5 Years out and I still got it

You are 92% Oregon

Congratulations! You are a native Oregonian. Pick up your honorary singing salmon plaque at City Hall.

How Oregon are you?
Quizzes for MySpace

That is right. 5 Years of living in Far Nor Cal and I still know oregon better then John over at I Reject Your Reality (And Replace it with my Own) Boo Yah.

As far as the randomness of this John is one of our regular commentators here and I just wanted to give him a shout out. Love you man!

Apologies are long over-due

So no beers have been poured, no foods paired, and no theology discuseed among the PUB ministry in a few months now. Since we had to enforce new rules and practices into keeping the integrity of the group we lost some key people, and then with others moving away the PUB ministry is currently inactive.

So...

I am going to taste a beer each week, solo. :(

I am going to share something I have learned, solo. :(

And I hope a new community can be born again on this arid and thirsty ground.


With much love

Preach it and Pour it

Pubmaster Tank

Beer, Bonding, and Karaoke?

This weekend was another New Belgium night for the PUB Ministry. After trying their traditional Fat Tire Ale last weekend we moved on to a bright and fairly hoppy pilsener. The Blue Paddle was recommended to be paired with grilled summer corn. But because it is neither summer, nor any weather in which we wanted to grill, we did not have this pairing, and were actually pairingless this weekend. This beer was highly favored by the group for its light body and smooth texture.
There was much discussion regarding a variety of subjects, ranging from job searches, to relationships, school, video games, and of course our reading of Praise Habit, by David Crowder.
One member of the group, affectionately known as "Tank" (his real name is Zach, but since there are two Zach's and he has such a cool nickname, we let the other Zach pictured in the Big Foot Ale post be mentioned by his name.) felt that the book was a modern recapturing of "Practicing the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. The fresh new approach combined with a certain light-hearted and humorous language helps by giving us insight into how busy our modern day lives are, and how often we simply neglect by forgetting to worship God in our common every day lives. Crowder highlights the aspect of how Praise is the most natural thing in the world, until we grow up, and then when embarrassment comes into play, we get a bit apprehensive about being excited about the things God does and the world he created.
On a larger note, the group took baby steps towards really connecting as a family. Members shared fears, anxieties, deep personal issues regarding how hard life can be at times. These were retained to the group, so that we can begin to bond and connect on a more personal level through prayer and and actual love and concern for our brothers and sisters.

Of course, after so much deep discussion, these 20 somethings needed their outlet and it came in the form of Karaoke via Playstation 2. There was much singing, and dancing, and a lot of laughing. Next Week we are continuing through Praise Habit covering the chapter of "Habit."

Tune in next week for more of the PUB Ministry happenings.

Preach it and Pour it!
The Six Pack

Salmon and New Belgium's Fat Tire Ale

Another week, another beer, another pairing, and the launch of the new books! This was an action packed Sunday for the PUB Ministry. First off we had a classic favorite for many fans of the amber ale genre. From the Colorado based New Belgium Brewery we satisfied our palates with their staple "Fat Tire Ale". This was a very balanced ale that we paired up with the slightly richer flavors connected to Salmon and aged cheeses.












The salmon created a zesty aftertaste when it was followed by taking a drink to wash it down. It was definitely a complimenting paring rather than a contrasting pairing. The cheeses brought out the body a bit, and when both salmon and cheeses were eaten together the flavors were exquisite.

The new books we introduced were once again David Crowder's, "Praise Habit" and then a collection of essays by various artists, "The Relevant Church". For next week we are reading The Two-Part Introduction of "Praise Habit" as well as the chapter "Praise".

See us next week to hear the discussion on the reading and findotu about another great beer.

Till then,
Preach it and Pour it!
The Six Pack

Big Foot Ale and Grubbin

So this past Sunday we experienced one of the seasonal ales by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. This was a great brew called "Big Foot Ale" and was a nice malty barleywine style of beer.The whole bodied maltiness was balanced by its bittersweet hops flavor. A little too dark for some with barley sediments floating about this beer is for those with more advanced palates.

We paired this beer with sharp cheddar and apple wedges. The group was divided on which was favored more for pairing. The apple wedges tended to complement the brighter flavor notes while the cheddar smoothed out the dark boldness.

Preach it and Pour It!
The Six Pack


Zach, one of the infamous "Six Pack" demonstrates his love for the Big Foot Ale by sporting its sweatshirt apparel.

Grolsch and New Books!

This past Sunday as a celebration to the Colts beating the Bears the PUB group met once again! Ok it wasn't really a celebration but it was after the big game. This week we sampled a beer from Holland called 'Grolsch' named after the town in which it has been brewed since 1615. The cool thing is that it was a pop-top! Meaning it had a plastic and rubber top held in with some metal brackets that allow for reseal! See picture to see what I am talking about. This week we had no reading to discuss because we have finally finished 'Blue Like Jazz' we spent the evening reflecting on our lives, fellowshipping and even making some plans for the future of our ministry. Nothing profound, but it was a good night of fellowship, and drinking. No eating so the saying "eat, drink and be merry" did not apply to us. We are going to be starting two books soon one called 'Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi" by David Crowder, and the second, 'Relevant Church' who has multiple contributors. That's all for this week.

Preach it and 'Pop' it?

The Six Pack

Update on "The Journey"

In the post "We are not alone!" we mentioned about The Journey, a church in St. Louis, Missouri. This is a church that has a portion of their ministry that meets at a local bar to discuss theology, and some of the participants do purchase and imbibe alcohol while participating in the group. This is to say though, that is not mandatory for their group, nor does the church prohibit, it simply leaves it as a hands off issue.

Journey Pastor Darrin Patrick said, "The Journey's policy on alcohol is that we do not personally encourage nor do we corporately promote alcohol as a church."

A safe enough answer, and this is just making sure that if we misquoted or misled anyone regarding this church. Hope all is well!

Preach it and Pour it!

The Six Pack

Theology of Alcohol by James Gregory

James Gregory is a good friend of mine and also a fellow bible scholar who also incidentally graduated from Simpson University with me! A true scholar James spent a great deal of time delving into the issues of alchohol a while ago and I am pleased to present to you a link of all the blogs he wrote in reverse order (so scroll to the bottom then move up as you go)

So with no further ado here is his Theology of Alcohol!

Preach it and Pour it James!

The Six Pack

We are not alone!

Christianpost.com tells us that in Missouri we have a sister concept in action! Please give your prayers out to this church, The Journey as they fight the divide that may become a public battle for us one day.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A new church is attracting members with unconventional methods such as pouring beer during theological discussions, but Southern Baptists say the outreach runs contrary to what the ministry represents.

A congregation of young St. Louisans called The Journey has grown from 30 members in 2002 to 1,300 members. The growth has been fueled by energetic programs, including Theology at the Bottleworks, a gathering at a suburban St. Louis microbrew pub for discussions on serious and offbeat topics linked to religion, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday.

Seriously though our mission is along with these people, that the medium of alcohol might just be the way to reach out to the often neglected, or leave your enjoyment at home people who love ales, stouts, etc. We hope to see those people more and more, as we share real conversation, real love, and a real passion for sharing the great news.

Preach it and Pour it Brothers!

The Six Pack

"Adam & Eve Ale" and Communion!

So this past Sunday, the Pub Ministry gathered at the apartment and we partook of a very interesting ale, and communion as well. Last week we discussed the future of the group, and the steps we needed to take in order to really be a ministry and a pub church if you would. The 1st step we decided on was that we needed to participate in disciplines of worship. Matt, one of our Pub Ministry "Six Pack" decided that it would be best to join in one of the first acts ever commanded by Jesus, and this was communion.
We drank from a White Merlot, and partook of a loaf of French bread. There was joy and solemnity at the same time, overall a successful communion.

There was discussion on how we felt Jesus approached ministry, mainly coming to the point that they really enjoyed and embraced the concept of Jesus coming as a friend, into your place in life regardless of where you were, not just the poor and discarded such as cripples and prostitutes, but also to the home of Pharisees, Jesus excluded none. We discussed the Passion of the Christ and also what our reactions would have been had we the ability to go back in time and witness it, with 20/20 hindsight as to what was really going on.

Finally the ale of the week was "Adam & Eve Ale" from *ahem* Great Sex Brewery (go figure the Newlywed picked it out), which was more of a brown ale and was very creamy and bread-like in aroma but had a sweet finish.

This was the final installment of Blue Like Jazz, and next week we begin our reading of The Relevant Church.

See you next week!

The Six Pack

Worship and "Alley Cat"

This last Sunday "The 6 Pack" gathered at the local watering hole (okay, our little apartment we meet at) and we discussed chapter 17 of Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. It was based on the concept of worship and we discussed how we felt we should approach a discipline of worship as part of our weekly meeting. Ideas were thrown about, and no beer was spilled. We came to the consensus of trying various ideas about from music to lectio divina, to times of silence over a period of a few months. I doubt any one of these things will become the staple of this group but all will surely influence.

Whilst the discussing, and idea throwing, the beer we did not spill was from one of my favorite NorCal microbreweries, Lost Coast Brewery. We Enjoyed their offering of "Alleycat Amber Ale", "A full-flavored amber ale made with roasted caremel malt. Richly colored and medium-bodied, Alleycat is an assertive blend of malts with a sprightly cascade of hops." (Lost Coast Brewery) All this to say, that Alleycat was a very smooth ale, which had definite sweet notes and and a lingering bright aftertaste in my opinion.

Stay Tuned as we venture into the disciplines of worship and the enjoyment of beers!

The Six Pack

The PUB Ministry Blog has Arrived!

Welcome to the home of the PUB Ministry. We are a group of Christ Following, Young Adults, who have a passion for bridging some of the gaps that are dividing the secular world and the Christian world. namely for us the concept that Christians cannot partake in the same great beverages that the secular world can... like beer.

PUB stands for as you can see form the title: Praying Unifying Bonding, we will grow into greater detail over these. As well as going over the history of the PUB ministry, introducing you to "The Six Pack" and letting you in on what great theological discussions have occurred as well as what great beers we have taken the time to sample as part of this ministry.

We hope you enjoy your time here at the PUB Ministry Blog, and look forward to hearing your input as time progresses.

Thank You!

The Six Pack