I spend a lot of time in bars. I like bars. I like the people and the beer. I like hanging out with my friends and having a good time.
As a pastor, I’m also highly aware of my need to be a good witness. For some pastors, that means they avoid bars and “unseemly” places. I don’t see that as a good strategy. And this week was proof positive for me on that.
A couple great things happened in the bars this week.
First, I met with my friend and fellow A29 pastor, Brent Thomas, at Lis Doon Varna in Peoria. The topic was The City and how it might help his church. We then moved on to what God was doing in our churches. It was a great time of talking about Jesus and what he was doing in the Valley–all over a couple pints.
Towards the end of our conversation, I remember distinctly saying, “I just want to see people’s lives transformed by Jesus,” when a girl who was sitting at the bar across the room asked, “Are you guys talking about religion?”
Well, I got what I asked for. Long story short, this young woman came over to sit with Brent and I, broke down in tears, admitted her need for Jesus, and promised she’d be at Brent’s church this weekend. It was an awesome and humbling moment to be in the middle of a bar, holding hands, and praying with this broken and hurting woman.
Second, members from our worship team at Praxis Church are in a band called Maple Ash. They played a show last night at Rogue Bar in Scottsdale–and they rocked. Here’s a clip from the show shot by Justin Garbinski’s (the drummer) wife, Audra:
It was awesome to see tons of young people from our church packed into this little dive bar to listen to the band. We did little things, like tip well. The owners know Maple Ash is from Praxis. All of this is part of Garth’s (our worship director and front man for Maple Ash) vision to have his music teams out doing professional as well as church music to engage the culture.
Some would accuse us of cavorting with publicans and sinners. But I’m pretty sure we’re in good company for doing so.
[Photo by acnatta]
Sounds like a good use of your time.
Yes, thanks, Sam. It’s a good use of my time on many levels!
thanks for filling my rss reader with good news!
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by thejakers: Cavorting with Publicans and Sinners: http://bit.ly/cj6n9L...