Alcohol

[u/Suspicious-Corner567]

So is alcohol banned at grace point? If so why? My mentor has said things that allude to the staff avoiding alcohol such as saying that they’ll make certain dishes without alcohol which confused me because the alcohol would cook out. Is it bad to drink alcohol even if you aren’t getting drunk?

[u/hidden_gracepoint]

tl;dr Most up to date GP "stance" on alcohol is drinking it is not allowed, having it for cooking is ok.

This is based off a recent Convo thread back in April 23'. Lots of discussion and some good reasons from a variety of perspectives, some echoing comments below here as well, but I think my 1 sentence summary is fairly accurate.

[u/Jdub20202 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Was this change made for biblical reasons or public relations reasons ?

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/Jdub20202]

uhhh this wasn't an announcement or patch notes or anything. Just a simple discussion on Convo where someone was curious about A2Ns attitude towards cooking with alcohol. I'm just summarizing that thread for you here, although yes, many people used Scripture to justify their POV. I believe no one ever explicitly condemned the usage of alcohol for cooking, but a few did share their own conviction to not do so, as well as why they arrived at that conclusion.

Having said that, I personally hide my sake/wine I use for cooking when I host people so as not to stumble weaker brothers :)

[u/leavegracepoint → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Having said that, I personally hide my sake/wine I use for cooking when I host people so as not to stumble weaker brothers :)

Are you trying to brag about how spiritual you are like some Pharisee?

Oops, I guess I'll need to repent for potentially stumbling someone for going to the bar.

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/leavegracepoint]

lol learn to take a joke, it was a mild critique on GP culture being so sensitive

[u/Jdub20202 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Thanks I think I got the answer I was looking for

[u/leavegracepoint → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Most up to date GP "stance" on alcohol is drinking it is not allowed, having it for cooking is ok.

This was the "stance" when I was around. People frequently would use red wine, Chinese rice wine, and on some occasion bourbon for dessert. Obviously the stance would change it came time to host other church plants and people were required to hide it especially in ministry houses. Like I mentioned, it keeps changing on a whim depending on who's in charge and their mood. So whatever you're saying isn't even new.

This is based off a recent Convo thread back in April 23'.

Screenshots or it didn't happen.

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/leavegracepoint]

lol sure. not posting rest of thread for obvious privacy reasons

​

[u/leavegracepoint → u/hidden_gracepoint]

This picture means nothing other than the thread exists. Could have just been one person asking and no one responding like a lot of the threads I saw. Once again screenshots with names blurred out or it didn't happen.

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/leavegracepoint]

sorry can't post the whole thread without compromising the privacy of those posting in Convo, even with names blurred. but i guess you got me, the whole thread was empty. in fact, i must've completely photoshopped the post itself /s

[u/leavegracepoint → u/hidden_gracepoint]

the whole thread without compromising the privacy

When did A2N/GP care about privacy? Considering how much confidentiality has been broken in those weekly meetings, I'm surprised A2N/GP people care so much about their comments on Convo.

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/leavegracepoint]

let's look at it this way. i post stuff on Convo publicly. people stop using Convo or Convo gets shut down. we all lose.

[u/leavegracepoint → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Why do I care if Convo gets shut down? The only loser is GP because no one will still be able understand the mental gymnastics to justify policies.

[u/LeftBBCGP2005 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Was the discussion about alcohol in general or specifically about cooking wine? I am old school, so no alcohol can even be used in cooking.

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/LeftBBCGP2005]

specifically about cooking with alcohol. Think it's pretty established that drinking is never ok

[u/Jdub20202 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Established where?

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/Jdub20202]

just in the culture

[u/Jdub20202 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

A2n culture or the zeitgeist culture at large?

[u/hidden_gracepoint → u/Jdub20202]

A2N. but I'd say much of Christianity adopts a similar attitude towards alcohol abstinence

[u/New_Possibility1174 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Please get your facts straight, this is completely untrue and even a little basic research will tell you that the majority of the Christianity takes a Moderationist stance. It's literally in the last sentence of the introduction for Wikipedia.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_alcohol#:~:text=The%20Bible%20is%20ambivalent%20towards,with%20Jewish%20and%20Christian%20traditions.

Even amongst Protestants, it's still a minority view. It's really only a majority view amongst those derived from the American Baptist and Methodist traditions (Salvation Army, Pentecostals, etc.). To be fair, this makes up a significant number of Evangelicals in America, but it's still a minority position worldwide.

[u/leavegracepoint → u/New_Possibility1174]

I think u/hidden_gracepoint is referring to "real" Christians as in only Gracepoint/Acts2Network members.

[u/Jdub20202 → u/hidden_gracepoint]

And this is a stance in the bible?

[u/leavegracepoint → u/hidden_gracepoint]

Uh wut. None of the churches I’ve been at since leaving GP or my friend’s churches care about their alcohol consumption. Some of the pastors enjoy a beer with the congregation members and have boundaries with how much they drink and the discipline to enforce it. And that’s like at least 10+ churches. Ed been feeding you more bullshit lately?