former future.

for much of my growing up years, and let's be honest, well into my college years, "beer" was, for all intents and purposes, a four-letter word.

it was synonymous with a darwin fish on your car or skipping church to go to brunch.

beer obviously led to drunkenness and debauchery and premarital sex (oh, and dancing).

it was to be avoided at all costs.

in one word: unacceptable. 

but somewhere along the line, i realized that maybe beer (and alcohol in general) wasn't the enemy and that a little responsibility and moderation could go a long way.

but with all that said, i was still a little hesitant when mr. lesley and our good friend luke proposed the idea of starting a beer club with people from church.

a beer club connected to a church? 

my teenage self wasn't sure how such a proposal would go over. 

but fortunately for us, the church embraced the idea and the baker beer club was born. 

people from the church, people from outside the church, people who like beer, people whose spouses like beer all come together once a month, check out a local brewery, and talk about the goodness we see in the beer. 

how's that for redeeming culture? 

yes, we believe there is goodness and truth in everything God made.

even (and especially) in beer.

our meetings thus far have been great and we continue to see new faces and drink good beer, but nothing quite compared to our meeting this past friday. 

james and sarah howat, the owners of former future brewing company set to open in denver this fall, invited us over to their home for a preview tasting of four of their delicious beers.

did you hear that right? 

they invited almost 20 strangers from a beer club they had never heard of previously into their HOME to give us free beer! 

and it was absolutely wonderful.

sarah and james embodied hospitality that night. 

their home is beautiful, there were delicious snacks to pair with the beer, and the conversation was easy and comfortable. 

and then there was the beer.

i am very far from being a beer expert, but everything i tasted was delicious! 

{and i made sure to ask all the true beer lovers in the group what they thought, and they agreed!}

we all tasted their saison, ipa, stout, and salted porter (my personal favorite), and with each taste it was clear how much time and thought and energy they put into their brewing.

i left that evening feeling like all was right in the world with a deeper understanding of the church and community and hospitality and great beer.

so, if you live in denver...

-go to former future as soon as it opens ("like" them on facebook, so you stay up to date on all the info}

and

-come visit the baker beer club

for a bunch of church people, we're pretty cool.

“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!” ― Martin Luther