What Baptists can learn from craft beers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It would be hard to imagine a vision of Baptist life edgier than the one served up by a recent Wake Forest School of Divinity graduate named Zachary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Baptists can learn from craft beers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It would be hard to imagine a vision of Baptist life edgier than the one served up by a recent Wake Forest School of Divinity graduate named Zachary\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Terry Mattingly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-27T10:38:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/\",\"name\":\"What Baptists can learn from craft beers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-27T10:38:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-27T10:38:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"It would be hard to imagine a vision of Baptist life edgier than the one served up by a recent Wake Forest School of Divinity graduate named Zachary\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Baptists can learn from craft beers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\",\"name\":\"Terry Mattingly\",\"description\":\"On Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\",\"name\":\"tmatt\",\"description\":\"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. 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{"id":2624,"date":"2012-08-27T06:38:38","date_gmt":"2012-08-27T10:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=2624"},"modified":"2012-08-27T06:38:38","modified_gmt":"2012-08-27T10:38:38","slug":"what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/08\/what-baptists-can-learn-from-craft-beers\/","title":{"rendered":"What Baptists can learn from craft beers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It would be hard to imagine a vision of Baptist life edgier than the one served up by a recent Wake Forest School of Divinity graduate named Zachary Bailes.<\/p>\n

This parable starts something like this: Once upon a time, America was dominated by giant breweries that produced rivers of ordinary beers like Budweiser, Coors and Miller Lite. Some of their local outlets grew into mega-franchises that could seat thousands of people in shopping-mall-like facilities featuring giant video screens, pop-rock bands and witty Baby Boomer hosts who were treated like superstars.<\/p>\n

But eventually many young adults grew restless, yearning for brews with more local character, spice and charm, robust beers like People\u2019s Porter, Cottonwood Endo, Carolina Blonde and myriad others. Some created Craft Beer collectives and then taprooms, spreading the word about this emerging do-it-yourself beer lifestyle.<\/p>\n

So here is the church-growth gospel according to Bailes: If churches want to reach millions of independent-minded young Americans they should learn a thing or two from craft brewers. Yes, he thinks this is true for Baptists who don\u2019t drink beer, as well as the many Baptists who \u2014 reality alert \u2014 down a few cold ones now and then.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time, he said, for \u201ccraft churches\u201d that reach niche audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people, and especially young adults, are willing to pay more for a quality product. \u2026 Opting to shy away from the typical, freezing cold, American light beer, brewers and imbibers desire something with character and distinct flavor,\u201d argued Bailes, in an Associated Baptist Press commentary<\/a>. He also edits the \u201cCrazy Liberals and Conservatives\u201d website.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an era where churches experience lower attendance rates, perhaps we would be well served to look into \u2018craft churches.\u2019 Craft brewers do not create the product to be the next \u2018big beer\u2019 producer, but rather isolate and engage a community. Megachurch models still work for some, but they have become the standard flavor without any distinct flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

On one level, it\u2019s easy to see this parable as a harsh judgment on decades of Evangelical Protestant megachurch culture. But the reality in America\u2019s increasingly post-denominational age is more complex than that, a fact liberal Christians such as himself must acknowledge, said Bailes, in a telephone interview. <\/p>\n

Truth is, growth in most of America\u2019s \u201cgiant breweries,\u201d the major denominations in this scenario, peaked in the mid-20th Century and many have been in demographic freefall for decades, especially on the doctrinal left. The Southern Baptist Convention continued to grow \u2014 driven by megachurches and growing ministries with Latinos and African-Americans \u2014 until the past five years, when small declines slipped its membership under 16 million.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the progressive, \u201cmoderate\u201d Baptist camp in the wars to control the nation\u2019s largest Protestant flock has been having its own troubles. While it\u2019s hard to calculate a total membership statistic for congregations affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, this loose network eliminated 13 staff positions last year in the face of a nearly 20 percent budget decline.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the bad news, said Bailes. The good news is that Baptist life is rooted in a tradition flexible enough to allow independent-minded believers to start their own niche congregations that can speak to an age in America \u201cin which, to be blunt about it, the church isn\u2019t the big dog on campus like it used to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, focusing new ministries on \u201ccraft churches\u201d that target urbanites, college communities, artists and other hip, young demographics could, he acknowledged, lead to the theological equivalent of \u201cbeer snobbery\u201d in which insiders are tempted to look down on the less enlightened.<\/p>\n

The key, he argued, is to keep focusing on the needs of local communities and then to build networks of church leaders who share what they have learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would a more \u2018robust\u2019 church style look like? \u2026 By focusing on the depth and flavor of the spiritual life offered, perhaps younger adults will drink deeper from the well of the local church,\u201d argued Bailes, in his essay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever one stands on the issue of drinking, one element cannot be ignored: in what may be one of the largest industries in the United States, small, craft brewers are experiencing growth, not big-name brewers. Though many who read this might look over their shoulder when they walk into the beer aisle, or stay quiet about the \u2018fruits of the vine,\u2019 perhaps beer can teach us something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"