The Wrath of Grapes: Baptists and Alcoholic Beverages

"You should always take two Baptists fishing with you," goes the old joke, "because if you just take one, he'll drink all your beer."

The Texas Baptist Standard has a good article about the changing attitudes toward alcohol. We got a chance to see these changing attitudes in the 2006 SBC, where debate on alcohol dominated the resolutions report time. The result was a non-binding resolution urging "that no one be elected to serve as a trustee or a member of any entity or committee of the Southern Baptist Convention that is a user of alcoholic beverages."

The final resolution was no surprise, considering the long history of Southern Baptist opposition of alcoholic beverages. However, what was a surprise was how much time the debate on this resolution occupied. The points and counterpoints were made by men united in their biblical conservatism but who differ on this issue.

This convention debate reflects the change in the larger Baptist Family on the question of alcoholic beverages. It was once a "given" that if you were a Baptist, especially a conservative one, you were a "tea-totaller." Not the case anymore.

As for me, I've come to the conclusion that biblical faithfulness allows me to commend but not command my alcohol-free life.

I cannot command abstinence from alcohol when scripture does not command it. While scripture forbids the abuse of alcohol, of course, scripture does not forbid its use. So, I disagree with the convention resolution. I don't think we should "bind" anyone with a command that can't be clearly supported by Scripture.

But that doesn't mean you'll find a cooler of longnecks at my next backyard barbeque. While I won't command my alcohol-free lifestyle to others, I have no problem commending it. While all things are lawful for me, not all things are constructive (1 Corinthians 10:23). Since I serve as pastor in a society overrun with alcohol-related heartbreaks, living an alcohol-free lifestyle is a constructive choice.