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

To Fix. To Abandon. Or...?

To Fix.

To Abandon.

These two actions are what’s driving the masses and simultaneously destroying people. It’s our go-to, and it’s our life sentence, which is sadly killing us softy each and every day.

We don’t roll like that at Brew Theology, and I do believe it is one of the main reasons why we’ve been able to not only sustain a great Denver community filled with vastly different kinds of interesting people; it’s why we thrive as an example for what I think can and will change communities around the western world. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let me explain the negative by giving you 4 examples of different people who’ve come to the local Denver gatherings and have been steered by these two harmful actions: to fix and to abandon.

I’ll preface by saying that while we encourage diverse thought, we aim to be respectful, listen well and remember that nobody gets the “last word.” Bottom line: Don’t be a jerk. Now, while we are open to all viewpoints, tolerance is not the word we would use to describe our gatherings. In fact, I am convinced that nobody is tolerant; it’s a nice buzzword, but it badly misses the point of healthy diversity. If someone is dismissive and oppressive, that is simply not allowed. You can hold a differing opinion, but the minute you get cranked up on Mountain Dew and demean another human in the flesh, we will have some words… and I’ve had to do this before on a few occasions.

For historical reasons that we could possibly unpack in another post (Thanks Plato), we have inherited a rigid, dualistic worldview. I hate to fully blame ‘ole Plato (even though his epic influence has completely saturated how we live in the west) as dualism can be traced to ancient Egyptian religions as well. Still, due to this way of being, we – humans – operate under a “fix” or “abandon” posture when it comes to anything that we deem different, unusual, and/or conflicting to our liking, understanding and chosen (or un-chosen?) ideology. Thus, we have the “far left” and the “far right,” the “good,” the “bad,” the “pretty,” the “ugly,” the “orthodox,” and the “heretic.” Ever been called an anathema? It happened a to a buddy the other day. Ugh. C’mon! And while there are some obvious actions that a society – at large – can deem abhorrent, and there are definite times when we should stand up for injustice, our typical, rigid labels and categories of “black” and “white” have not helped us when kindly trying to make sense of the “other.”

This leads us to the “fix” or the “abandon” way of life…. When we don’t understand something or a situation, and the other’s beliefs seem cringe-worthy and deplorable to our current belief system, we naturally want to fix the other. By the way, this is why we – Brew Theology – make sure and hold ourselves accountable to not move toward the way-too-easily-adopted soapbox. If we tell ourselves to listen and understand rather than impulsively critique someone’s differing position, this will help bridge that strange gap that divides the masses. However, we feel compelled to fix someone’s wrong thinking since Platonic thinking still runs the western show. And if we can’t fix someone’s thinking, we get frustrated. So, we abandon them. Furthermore, there are others in our world(s) that don’t even bother with getting on a soapbox to fix; they simply abandon!

A dualistic thinker posed a strange – yet all to common – question to a recent speaker at the pub, “Do you feel as if your group is superior to the western white world, as you seem to imply from your talk?”

For a second, one could hear a pin drop. And the speaker – who doesn't live according to this western worldview – provided a gracious response, “Not superior. Just gentler.”

It was an honest question, but the question missed the point and it definitely could have been asked another way, more respectfully without the supposed snarky answer in the question. Needless to say, this person left the group before the discussion time, furthering the typical posture of abandoning. Side note: While the majority of the group would have disagreed with this person that evening, they would have given him the benefit of the doubt to express his legitimate thoughts. Still, to fix or abandon wins the day for most people.

Another friend of mine used to attend these pub gatherings. He’s an atheist, a kind and good person that I respect, and now I miss… While we have many atheists who frequent the pub and contribute in helpful ways just like anyone else with another Judeo-Christian belief system, this person continued to use the “fix” strategy and would get others in the group going down unnecessary rabbit trails, aiming to convince others that their belief in God was wrong. A few times, this man was ironically called a “fundamentalist,” which didn’t go over very well as you can imagine. While he was a delight on so many levels, he did operate in this “fix”-postured way on many occasions. I had a few chats with him, trying to help him understand that while his opinion matters, it’s important to remember that we have to graciously listen and put down our dualistic agendas regardless of beliefs. We discourage Christians from trying to zealously convert others to their preferred way, and we discourage atheists alike. Over time, he stopped attending the group.

Again: Fix and abandon.

There was a biblical literalist who attended a gathering on feminism. We had a young female leader moderating the group table. While there were a handful of people in the group who were more “progressively” minded with this topic, there were two others with more conventional, patriarchal views when it comes to women’s roles, etc. This is fine to allow for multiple views, but this is when the tension can and does get very interesting. One of the individuals, a long-standing Denver pub theologian, spoke with conviction, passion, intelligence and much grace. The other dissenting individual spoke with conviction, passion and intelligence. Yet, he forgot to bring any kind of grace or compassion to the table. He was dismissive toward the table moderator, talked over her and others, and used his Bible as a zealous weapon of hatred rather than encouragement and love. Several of the group attendees voiced their complaints after the fact. While the other groups were having amazing, robust dialogue, this table was plain messy and horribly unproductive. Let me remind you that we had two people in this small group who were “complimentarian” in their theological positions of women in ministry along with women in the household. This was not the issue; the issue stemmed from bigotry and the inability to listen in love. I spoke with this person, and I even tried to set up a time to talk over coffee or a beer. However, this individual never understood the error of his ways, and was unable to make the time to talk about his possible poor posture. This person has not come back to a gathering, and I think that is okay. I can’t fix that. He chose to “fix” and then to “abandon.”

To finish, last fall we were honored to listen to a female Muslim leader speak about Islam 101. It was fascinating. Then came the Q & R time. A newcomer eagerly raised his hand, and as he began firing away “questions,” I noticed he was reading from several sheets of printed-paper, extreme jihad loaded proof texts from the Quran. The entire questioning was rooted in his interpretive thoughts, not the presenter’s beliefs. It was an over-the-top, anti-Muslim loaded question (ask anyone of the 50 people in attendance). I was beyond embarrassed. Still, our speaker was a generous Rock Star! She even continued to dialogue with this person via email for months afterward until he continued to be persistently zealous and dogmatic in his ways (over hers). I saw the email interactions as I told our speaker to email me if this individual got out of hand. Yup. He did. I was appalled, and after messaging with him about how he could have handled himself differently, this person has not been back to a gathering. He too chose to fix, and then to abandon just like the other examples, above.

Where does this leave us?

(To Be Continued…)

Peace,

Ryan