Steve McCoy was one of the main inspirations for me to take the leap into the blogosphere. A Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) graduate, pastor, husband, and father of 4, Steve shares some great insights on the topic of beverage alcohol and how it interfaces with the Biblical doctrines of liberty and redemption. Steve neither promotes the use of alcohol nor endorses the Southern Baptist's extra-biblical enforced covenant of abstinence.
Here are some links for those interested in this topic:
1. An SBTS audio featuring president Al Mohler sharing why Southern Baptists practice and enforce an extra-biblical covenant of complete abstinence. It is an interesting discussion and a great place to start for those interested in exploring the subject. I respectfully disagree with SBTS's position.
2. Steve McCoy's post responding to Mohler.(164 comments!)
3. An open letter responding to the above audio written by Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, OK. (over 1,500 in regular attendance) and past president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (2002-2004).
4. Steve McCoy's second post on alcohol discussing abstention and redemption.(48 comments!)
5. Steve McCoy's third post on alcohol discussing redemptive grace for the alcoholic.(62 comments!)
6. Joe Thorn, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in IL. writes a thoughtful post responding to an article written by Dr. Jack Graham, a fellow Baptist pastor. which advocates abstention as the only wise choice for the Christian. Also linked here are audio, pdf and book recommendations on alcohol.(65 comments!)
This post is not intended to encourage or endorse the drinking of beverage alcohol in any form. My intention is to stimulate discussion on what I consider to be a seldomly addressed and often avoided issue. In fact, alcohol isn't the issue at stake, IMHO. At stake is the liberty and redemption Christ clearly offers through the cross. For example, if you are a Southern Baptist minister who drinks alcohol in moderation, 99% of all doors of opportunity will be shut. This is unbibical.
UPDATE: 10/29/05 Steve McCoy just found this sad article siting Southern Baptist hurricane volunteers refusing to distribute bottled water to victims simply because of the "Anheuser Bush" labels. To counterpoint I've been impressed with the denomination as a whole for their sacrificial response in the wake of natural disasters.
No comments eh???
I guess no one wants to venture out into these "grape juice" waters.
So do a lot of these denominational churches actually have complete abstinence as a membership requirement?
I wonder if the hurricane volunteers made sure that "Avian" water or whatever brand they used was a company that was Christian based or were they supporting a non-Christian water bottle company as well?
Posted by: Marcguyver | November 09, 2005 at 11:12 PM
At this time I'm only familiar with the SBTS position. It would be interesting to know which denominations enforce extra-biblical covenants regarding alcohol.
But written covenants are just one of many legalistic expressions in the church. Take body language, for instance. Say I'm at a brothers house and I see a few people drinking. Does my body language suck the oxygen out of the house?
Legalism sucks. Alcohol is obviously only one controvesial issue where the deathhold of extra-biblical preferences applies. Thanks for the comment!
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