WHAT WOULD JESUS BREW?: CHRIS WATKINS - PART 1

“The selling of bad beer is a crime against Christian love.”

Law Record, City of Ausburg Law, 13th Century

Chris Watkins

Courtesy of WWJB

All good stories, all good beer, all good people, for that matter, have an origin. For the craft beer drinker, “In the beginning” tales seek to shed light, give hope and bestow consolation to those who will walk through the valley of the shadow of woeful tasting room service, iniquitous price points and condemnably bad beer.

Craft breweries, their beer and the brewers who make them are full of Book of Genesis-like stories. The devout nomads of the craft beer ministry – legalistic to beer made fresh, beer made with the best ingredients and beer made with creativity – will without doubt pour, sniff, sip and tip the scales of judgment. Judgment Day abides in Brew Day. In the end, beer will be simply good or bad.

Craft beer pilgrims thirst for heaven in a goblet when tasting new beer. Most often; however, they fall short of fulfilling taste. When I became a craft beer missionary in 2010, I walked by taste across the country. I donated thousands of dollars to charities called breweries. In monastic silence, I drank a lot of craft beer and judged my fellow brethren brewer by the snifter. It was good – and sinful! I must confess. I began to pour with guilt. Shame in a word, for abominable tap room service, vile price points and bad beer plagued my soul. During this period of darkness, the liberator of all bondage appeared to me after I ordered a seven dollar saison.

My mission to taste the greatest craft beer in America led my spirit to wonder without direction in Southern California, Central Coast California and Northern California. For years, I was blind to the 21 Franciscan order missions – the birthplace of Christianity in the west coast. With beer in hand, I circled these wastelands for the sole purpose of bending the elbow. As I sipped my saison, something like scales fell from my eyes. My heart softened. In a gulp, I grew thirsty for Him. I hungered to experience Him. I sought to abide in Him. I experienced God’s omnipresence – in a brewery.

Today, I walk by faith in the promise land of American milk stouts and honey ales with a soul purpose of bending the knee in adoration to the Lord – giving glory to God for all his blessings. The Giver of Life, and deliverer of liquid bread, was my salvation from bad beer and light in my midnight hour. With my faith in God, I believe good beer is truly a blessing from Him. We must not be seduced by bad beer, or anything unhealthy for that matter, so to welcome new blessings into our lives sent from above – new perspectives, new ideas and new brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

I am blessed once again, honored and well pleased to introduce you to Mr. Chris Watkins from What Would Jesus Brew?

God has sent this beautiful person into my life, as a result of following Him.

A disciple of the Lord, exorcist of bad beer and scholar of the brewing fellowship, Chris is a man of biblical truth and a trusted brother.

This is the brew-nealogy, Book of Genesis of sorts, for Chris Watkins of Savannah Georgia, husband and father:

Lets start in Genesis – the beginning. Tell us about "What Would Jesus Brew (WWJB)?”?

I founded WWJB along with my pastor, Matt Bistayi, of Valley Church in West Michigan. Grand Rapids has become a craft beer paradise with award winning breweries galore. Our mission with WWJB is to help people connect with each other and with God through the common appreciation of beer.

Our website, WhatWouldJesusBrew.beer, is not so much a blog, but rather a portal that connects people with beer groups, clubs and pubs that serve and glorify Jesus Christ. The site also serves to educate people on what the Bible teaches about alcohol.

I grew up in Christian circles and found that many drinking Christians, if not the majority, drink in secret. The topic of drinking is often taboo at church even though many Christians believe that responsible drinking is not a sin. In fact, when we explore the scriptures, we find that good wine was a sign of God’s blessing and watered down wine was a curse. I always thought Jesus’s first miracle of turning water to wine at a wedding party was a seemingly insignificant act when compared to healing the sick and raising the dead. However in the context of Old Testament scriptures, this act was likely received as a sign that Jesus had come to bring a blessing. The church openly embraced alcohol from the time of Jesus, through the Medieval centuries and up until relatively recent times.

Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation of the church, was an avid home brewer and beer drinker (along with his wife). He worked to bring the church back to God’s intended path, and expelling beer from the church was not part of this reformation. It wasn't until prohibition in 1920 when a subculture of the American church emerged such that alcohol was considered a sin, or at the very least a non-essential part of life that should be avoided by devout Christians.

Remnants of prohibition remain in Christian culture today. This drives skeptics to question the mission of WWJB. Some think we are simply trying to justify alcohol consumption, and sometimes even get upset that we use scripture to justify a seemingly insignificant mission. Perhaps I can't blame them given my initial reaction to Jesus’s first miracle. However I don't see this mission to be insignificant.

Why WWJB? Maybe you’ll grab a beer and connect with someone after work, on the back porch or in a group setting. We just don’t think you should miss the opportunity to share a few moments of life with someone, especially if the enjoyment of a good beer will provide the common ground to make it happen.

Evangelism isn't just about handing out tracts to random strangers. Evangelism is about connecting with people. Through this mission I have met many people whom the church didn’t do well in connecting with. They are not ready to go to church, because let's be honest, church involves a subculture that can become a barrier to bringing people to the gospel of Christ. Heck, we do church differently than the early churches, and those first Christians would likely be uncomfortable in our services today.

My heart in his mission is that we reach people who are searching for God and will come enjoy a beer with us at the pub. I have seen that most new guests don't just drink beer and shy away in the corner, but rather open up with their personal questions about God. In addition I have found many of the Christians who live guarded (drink in secret) also feel like they can't discuss their doubts and questions about God in their normal Christian circles. WWJB doesn't just create a safe place for non-Christians but also for Christians alike.

My hope and prayer is that WWJB helps people connect with God over the blessing of beer. The culture within many bars encourages strangers to sit next to each other and connect. I believe that God wants to be there, sitting with those people. Jesus didn't ask people to meet him at the temple. Jesus went out and met people where they already were. He met Samaritans (Jewish enemies) at the well in their city circles (John 4). He met corrupt tax collectors at their dinner tables (Matthew 9:9-11). We shouldn't sit back and expect everyone to come to us at church. We need to GO into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).

WhatWouldJesusBrew.beer is a portal to connect people with other groups that serve Christ. It lets people know they are not alone. It directs people to these safe havens where they can openly talk about their faith and their doubts. These groups are not directly connected to our mission but they share similar goals in their mission. We continually search for these groups. We welcome such groups, pubs and churches to contact us so we can add them to the website with the intention of connecting more local people with them.

WWJB has a feature called Find Groups, which is dedicated to Christian craft beer groups and Bible study communities. How do these social settings positively affect the way people learn about Jesus Christ and God?

When you attend a Christian church, you encounter two central influences: (1) Foundation of Jesus Christ, as we know Him from scripture and personal experience and (2) Culture of how people talk, act and live. For example, we use words like “born again” and “saved by the blood” which can seem very strange and even scary to a church outsider. We are a group of people that can't hold a note, yet sing together without worry of how we sound (I know I can't sing). Where else do people encounter this except in church culture? Culture is not bad and we need to recognize that it is an unavoidable part of life.

It is important to differentiate between what is foundational to our faith and what is cultural because these are many times confused. For example, some churches have a culture of traditional hymn and organ music, liturgy (recitation of text that dates back countless centuries), and they demonize churches who have a culture of loud rock music with studio lighting. Still others have a culture of theatrical performances and the arts, and I have heard people rebuke them for entertaining people...implying church is supposed to be boring. I have personally seen these differences lead to conflict and debate between churches, but in truth they all serve God and share the same foundation in Jesus Christ.

WWJB highlights beer, a topic that is, and has been, part of church culture. Since the 1920 Prohibition movement, the culture of the church has generally included distaste for alcohol. If not treated as a sin, it is treated as a non-essential part of life that is best avoided. This view is not supported by scripture and is only an artifact of recent church culture. Unfortunately, I have seen this become a cultural barrier to people connecting with Christ.

The Christian beer groups highlighted on our “Find Groups” page tear down this cultural barrier. I cannot speak on behalf of all those groups, but I have started two WWJB groups (in Michigan and Georgia) and have witnessed numerous people connect with God in the social setting of a pub who were not ready to attend a church service. A church service sounds just as fun to them as going attending a school lecture. God is everywhere, even in the bars and pubs, so why not bring people to God there?

Another aspect of a WWJB social setting is that we demonstrate how to enjoy the blessing of beer responsibly. We openly acknowledge that God calls us to avoid drunkenness (Ephesians 5:17-19, Galatians 5:19-21). We ask that people struggling with alcohol to avoid drinking it and therefore avoid places where alcohol is consumed, including WWJB events. We also demonstrate how people can enjoy beer responsibly without getting drunk. I know many who admit they drink to get drunk, and rarely drink unless they are going to start pounding pints.

When we host a WWJB event, we show how we can enjoy beer without the need or social pressure to get drunk. Many people aren't accustomed to this type of drinking, and find WWJB to be a circle of friends with a fresh, positive influence. The expectation isn't limited to the WWJB event. I also meet with the core members of my WWJB events and remind them that we need to be an example all the time. In fact, we are likely held to a higher standard as leaders of the WWJB group. If we get drunk outside of WWJB then people notice, whether or not we post drunken pictures to our Facebook page.

Not only do we connect people with God’s grace and salvation, but the social context of WWJB shows people how God calls us to live. A belief in God is more than head knowledge. If we believe in God, I mean truly believe, then we will be compelled to DO the will of God (John 3:20-21). It affects the way we live, which includes the way we enjoy the blessing of beer.

We also believe that our demonstration of responsible alcohol consumption can show people how to live responsibly in other areas. For example, consider food consumption and obesity, a topic not typically tackled by church culture. The CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has documented that over 1/3 of the adult population is obese, and 112,000 deaths are attributed to obesity in the US each year. In contrast, there are about 88,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States according to the CDC (less than attributed to obesity).

While alcohol abuse is concerning, many Christians specifically target alcohol while ignoring other larger scale issues where people abuse God’s good provisions. Ironically, many churches discourage comments against obesity saying it is not nice to call someone obese. Churches are even known to enable obesity through frequent pizza meetings, potluck buffets and church socials. In fact, a 2006 Purdue study found that the fundamental Christians are by far the heaviest of all religious groups led by the Baptists with a 30% obesity rate compared with Jews at 1%, Buddhists and Hindus at 0.7%.

We need to reform church culture, and WWJB is one way we can use social settings to meet people where they are, and not only connect them with God, but also demonstrate HOW we can live for God as we continue our journey in Him.

Our journey in God certainly ensures our faith in Him. As a home brewer, how does the practice of creating beer allow you to minister the Word of God?

As co-founder of WWJB, I think my mission in God’s service is clearly marked by my passion for both God and brewing. I began brewing in 2005, and befriended Matt, our church pastor, who also loved beer. WWJB was born in a craft brew pub in Western Michigan where I enjoyed some beer with our pastor. We believed that God wanted us to reach people through a common appreciation of beer. We started locally, but have reached people globally...only something that God could do.

While this interview focuses on my passion for beer, it is not my only character trait. I also am known for more “B” things like butter and bacon, and of course, the Bible. I had a curiosity about the Bible in undergraduate college which led me to dive into a personal study of this book that we base our Christian faith on. I needed to know its history, where it came from, how it was translated. The good news is that I found it to be one of the most reputable books from history.

I am also known for my support to those sick with cancer and other debilitating or terminal sickness and diseases. I am healthy now but have had a medical past and find that God has put me in the position of being able to relate to (connect with) these people in a special way that many cannot.

In the context of my service to God, the ministry with WWJB is a way to show people how to celebrate. It is a misconception that Christians can't have fun. I have seen much sadness and have seen many people die in my service to the sick, and find WWJB to be a great way to balance that experience by also finding time to bring a smile to people.

Thank you for sharing, Chris! I certainly have a smile on my face. I love your God-centered reflections and craft beer proverbs. Do you have any other closing remarks?

Bud Light was NOT God’s plan for the blessing of beer.

The mission of WWJB is not new. The 13th Century Law of Augsburg (one of Germany’s oldest cities) included this profound statement: “The selling of bad beer is a crime against Christian Love.”

:)

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Truly, Truly, I say to you, if every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17), then good craft beer is an expression of God’s love. To create and pour out in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness, we perform miracles through the Creator of all things good.

By the Word of God, by His sanctifying grace and by His blessing of good beer, we say cheers to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to Chris Watkins!

Thanks be to God!