I Am Not Only Here for the Beer
Fascinating to me that in my several years of blogging and the nearly two hundred posts that I have written for Bierkergaard, the collection has garnered less attention in total than just two weeks of my 40/40 Beer Blog. It must because I am using WordPress for 40/40 rather than BlogSpot (Bierkergaard). Dang, I knew it couldn't be me.
Actually, I am fully aware that the topic of beer is of great interest to many people and that explains the attention. Some dude who has decided to do the male version of Julie and Julia, is a compelling story. It pays to select a topic that people pay attention to. The problem then is that there are a trillion other people writing about it. So, one has to come up with a unique proposition, an angle and experience, that differentiates it. By all signs, 40/40 fits the bill.
One ironic thing is that I think drinking beer is fun and fine. But, I hardly see it as a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Some treat drinking microbrews as almost an act of religious devotion and visitations to breweries as pilgrimages. Pun alert, pilsgrimages? Until recently, I would not be able to tell you what a pilsner is; it is a pale lager.
Just because I don't view beer as an object of veneration does not mean that God is not at work on the 40/40 tour. The people that I have met with, and traveled with, have each flavored the experience with a special taste. One skeptic about the faith good-naturedly teased that I was going on a "Biblical Binge." I suppose I am in a way. The God who was at work turning water into wine at Cana is at work in me cruising for a brewsing in Pa.
It is in these interactions, I have seen God move. It would be a push to call what I am doing ministry, if it was I am sure that an acolyte apprenticeship could prove to be popular. Yet, like fermentation, the chemistry of the kingdom is a miracle. I am blessed to be a part of it.
Actually, I am fully aware that the topic of beer is of great interest to many people and that explains the attention. Some dude who has decided to do the male version of Julie and Julia, is a compelling story. It pays to select a topic that people pay attention to. The problem then is that there are a trillion other people writing about it. So, one has to come up with a unique proposition, an angle and experience, that differentiates it. By all signs, 40/40 fits the bill.
One ironic thing is that I think drinking beer is fun and fine. But, I hardly see it as a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Some treat drinking microbrews as almost an act of religious devotion and visitations to breweries as pilgrimages. Pun alert, pilsgrimages? Until recently, I would not be able to tell you what a pilsner is; it is a pale lager.
Just because I don't view beer as an object of veneration does not mean that God is not at work on the 40/40 tour. The people that I have met with, and traveled with, have each flavored the experience with a special taste. One skeptic about the faith good-naturedly teased that I was going on a "Biblical Binge." I suppose I am in a way. The God who was at work turning water into wine at Cana is at work in me cruising for a brewsing in Pa.
It is in these interactions, I have seen God move. It would be a push to call what I am doing ministry, if it was I am sure that an acolyte apprenticeship could prove to be popular. Yet, like fermentation, the chemistry of the kingdom is a miracle. I am blessed to be a part of it.
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