Beer and Bible Night at Kudzu's (by Phyllis Tickle)
One of the great recent joys of my life has been a thing called "Beer and Bible," which happens every other Tuesday night at a small neighborhood pub in Memphis called, appropriately enough, Kudzu's. Kudzu, our bar's namesake, is the South's most ubiquitous form of plant life. It vines its way over almost everything else in sight, giving a vitality and lushness to landscapes that by this time of year would otherwise be sere and faded in our extreme southern heat. Kudzu's, the pub, is a lot like kudzu the plant. It gives vitality and cool to a lot of landscapes that might otherwise have wilted from the heat or just from life in general.
I had heard of Kudzu's over the years, but because it is in Memphis and Sam and I are not, we had never frequented it. But then last May, a call came. There was a group of regulars at Kudzu's who had been kicking around some God-talk for a while. They'd begun to call the thing "Beer and Bible," though most of them were drinking whiskey or wine, but would I be at all interested in just stopping by one late afternoon during happy hour to let us all talk together about some things that interested them?
You've got to be kidding. Would I be interested? Interested doesn't even begin to touch what I would be and was and, these three months later, still am. We've kicked around everything from hell to salvation, Christianity to Zoroastrianism, the relative validity of experiential truth to that of empirical truth, etc., etc.
There are usually eight or nine of us regulars around the table at Kudzu's on Beer and Bible Tuesdays. Sometimes there are more of us than that, of course, and sometimes we are joined by an in-house "visitor" or two who hear our racket, leave their barstools to eavesdrop, and -- inevitably -- join us. We've had a preacher or two come by to try to figure out what we're up to, and even a trained theologian or two. But by and large, we are just finding our way toward a form of being together that has no pre-existing aims and certainly no set pattern to follow or expectations to fulfill. I can say, however, that in all my years as a professional religionist, I have never heard theology more earnestly or more intelligently talked than it is at Kudzu's.
I spend a lot of my professional time studying and lecturing about 21st century Christianity -- how it got where it is, what in fact it is, where it's going. And one of the things that people are most troubled about as I go around the country speaking is the patent decline in church membership per se as well as in church attendance. It would irreparably offend most of those distressed people if I were to say to them, face-to-face, that the church is not necessarily in churches anymore. In fact, church is increasingly more active and fully present in places other than sacred buildings than it is in them. But I can say so here.
I can say here what I know to be true: Christianity has never been more alive and vigorous than it is right here and right now. And Kudzu's is but one of thousands of vibrant proofs that that is so. The kingdom of God comes in many forms and many places these days, and what I really want to say is, "Thanks be to God!"
Phyllis Tickle (www.phyllistickle.com) is the founding editor of the religion department of Publishers Weekly and author of The Words of Jesus: A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord and the forthcoming fall release, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why.
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Comments
"I have never heard theology more earnestly or more intelligently talked than it is at Kudzu's."
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Posted by: Gordon | August 10, 2008 9:28 AM
Gordon,
The best answer is to cheer. Talking and thinking about God should never be a stale academic exercise. I would say God is having the last laugh.
Posted by: Dave | August 10, 2008 2:58 PM
"Beer and Bible" sounds like fun to me. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Eric | August 10, 2008 3:20 PM
It does indeed sound like fun. The idea that it produces a more intelligent take on theology (given the setting and what we know about the effects of alcohol) just struck me as hilarious.
Posted by: Gordon | August 10, 2008 5:46 PM
Oh my gosh--sign me up for this thing! ;-) Too bad I live in New Brunswick, Canada....... (And I have a year to go before I can legally drink in the US.)
Posted by: Annapurna Moffatt | August 10, 2008 8:00 PM
[Kudzu] vines its way over almost everything else in sight, giving a vitality and lushness to landscapes that by this time of year would otherwise be sere and faded in our extreme southern heat.
Phyllis:
I didn't think kudzu was anything to be happy about. It's one of the worst invasive alien species that we have to contend with in North America. That "vitality and lushness" comes at a serious environmental price: kudzu shades trees and kills theem, it shades the ground and prevents native understory plants from surviving and/or even germinating. Virtulally nothing can survive once it's covered by kudzu. Its relentless destruction of native plant forms destroys habitat and food sources for many forms of indigenous wildlife. Kudzu itself is the cause of the sere landscape you talk about, not the remedy.
http://www.invasive.org/eastern/biocontrol/25Kudzu.html
Peace,
Posted by: Don | August 11, 2008 8:01 AM
It's true, Don--in spite of the positives we might see in some of these invasive species, they really are devastating, and of grave concern.
Your mention of invasive species leads to an analogy about the Kingdom of God. A commentor on the parable of the mustard seed said that one of the aspects of that story that is lost on us, but that any first century Jew would have easily grasped, is that the mustard plant was an invasive species to farmer's fields. So, Jesus was saying that the Kingdom of God is like an invasive species. I love the analogy, and when thinking about how invasive species work, it gives me a much bigger picture of what he meant than my previous understanding(see Phyllis'description of Kudzu).
As for beer and Bible--I suspect it is easier for most people to engage openly within the setting of a pub rather than within the setting of a church, or even a home Bible study. I don't think it is the beer so much (not that that doesn't help) but the informal setting where people might feel more free to be themselves without feeling they need to "keep up appearances."
What I'd like to know, Phyllis, is if there is a blog that is the cyber equivalent of the beer and Bible sessions?
Posted by: squeaky | August 11, 2008 11:24 AM
Thanks, Squeaky.
I have found that, of all environmental issues, invasive plant and animal species seems to be the most difficult one to raise public consciousness about. Maybe it's because the damage they cause is not so obvious or so easy to explain. And maybe it's also because it's difficult for many people to understand how such a pretty plant as, say, purple loosestrife could be an environmental threat.
At any rate, I always try to do what I can to bring this issue to public attention, because it is such a serious environmental problem.
And going back to Phyllis' real topic, my wife meets for Bible study with a group of women one evening every week at a local coffee house. I think for her it's one of the best ways to discuss spiritual matters.
Peace,
Posted by: Don | August 11, 2008 11:40 AM
"what we know about the effects of alcohol"
What I know about the effects of alcohol, taken in moderation, is that it is a tongue-loosener, and can sometimes lead otherwise reticent or private people to relax, open up a little bit and show some enthusiasm for the topic. It can also help the mind to relax and to consider ideas in a different way. Of course, adults need to know their limits so as to not loosen their tongues TOO much, but I have always considered quality beer or wine to be a spiritual enhancement in that it promotes bonding among the body of believers.
Posted by: I and I | August 11, 2008 1:15 PM
Up here in Michigan, I guess the best place to start a Beer and Bible would be at the Zebra Mussel Pub. Hopefully there won't be any Asian Carp Lounges opening up any time in the near future.
Posted by: I and I | August 11, 2008 1:19 PM
At the risk of overposting--and I promise I'll lay off after this--I thought some of you might enjoy this relevant poem by william Blake.
***
THE LITTLE VAGABOND
Dear mother, dear mother, the church is cold,
But the ale-house is healthy and pleasant and warm;
Besides I can tell where I am used well,
Such usage in Heaven will never do well.
But if at the church they would give us some ale,
And a pleasant fire our souls to regale,
We'd sing and we'd pray all the live-long day,
Nor ever once wish from the church to stray.
Then the parson might preach, and drink, and sing,
And we'd be as happy as birds in the spring;
And modest Dame Lurch, who is always at church,
Would not have bandy children, nor fasting, nor birch.
And God, like a father rejoicing to see
His children as pleasant and happy as he,
Would have no more quarrel with the Devil or the barrel,
But kiss him, and give him both drink and apparel.
Posted by: I and I | August 11, 2008 1:23 PM
... the Zebra Mussel Pub ... Asian Carp Lounges
LOL!
And in Central Ohio, I suppose it would be the Honeysuckle Inn.
D
Posted by: Don | August 11, 2008 1:57 PM
Sounds great! If this ever comes to Nashville, I am so there . . . .
Posted by: Kent Burnside | August 11, 2008 3:56 PM
Have you seen those videos of the Asian Carp jumping out of the river and into boats or knocking people over? Amazing! And awful for the local ecology.
Posted by: Eric | August 11, 2008 4:13 PM
I suppose Asian Carp could be a metaphor for how some people evangelize.
Posted by: I and I | August 11, 2008 4:33 PM
Good to see some levity here-sometimes the arguments become a it ponderous.
Here in the desert Southwest, we could open a Canada Thistle Saloon-apologies to our bretheren in the frozen north...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer addressed the issue of levying judgement on others, which is so much a part of American politics in the past eight years. We can only judge ourselves, and because we believe in Jesus and the Redemption He offers us, we are bound to avoid any semblance of judging others. End of argument. However, we live in an age when our "leadership" both policital and religious, all too often pave the way for believers to follow along the path of endlessly judging those with whom we disagree on a particular issue, whether it be moral or political. I believe this is a large factor in declining church attendance. Many of us simply do not subscribe to the volatile mix of radicalizing worship by intermixing political viewpoints with conservative Christianity. (Apologies to our Christian conservative friends, but the conservative churches have been at the point of this issue all along).
In any case, sharing thoughts about our lives as Christians with a brew lends credence to the idea that we all thirst for God's truth!!! Ha!
Let Your Light Shine and Pray for Peace!
Posted by: Doug & Jan in CO | August 11, 2008 6:36 PM
In the university town I live in, one bar is open Sundays for "Church, at Retrievers?" It's a "dry" day, but open for Christian fellowship. They even have a billboard inviting students. More power to God!
Posted by: Nance | August 11, 2008 8:50 PM
At my faith community here in Portland, OR we have a bible discussion at a neighborhood pub where the words of Jesus are examined. This gathering is called Red Letter Pub. Mostly folks from within our church, The Bridge, attend, but sometimes other folks in the pub get involved, too. For sure it is a way more relaxing and social way to interact with the word of God and one another. And let me tell ya, when I caught wind of Tom Waits singing in the background as I sipped my house red wine with my friends and bibles, it was a magical moment. I leaned into my husband and whispered, "Where else could we talk about the sermon on the mount while be serenaded by Tom Waits?"
So glad that 21st century Christ followers are not so hung up on Where to meet or What we drink.
(nice article, Phyllis. And thanks for adding me to your Facebook!)
Posted by: pamhogeweide | August 13, 2008 5:30 AM
At my faith community here in Portland, OR we have a bible discussion at a neighborhood pub where the words of Jesus are examined. This gathering is called Red Letter Pub. Mostly folks from within our church, The Bridge, attend, but sometimes other folks in the pub get involved, too. For sure it is a way more relaxing and social way to interact with the word of God and one another. And let me tell ya, when I caught wind of Tom Waits singing in the background as I sipped my house red wine with my friends and bibles, it was a magical moment. I leaned into my husband and whispered, "Where else could we talk about the sermon on the mount while being serenaded by a Tom Waits song?"
{if you don't know who Tom Waits is, google him immediately and crank it up!}
So glad that 21st century Christ followers are not so hung up on Where to meet or What we drink.
(nice article, Phyllis. And thanks for adding me to your Facebook!)
Posted by: pamhogeweide | August 13, 2008 5:31 AM
Our church here in Memphis was the first one in the city during the early days. Lacking funds or a building the congregation would meet in a local bar on Sundays mornings and then leave before it opened for business...what a legacy!
Posted by: Laura | August 13, 2008 9:34 AM
I have done this very thing of meeting in a bar and having discussions about God. It has been extremely rewarding and I am amazed at how God works with those who attend.
Those who seem to not believe leave weeks later believing and not just believing, but becoming followers of Jesus.
I have done this for 5 years and now have others doing it too.
I encourage you not to wait till someone starts one in your town...be the one to start the discussion. Don't feel that you have to know everything. Others will help find the answers.
There is nothing like this!
Posted by: sam armington | August 14, 2008 10:39 AM
Like many others I sometimes shake my head at articles like these. Where have such people been hiding all these years? How can anyone think this is something new and innovative? My friends and I were meeting to discuss 'God and Life Stuff' at a British pub on a weekly basis in the late 60's. Of course, the church folks were horrified.
Kay
Posted by: Kay | August 14, 2008 4:12 PM
IF you like this, you might also google Theology on Tap
Posted by: David | August 15, 2008 1:07 AM
I'll have to tell my alcoholic friends about this! Now they can discuss theology while they slowly commit suicide!
Posted by: Jer | August 26, 2008 2:57 PM
Clearly, AA Members need not apply to this Bible study. So much for Christian love.
Posted by: Valkyrie | August 31, 2008 8:13 PM
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