Brew Theology Is Like A Flight

How many of you like beer?

Not Bud Lite or Miller Lite… Damn my last name. Why couldn’t I (Ryan) have the last name Stone or Avery?

And even though I’m a Miller, I am a bit spoiled. I live in the craft beer capital of the US of A with 5 breweries in walking distance to my house alone. Don’t hate me. Come visit. For those of you who have sophisticated hop palates and go on quests to find some sweet, maltilicious craft beverages, you are probably like me and when you visit a new brewery - you grab a flight. You start off with a solid lager, or possibly an amber or Wit beer. Then, you move on to a porter, followed by a stout. Next, you get cranking to the hops and each flight must boast a West Coast IPA. Although, I’ve recently become a fan of the east coast transplants with the big juicy, hazy, unfiltered hop bomb. (Who’s thirsty?) As you keep sipping the brews, if a brewery has learned the craft of the world of sours, this consumption is a must! Lastly, you end with the High ABV whiskey barrel aged ale for dessert. Those bad boys deserve an AMEN! So, you clearly and unashamedly take a bomber or crowler home with you.

We all have preferences, but a beer nerd still drinks the gauntlet because it IS the right thing to do; plus, a solid porter may really surprise you (even if it’s not a drink that typically gets you stoked on a highway to beer heaven). I’m more of a hophead, but I also don’t mess around with quality sours and pretty much anything whiskey barrel aged with an ABV of 10% and up. Still, while I’m not getting crazy over the next Belgian Wit or Bohemian Amber Ale, I absolutely respect them. And you may not like west coast IPA’s (cough – Janel – cough), but if you are into beer, you still sip the dank of the gods and give a respectful shout out to the craft. Why? Because we all know that a brewer, who put in his sweat, and sometimes blood and tears, handcrafts each beautiful batch of beer; not to mention the obvious – everyone… every single one of us has a distinctive palate.

Palates are like people. We’re all over the place. I’ve become quite the fan of this hopped up pluralistic, diverse world to be quite honest!

Every single week our Brew Theology community in Denver meets at a local brewery to brew theology. That’s why we exist. We create healthy, meaningful and eclectic dialogue in pub communities. It works. And as someone who has been doing ministry since 1998 in a variety of contexts, I will say that what we’re doing now is the most freeing and complexly rich ministry I’ve ever tapped in nearly 20 years.

Why?

Because like a flight of beer, I get to sit with people who are Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, Atheist, Agnostic, Agnostic-Christian, Spiritual, Open and relational-Process theology oriented, Evangelical, Post Evangelical, Calvinist, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Ex-Mormon, Ex-Jehovah’s Witness, Vegan, Anarchist, Capitalist, and so on… some of our people attend conventional worship gatherings at a local church, and others haven’t been to a church in decades.

The pub has now become the sanctuary of all-encompassing beauty with genuinely WIDE open doors.

The beer mug is the chalice.

And the conversations are the sermon.

I know that I’m an IPA guy, but I’m always going to be sitting next to a Porter or a summer lager. Hell, there may be some people who still put a lime in their beer. And if it’s 90-100 degrees, I kind of don’t blame them, especially if they live in the South!

All voices are affirmed in these gatherings. Of course, we do have guidelines that remind everyone, “Don’t be a jerk, an a**, or a d*<$!”  You pick the best adjective that fits your people.

At the end of the day,

People.

Do.

Matter. 

I get to sit across the table with friends that have different beliefs, traditions and ways of living. We aim not to attack or even debate; rather, we aim to understand the vast flight of people with palates ranging from stouts to sours, hopped up on conservatism or left as malty Marxism.

To end with a profound word from Thich Nhat Hanh that fully speaks to what we are seeing in our Brew Theology communities is as follows: “We have different roots, traditions and ways of seeing, but we share the common qualities of love, understanding and acceptance. … The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we can see and listen deeply.”

It’s time, my friends, to listen deeply. And this is what happens when you go a brewery and you order a flight. You are fully present in that flight. If the brewer is standing behind the counter, you aren’t going to say, “EWWW. Disgusting!” No. Even if you aren’t a fan of their brown ale, you are still going to be respectful and hopefully ask good, sincere questions about the beer that is in front of you. And listen. There’s a story behind the beer. You’re going to choose to be PRESENT! You may offer feedback if asked, and the same is true in our brew theology gatherings. You can still have an opinion. You can still be passionate. You may get your feelings hurt, but not intentionally. These communities are about genuine sincerity around the pub tables.

Brew Theology isn’t just a “safe” place where we can listen deeply, though. It IS a courageously brave space where the “other” across the table is valued and we are truly present. #HopHeadsUnite. And this is something worth prosting over, my brewin’ badass friends.

 Cheers.

To Fix. To Abandon. Or...? Part 2

To Fix.

To Abandon.

As spelled out in the previous blog, these two actions are what’s driving the masses and simultaneously destroying people in the western world. It is obviously our go-to, and it’s become our life sentence in a polarizing time. I provided 4 examples from 4 participants in previous pub gatherings that do not fit the mold of the average Denver pub theologian; they fit the mold of the average western world posture, though. Remember, we – Brew Theology – don’t roll like that… and I believe we are truly onto something of genuine merit within a world looking for hope, belonging, change and goodness.

So, where does this leave us?

Well, what motivates people to feel the need to fix others and abandon either the conversation or another person/ group altogether?

Fear.

Fear has been one of the greatest motivators since the dawn of civilization, and we can still see fear work itself into business, politics, religion, families, etc. Yet, it doesn’t provide anything worthy of praise, and it only makes us feel more depressed at the end of the day. Fear drives us, and it simultaneously cripples us.

So, in order to “fix” the problem of people feeling the need to fix one another, we need to abandon fear. Once we abandon fear, we will be okay with sitting in a room with people from different walks of life. We live in the age of pluralism and it’s not going away. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, etc. are all around us. The best way to make the world and your community a better place is to get rid of this deep-seated raging fear, and rather be motivated by compassion, love, beauty and one’s truest presence.

Rather than saying, “That’s stupid. You’re wrong. I can’t deal with this anymore” why not say, “Hmmmm. Help me understand where you are coming from! Why do you think this way?” We need to stop feeling threatened by another ideology and belief system that is vastly different from the one we carry; we must lean in and be present – not in order to “fix” the other, but to understand the “other.” And once we are present, and our lives are filled with compassion, we will begin to see humans again. Scapegoating will cease once we recognize it and call it out. It’s critical we start seeing one another as real humans with beating hearts (Note: This doesn’t mean we don’t call out abuse and oppression as I wrote about in Part 1).

We are all connected.

We share the same soil.

We breathe the same air.

We carry the same substance.

And while someone may choose to worship in a place different from you, and someone else chooses to do other things with their time and reject organized religion all together, it is best to start seeing some light within the eyes of the “other” in order to live side-by-side in the days ahead.

Who knows?

We may actually learn something from someone who holds another belief about the divine (or lack thereof). We may be inclined to give the next generation a shot of not isolating children in a bubble, but giving them the opportunity to experience the world with fresh eyes and child-eyes wonder.

Just ask your children about the differences that we fight over when it comes to religion. They simply won’t get it. They’ll only get it when they see us love and embrace the human who lives across the street, and they’ll also see it when we exclude and hurt others as well.

The pub is all about having open arms, open minds and a willingness to choose presence in the face of difference. We don’t have a shared intellectual-belief system. We have shared values, though. This is what makes it work, and it is good work I feel will help move us forward as a greater society.

Start with self.

Don’t convert.

DO compassion.

Don’t abandon.

DO abide.

Abide in the spaces that seem unnatural, and transcend the awkwardness by allowing the self to sit in it. It’s not so bad. Like I said, you may find something new, and you may find appreciation and mutual respect.

It starts within…

As the writer of 1 John in the New Testament reminds us, “Perfect loves drives out fear.”

Peace,

Ryan

Who is God?

The most pervasively haunting and thrilling question asked throughout the ages continues to be, “Who is God?”

Perhaps this has led to other questions such as, “What is God?"

Or “How is God?”

Is God an event?

Is God, as theologian Paul Tillich once coined, “the ground of being?”

Is God the “Unmoved Mover?” to echo Aquinas?

Do you literally visualize God as an actual being?

If so, does this God have all of the power, some of the power, limited power or shared power?

Perhaps you feel more in touch with the eastern/ apophatic tradition and do not like to use words to describe the ineffable deity that transcends any kind of finite reasoning?

And what if God was one of us… Just a slob like one of us… Thank you, Joan Osborne, for the song that will naturally be replayed in your head until you fall asleep tonight.

Does our idea(s) of God reflect our current state in life?

Have you ever stopped to consider how much anthropology plays into your theology?

I posed the question on Facebook yesterday, what do you think of the concept, “We ARE who we say God IS?”

Let's go back to the question, “Who do you say God IS?”

If we are genuine in our answer, is there naturally a reflection of the self in the divine mirror?

Some may wonder like the German philosopher, Ludwig Feuerbach, do we simply do a lot of projecting, thus negating our own pure humanistic qualities and potentiality? Feuerbach believes that, "If man is to find contentment in God he must find himself in God." Thus, “God” becomes human in this external projection of this internally complicated human disposition.

Last night, I (Ryan) had the pleasure to interview Eric Hall, author of Homebrewed Christianity Guide to God: Everything You Ever Wanted to know about the Almighty. Stay tuned for that Brew Theology Podcast in the weeks ahead, folks. It was a fun conversation.

Eric starts the book by moving the reader through, what he refers to, one’s grandparent’s patheon, and dismissing the notion of God as a cosmic vending machine.

Is God like Mr. Miyagi, as likened to classical theism: absolute intellect (Spoiler Alert: Eric likes Miyagee with some Voltron qualities)?

Eric hysterically speaks of some people’s God compared to a Jersey Shore-esque absolute willed deity!

And what about the retried Oprah, a transcendent deity who is set for life and is chilling while the clock ticks…?

Seriously, if you haven’t picked up Eric’s book, you’ll enjoy it for the familiarly clever pop references, alone!

Some deconstructionists may have dismissed the picture(s) of God, mentioned above. Others may have gravitated toward a mash of other godly images such as the Hippie Aunt God, which Hall refers to as the open and relational – process philosophy – deity that emerges into a cosmic drum circle. C’mon! Who doesn’t have a really cool hippie aunt who lives in Eugene, OR and makes the world a more beautiful place (true story for me)? Eric brings forth a Joan of Arc picture of God that deconstructs the Jersey Shore God, as "The Situation" goes through rehab, having a Face Off transplant (You know. Like that late 90's movie with John Travolta and Nicholas Cage, back when they were still cool.). In this light, Joan of Arc - God defies your expectations and becomes your new way of seeing the world (i.e. Jesus of Nazareth).

While all of these ideas and pictures of trying to articulate the ins and outs of God in winsome ways are loads of fun, I won’t give away the ending to Eric’s hopilicious, barrel-aged deistic tendencies; I will say that defining God is not an easy thing regardless of one’s place in the academic, pastoral or every-day person’s world. I think many of us can say that some of these images and thoughts have been helpful at times along the journey, while many definitions of God have simply been hurtful and irrelevant beyond measure in other seasons in life.

We could even say, “God is love” just like it says in the 'ole B.I.B.L.E.

At this endeavor, we would need to define love, which is always a fantastic way of getting raw and earthy and practical, which is my favorite kind of theology.

So, what is God?

What is love?

Does it even matter?

I’d love to hear from you.

Peace

Alternative Facts... Does It Matter?

“So, what?”

This seems to be the question in our current “post-truth” world.

What are the facts? Can we really know them?

What do we mean by #fakenews or alternative facts these days?

How do we know if a particular story happened or not, and when we do come to a place of better clarity and understanding of a precise event, what do we do with this information?  Not to discount one’s version of truth or another person’s perception of how things went down, but when trying to make sense of historical events, I keep hearing the question, “Why does it even matter?”

Our Denver Brew Theology community spent the past 2 weeks diving into the topic of the historicity and reliability of the Gospels. Dr. Craig Blomberg spoke to 50 pub theologians at Grandma’s House Brewery giving 12 historical reasons why people can trust the credibility of the sources we have: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Later, we interviewed him on the Brew Theology Podcast (Stay tuned. It’s a good one.), and spent the following week remixing the topic for 2 hours at Platt Park Brewing Company. Craig has an amazing presentation filled with incredible research and thoroughness, which simply speaks to his own credibility as a wonderful New Testament scholar. Still, so many people are left with the question, “So what?”

Our Denver community consists of a variety of religious and nonreligious people across the theological and spiritual spectrum. Every single person seemed to overwhelmingly respect Dr. Blomberg’s research within the presentation. Yet, when it came down to the small-group table talk the question lingered, “Does it really matter whether or not the events recorded in the scriptures actually happened this way or not?” followed with, “Do the Jesus events have to be factually true in order for them to still be true in our midst?”

Can the life and teachings of Jesus still carry the same weight whether one believes those words historically happened just like the 1st Century writers mentioned or not?

Many of the people in the room – Christians and nonChristians – seemed to think that the words in the Gospels can still be highly influential and substantially meaningful regardless of the facts or “alterative facts” in these ancient stories…

What do you think?

///

Ryan Miller