A friend from Bethel posted an article on being a Christian and drinking alcohol, you can read it here: http://www.sdmorrison.org/should-christians-drink-alcohol/

Growing up I rarely saw my parents drinking alcohol, not because they didn’t want to, but because they “shouldn’t”.

If we were out to eat and the adults had a glass of wine, us kids weren’t allowed to take a picture because we couldn’t let anyone see that they were actually drinking alcohol. My parents didn’t get drunk, but it was still a “hush hush” activity.

When I went to Bethel’s Ministry School, I was in church-culture shock. It was a culture of freedom. The only no-no’s they talked to the students about were the three B’s, No Bras Butts and Bellies?… Something like that. That was probably necessary considering Bethel is made up of people from all over the world, with very different cultural acceptable norms.

Instead of giving us a bunch of rules to follow, they told us we were powerful people, representing Jesus to the world, and right from the beginning, if we hadn’t already, we needed to learn how to manage ourselves well.

The only time I had ever really heard that, in that way, was from my parents. I had more freedom then most christian and non-christian friends of mine growing up. I didn’t have a curfew, I wasn’t told to finish my homework before I went out with friends, I was allowed to date whoever at any age I would like, etc… Bad parenting? I think I turned out okay… My parents were teaching me how to manage myself internally, rather than externally.

My parents told me who I was as a daughter of God. They told me that the world was my canvas and I could do and be whatever I wanted. Their advice for me was to work hard, be a women of integrity, to walk worthy of the calling on my life, to be someone special. I never wanted to lose their trust, not out of fear of being punished, but because I knew that was the most rewarding place to be, in right relationship with them. I cared about protecting their hearts and keeping their trust, just because I really love them.

When I got to Bethel I began hearing the same sort of message… God trusts us with His heart, we should live in a way that protects Him, not because of a law but because of our love for Him.

So many churches tell their people what they shouldn’t do, the do’s and don’ts of the Bible, and that it’s all for their own good.

But so few know how amazing they are, how much God loves them regardless of what they do or don’t do, and how He wants them to have an incredibly amazing life of pure joy and fun.

I’m going off on a tangent, so I’ll get back to the point of this post: If the gospel isn’t empowering you, you’re not hearing the real gospel of Jesus Christ.

To drink or not to drink?

I’ve been told that Christian’s shouldn’t drink because they should be set apart… This blog post has been in the making for a few days now. And in these few days I’ve been thinking for hours and hours on what it means to be “set apart”. There’s tons of really great scripture on it. (click that underlined word for some)

But what does being set apart really look like? I don’t believe being set apart is defined by what you stand for or what you stand against.

I believe being set apart means that I’m living my life in a way that’s transforming the earth around me to look more and more like Heaven.

I believe being set apart means I will be known by my reckless love for people instead of my opinionated hate for their sin.

I don’t believe being set apart means that I will be the one that doesn’t drink to take a stand against the dangers of alcohol.

I believe being set apart means that I will be a representation of managing my freedom well, of being able to have a glass of wine and leave it at that.

You hear the church warning their people about the sin that alcohol will bring you into and the evil doors it will open your life up to… But if they preach that message than they need to preach the dangers of overeating as well.

In youth group you’re told not to drink and not to get tattoos because your body is a temple.

When was the last time you were told that you needed to eat well and exercise because your body is a temple?

The two go hand in hand.

The issue isn’t alcohol, food, and tattoos. The issue is that Christian’s don’t know how to manage themselves because they don’t know the truth. They don’t know the truth of their God breathed identity, the glory that’s within them, the authority and power that they can walk in if they choose.

My heart breaks at the number of people I grew up with that have totally thrown a holy lifestyle away. But when I think of them… I understand why they’re living the way they’re living. I feel like they were told “No” so many times that it crippled them. They didn’t learn how to manage themselves because they weren’t given the freedom to make mistakes in a safe environment. They were motivated externally to try and live for God, but never did it come from a belief within them that they were just too awesome to mess with the junk of the world. They don’t know how awesome they are. They don’t know how powerful they are. They don’t know that they are not just called to be a “good Christian” but that they are called to greatness, to live a life that is as powerful as Jesus Christ’s.

This is a topic that my heart burns for. I could go on, and I feel like I’ve taken many different side routes which might be a bit confusing. So if you have questions or need clarification, please comment and I’ll try to figure out all that I’m trying to get across

{Here’s a pic from my 21st birthday. Do you know how many messages I got because of this photo? From Christian’s who were concerned for my testimony? A lot…
My testimony is this, I had so much fun on my 21st. I didn’t get drunk, I didn’t even get tipsy. I discovered that I hate cocktails, hate red wine, love sweet white wine, and love some good Asheville brewed beer. Since my 21st, I’ve learned that I can’t have more than one beer in one sitting and I can’t have more than 1 and a half glasses of wine in one sitting. I’m learning how to manage myself well, not out of fear, but out of a desire to protect my connection with the Holy Spirit — Not because God will be upset at me if I were to be drunk, but because I know being drunk from alcohol is just a pathetic counterfeit to being filled with His Spirit, a counterfeit that I don’t want to get familiar with because I know it’s not something that will result in me being more like Him.}