the pub...

Jack