Thoughts from David Crowder

This is from David Crowder's blog.

question 6: “i went to the show in cincinatti and there was alcohol being
served. i was shocked that it was being served at a christian concert. can you
tell me why it was being served?”

yes. i’m pretty sure that the bar was selling alcohol because it is a bar and
that’s what bars sell. they typically like to make money and so they buy things,
such as beers, from a distributor for a certain price and then mark it up to
sell to people so that they will get a profit and get to pay their employees and
get to stay open and such. alcohol is usually a pretty big seller for bars. i am
sorry this was shocking.

i might add, both historically and currently, there are many people who love
jesus, and follow him, that also enjoy alcohol regularly. if you have not
encountered these people first hand, you should attempt to enlarge your peer
circle and i think you’ll get a clearer picture of the diversity of the body of
christ. there are denominations and traditions that denounce alcohol, and there
are those that condone it. these beliefs are typically culturally specific and
attached to a particular sect's interpretations of a few particular passages in
scripture. i should state here that we, as a band and as individuals, do not, in
any way, condone drunkenness, as it is stupid, nor under-aged drinking as it is
also stupid and against the law, and trust that those in attendance at various
dates on our club tour are intelligent enough to arrive at both of these
conclusions as well. it is not very difficult to observe the damaging effects of
abusing alcohol. it is simple that way; abuse it, it abuses you back, most of
the time immediately.

(an aside: in my experience, most conversations about alcohol with those who
adamantly reject it as a possible beverage choice, present that it could cause a
brother to stumble. this is awful logic. apply this logic to various food items
ordered at your next public meal. there will doubtlessly be present various
numbers of people who struggle with obesity or high cholesterol or heart
disease, who would really love one of your cheesesticks. there will also be
those present who are vegetarian, myself included, who are attempting to not
ingest meat. i’m sure you see the trouble with this line of thinking. this was
the very argument that peter and paul were having regarding idol meat. i will
not attempt further argument here since there is plenty to find out there, if
one were truly curious, that would present things in a much more scholarly and
organized manner than i could hope to present it. i will also state here that i
shall not require you to cease your carnivorous ways while sharing a restaurant
with me.)

and finally, i should state the reasons we went on a tour that had as its venues
bars and clu bs exclusively. we wished for the story of god to be experienced
beyond the safety of our cloistered church environments. it was our deep hope
that many who would not frequent a bar would come join us and experience the
reality of the presence of god in an environment that they might not typically
suspect to experience such a thing in. we believe, if we are reading scripture
correctly, that once the veil was torn, that in an instant, suddenly, god was
everywhere. the symbolism and consequences of this moment are epic! the way
human beings access the maker of heaven and earth were forever changed.
suddenly, once and for all, through the ultimate sacrificial offering, suddenly,
he is everywhere. every second is lived in the very presence of god. there is no
moment that is not holy. there is no space that is not sacred. it is the
awareness of our reality that shifts, not this reality. therefore, all that is
needed is for our awareness to change and we begin to view spaces and people and
cultures and music and art and eating and drinking and sleeping and waking as
moments and spaces and places where god is already active and present. our hope
on this tour was to give people a physical, tangible experience of this reality.