Greatest Story Ever Told (over a beer)

This article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speaks for itself:

The big screen at Bernie's Tap Room in Waukesha flickers with a baseball game between Texas Christian University and Dallas Baptist. The players are nearly life-size. 

But the action on-screen is lost to the 15 people seated at two long tables in front of the game. They are deep in conversation about Jesus, church and life, stopping occasionally for a sip from the pint glass at hand. 

Jesus + Beer is in session. 

In and near Milwaukee, some people are getting a little faith with their froth. 

Assemblages like Jesus + Beer are part of a national trend of groups combining Bible study with elbow-bending. Sometimes, it's just easier to talk religion over a beer, one pastor said. It's also an idea that goes back to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. 

Brandon Brown, pastor at Collective MKE church, said he started Jesus + Beer because "people have left traditional church structures but still want to talk about Jesus."
And he liked the selection of brews at Bernie's, 351 W. Main St. 

"That's the trajectory of my life," said Brown, whose Bay View version of the monthly Jesus + Beer sessions meets May 17 at Tonic Tavern, 2335 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. "Beer's actually a late addition. Jesus' love was there from the beginning."

Amen brother!

Seriously, this makes perfect sense to me. Some of the most philosophical discussions I have ever had were in a bar. The setting lends itself to what religion is about. Consider this:

Drinking beer and talking religion played a role in the Protestant Reformation, said Steve Jerbi, pastor at All Peoples Lutheran Church... 

The Reformation was funded by brew that Martin Luther's wife made, said Jerbi, who hosts a monthly meeting at the Riverwest Public House...where people of all faiths — and, as often as not, no faith — drink beer and talk religion. 

"This week, we had a Reconstructionist Jew, a secular Muslim, a candidate for the ministry in the Baptist church, a lesbian and a middle-aged mom," Jerbi said. 

There are other positive aspects of this:

1. Low church overhead. For the price of a few beers a week, you have a church!
2. Support for the local economy. You're giving a bar business on a Sunday. Win-win!
3. Spreading the word to people you might not otherwise reach. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15) Notice Christ didn't exclude bars from this?
4. It shows you aren't a stick in the mud Christian. Too often, churches just seem like temples for country club Christians. Go TO the people, don't wait for them to come to you!

For you non-drinking preachers out there, you can still kick back at a table with a Coke, while you share the Gospel with a receptive audience. To paraphrase the old saying, if you can't being the bar to Jesus, bring Jesus to the bar!

(hat tip to LOLSnaps for the pic)