Livin’ in Beverly Hills, That’s Where I Want to Be – Money: Part 1 of 4

Where I come from isn't all that great
My automobile is a piece of crap
My fashion sense is a little whack
And my friends are just as screwy as me

I didn't go to boarding schools
Preppie girls never looked at me
Why should they?
I ain't nobody, got nothing in my pocket

Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be
Livin' in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, rolling like a celebrity
Livin' in Beverly Hills

Look at all those movie stars
They're all so beautiful and clean
When the housemaids scrub the floors
They get the spaces in between

I want to live a life like that
I want to be just like a king
Take my picture by the pool
'Cause I'm the next big thing

Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be
Livin' in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, rolling like a celebrity
Livin' in…

Artist – Weezer
Song – Beverly Hills
Album – Make Believe
Year –2005

_________________

For those who could not yet see prosperity in their own lives, patience became the highest virtue. “Patience! The power twin of faith!” exclaimed Kenneth Copeland.

Kate Bowler – Blessed; A History of the American Prosperity Gospel

“Lol” said I.

Me – when reading above Kenneth Copeland quote in Bowler’s Blessed

_____________

Money: Part 1 of 4

What does it mean to have a “blessed” life? When the Bible talks of “blessing” what is it talking about? Livin’ in Beverly Hills, rolling like a celebrity? Or something else?

Genesis 1:27-28

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

It is in the book of Genesis that we first encounter the Biblical idea of blessing or of being blessed. Essentially blessing or to be blessed refers to God’s desire for humanity to experience life as a flourishing, whole and right reality. Blessing and blessed also refers to God’s initiative in creating the conditions in which this kind of life is possible.

Though God (Father, Son and Spirit) exits perfectly content as God, Trinitarian love overflows and desires always to invite and include “others” in loving relationship. Out of love God creates humankind in order that they might participate in God’s love, not as God, but as God’s image bearers, unique in all of creation.

We should thus understand flourishing, whole and right as follows...

Flourishing – To be fruitful in life, helping to contribute to and ordered creation. To steward and tend to the planet. To produce food, goods and services that provided for one another and make the world even more beautiful. To invent and order, and to continue God’s good work of creation. To have found good work for one's own hands and joy in one's work. To have ready access to the necessities of life.
Whole – To be in a close and healthy relationship with God, self, others and creation.
Right – To live in right step with God’s order of things, in line with God’s way, truth and life. The way of justice, righteousness, mercy, generosity and peace. 

To be blessed is thus to be flourishing, to be whole, and to live in right step with God.

Alternatively, it is to receive something that is a catalyst towards a flourishing, whole or right life.

With this in mind, we see in Deuteronomy the way in which life is used as shorthand for blessing and blessing as shorthand for life. While at the same time death is shorthand for cursing and cursing is shorthand for death.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.

Unfortunately, humankind chose death and cursing pretty early on in the piece rather than life and blessing. Rather than live ‘right’ or in ‘right step’ with God’s order of things, humankind chose to do its own thing and sin and death enters the story, things break down; we’re out of step.

And yet God is faithful even when humanity isn’t and works continually that people would be blessed and know life as God intended life to be.

God offers life and blesses Noah and his decedents. God declares he’ll maintain the conditions needed for life to carry on and blesses humanity once again.

Genesis 8:22 – 9:1

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”

Later on, in order that people might come to know true life, flourishing, whole and right life, God calls Abram and his decedents, promising a special blessing which again, though in different words, speaks of fruitful increase and flourishing.

Genesis 12:1-3

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

And of course, if you are familiar with the biblical narrative, you know that in this passage we’ve hints of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God who will give his life in order that humankind would find true life.

Thus this promise of blessing culminates in Jesus Christ and his life as articulated in the gospel narratives and, in a manner helpful to this discussion, in Romans 4. Remember that blessed is shorthand for a flourishing, whole and right life.

Romans 4:7-8

“Blessed are those
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

You’re on your way to true life, a flourishing, whole and right life – you’re blessed – when you find grace and reconciliation and forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ.

We see this in John 10 as well.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus came that you might be blessed, that you might find true life, and that you might come into right relationship with God and from here into right relationship with self, others and the rest of creation and into a flourishing, whole and right life. A blessed life. 

In this age, we’ll only ever experience this in part. We’ll all face highs and lows, have victories and defeats, know health and sickness, provision and lack at times. While in the age to come this will be known in full.  

In saying that though, as we follow Jesus, as we continue a long obedience in the right direction, we do discover increasing measures of wholeness, we do flourish in new and unexpected ways. We discover Godly wisdom that does serve as a catalyst towards blessing though not as an immunity card that protects us from the heartache and pain of life.

Psalm 1 is a fine example of the blessing that God’s wisdom brings.

Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

Now, hopefully, in all of the above you will have noticed we’ve NOT once mentioned money.

The Western Christian tendency to define blessing in economic, materialistic and consumer driven terms is so far off the mark that it isn’t funny. Bank balances are not a biblical definition of blessing.

Certainly the concept of a blessed life in the Bible assumes an economic component (job security, a fair income, basic financial wisdom and a reasonably just society). But, BUT, BUT!!! – a flourishing, whole and right life goes far beyond economics and is not contingent on personal wealth.

The prosperity gospel is a sham, and more often than not a scam as well!

A blessed life is a certain quality of life, not quantity of wealth.  

These are the sorts of qualities found in a blessed life...

Right relationship and connection with the creator of the universe, the God of heaven and earth.

Non-anxious living, with storms on the horizon, in storms, beyond storms.

A deep set sense of peace, of hope, of being loved. 

A secure sense of value and dignity and place in life. 

Unencumbered in being the person God called you to be. 

Sleeping soundly, laughing lots, enjoying simple pleasures, sharing meals with friends.

Breaking bread and wine. 

Restored and healthy relationships – within yourself, with others and with the rest of creation.

The ability to be present in life. Present with yourself, but also present and connected with family and friends. 

Plenty of people have lots of money but lack most of the above. At the same time, plenty of people have only a little money but despite that their lives overflow with the aforementioned. Who do you think is more blessed!?!

There is way more to a flourishing, whole and right life than one’s bank balance, than living in Beverly Hills.

More needs to be said in regard to money, of course, and hopefully I can share a few more thoughts soon. That said, we need to zoom out before we can zoom in. We need a more biblical concept of blessing before we start talking about money. Otherwise, we’ll struggle to talk about money in its right place; money has a way of becoming the thing rather than a thing. We have to be mindful of this.

So…

·        In considering money we need to keep in mind that when we read words in the bible like blessed, favoured, prosperous, abundant etc, we should think of a flourishing, whole and right life. There is an economic component to the whole deal for sure, but we shouldn’t misinterpret these words through Western lenses infatuated with economics, materialism, consumerism, status, power and bank balances.

·        I absolutely believe God’s heart for people is that they would experience a blessed life – but this means a flourishing, whole and right life. The term has been corrupted by prosperity preaching to the point that it almost needs to be thrown out. Instead though, we’ll try and redeem the term; blessing and prosperity relates to a flourishing, whole, right life. God is and always has been working towards this, the climactic reality of this being the coming of Jesus and His promised return. 

·        Following Jesus won’t result in you becoming a millionaire. Mostly Jesus’ financial advice, if properly followed, will result in bank withdrawals not deposits. Keep that in mind.

·        In economic terms, most of you reading this, with your current wealth, assets and income are already flourishing financially. From a global perspective the medium gross household income in New Zealand, with purchasing power parity taken into account, is about $47,100. That puts you in the wealthiest 4.5% in the world. You’re better off financially than more than 6.3 billion people on our globe. 

A blessed life is a gift from God and is found in Jesus. It can’t be bought. You can’t buy a blessed life.

All too often we give intellectual assent to this but put our hope is in our finances. Money will look after us, keep us secure, give us peace, help us to enjoy life, protect us from storms. That’s often why we are so quick to measure blessing and economic terms, we see money as power, and the power to attain a certain kind of life. This is a lie that the bible warns us against again and again… but that’s a whole different post… 

Christian Spiritualities: Mystics and Others

Here is a John Crowder video I chanced upon the other day. I smiled from start to finish for all sorts of reasons.

Crowder is a self-professed modern day Christian mystic whom I know very little about and my purpose in posting the video is NOT to get into a discussion about the merits for or against John Crowder. Rather, it serves to help illustrate Christian spiritualities and how they interplay. Ideally in a healthy way via community, though often in an unhealthy way via tribalism. Something we've been looking into at church recently.

First of all, consider the helpful illustration from Christain Schwarz' book "The 3 Colours of Your Spirituality."

In sum, he suggests people relate to God via the "world" (creation, relationships, beauty), via the "Word" (gospel, cross, Jesus, bible), and via the "Spirit" (various, I guess you could say, unmediated experiences of God). It's limited and flawed but still a helpful tool. It's important to know your home base, that which comes most naturally for you. For me it is "world," as you can see from my test results which I've included in the graphic. As well, it is helpful to know the pathways that come most naturally to you. You can then also consider the pathways either side and the pathways opposite. Though in reality, they all mix together and we're all a bit of everything.

John Crowder's video is a helpful illustration here as it is classically "mystical." He's not quite "sacramental," nor is he exactly "enthusiastic Holy Spirit," but rather, a more mysterious place in the middle. The "sacramental" side of me loves his celebration of life as a joy and gift and a signpost to God, the fatigued "Holy Spirit enthusiast" side of me is a bit skeptical of the laughing revivals etc, though I can see how the "Holy Spirit enthusiasts" out there could find some life in what he is saying. And then, the "doctrinal" side of me, the opposite of "mystical," worries about what exactly he is and isn't saying. How cool is that! The closer you are to "mystical," either on the "enthusiastic" side or the "sacramental" side, the more you might enjoy what John has to say. The more of a "doctrinal" or "scripture driven" type you are, the more you may be troubled.

Learning to learn from one another, help one another, understand one another, and balance one another is surely better than righting off anything that is different to you.

Bible Reading: Less is More

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path. 

There is no debate that, as Christians, we are to have some sort of a relationship with the bible. The question though is: what sort of relationship?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This Word then becomes flesh and dwells among us; Jesus Christ. And in regard to Jesus Christ, the Word, the Son of God, we read that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17).

So Jesus, the Word of God, comes not to condemn but to save.

At the same time, we have this other thing often referred to as the word of God; the bible. And yet for many, the relationship with this word of God is often one of condemnation, guilt, and confusion. Not because they're reading and finding the text a source of rebuke or challenge or correction. Rather, it is because they are not reading it and feel guilty.  

And rightly so! Right? After all...

Bible reading is like breakfast, you may not remember what you had, but it keeps you going…

A bible that is falling apart is usually owned by someone who isn’t...

Dusty bibles lead to dirty lives…

Really?

I'm not so sure.

For lots of people, myself included, this picture is a pretty good representation of what I understood a relationship with God to look like when I was growing up. 

 The Quiet Time

The technical term was: The Quiet Time.

Supposedly, a relationship with God was outworked via a weekly small group, Sunday church, and one's own daily "quiet times." If asked how many “quiet times” you’d had in the last week, the correct answer was seven. Anything less than seven likely meant one was backsliding. Though in saying that, six was often acceptable with Sunday church letting you off the hook when it came to the "Sunday quiet time." 

January the 1st was the most exciting day of the year when it came to "quiet times." Partly because you could almost guarantee the last half of the previous year would have been a "quiet-time-dessert-of-nothingness." Obviously less than ideal. More than that though, January the 1st meant new stationary! A fresh start with a brand-new journal, new highlighters, new pens (black, blue and red), and if you really wanted to take things up a notch, maybe even a new translation of the bible. It was like the first day back at school for the year and you were ready to write nice headings and underline everything. 

Ideally a "quiet time" was quiet, 30 - 60 minutes long, distraction free and uninterrupted. One would likely be following some sort of bible-in-a-year plan and the reading of the text would be devotional. One would read waiting for a scripture to "pop," for the logos word of God to become a rhema word of God to you and your life and situation. Bible reading would be followed by prayer. 5 minutes per day the first week, 6 minutes per day the second week, 7 minutes per day the third week etc. You'd get stronger and stronger, CrossFit Prayer, though CrossFit hadn't been invented. You'd pray for your church, pray for your family, unchurched friends, the future, The Prayer of Jabez etc.

There is not necessarily anything fundamentally wrong with any of this. At times I've found this practice to be incredibly life-giving. It's intentional, it's God-honoring, it's a discipline, it refuses to squeeze God into the margins, it prioritizes the bible as important in one's faith journey and helps one to become familiar with the bible. I've experienced God speaking to me directly as a passage of scripture I'm reading has indeed "popped" and come to life for my situation circumstances.

At times though it is nothing but a source of guilt, condemnation, confusion and "tick-box" religious duty. 

One feels guilty when they miss a quiet time.

One feels guilty when after a week they are 4 chapters behind in the bible-in-a-year plan, when after a month they are 28 chapters behind, when after 3 months they are 180 chapters behind, and when after 6 months find themselves once again struggling away near the end of Leviticus knowing that the book of Numbers comes next! Oh well. there is always a fresh start in January and all my new pens and highlighters have been lost anyway. And once again there is a sense of failure. 

One feels guilty when they read but nothing goes "pop."

Without too much effort the process becomes condemning rather than life-giving. And, all too often, completion of the "quiet time" is more about appeasing one's conscious (tick off the religious duty for the day), than it is actually about connecting with God in some meaningful way.

On top of this, we've two other realities to consider. Firstly, the whole "quiet time" idea is built around reading and some people just aren't readers. And then secondly, of all the books to try and get non-readers to read, we give them the bible. Ancient Near East and Greco-Roman literature may not be the easiest to tackle! The bible is a tricky book! What’s average Joe reader to make of Leviticus, Job, Ezekiel, Revelation?

The bible is thousands of years old.

It was written in Hebrew in the Ancient Near East. 

It was written in Koine Greek in the Greco-Roman world. 

It was written by a whole bunch of different authors, to a whole bunch of different people, for a whole bunch of different reasons.

It is full of ideas, stories, turns of phrase, and imagery that meant a particular thing, to particular people, at a particular time. 

All of which is really important information in trying to work out what the Bible is getting at sometimes.

The bible is a tricky and complex and challenging book. The bible is hard work.  

The old "quiet time" doesn't really include much space to sort through issues of genre and socio-historical context. Proof texting becomes a lot easier. Find a verse and let it "pop" out to you in order to prove whatever you'd like to prove. 

Take Philippians 4:13 for example. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. A great verse for Tim Tebow before he plays NFL, a great verse as you run into an exam you haven't studied for, a great verse as you launch a new business venture, a great verse as you set out to hitch-hike through war-torn Syria. (Of course no one would ever do that, but if they did, you can bet they'd be the kind of person to quote Phil 4:13). 

It's a great verse but it has nothing to do when any of these things. It's about Paul having learned to find contentment no matter if he has a lot or if he has nothing. Riches or poverty, he can live in all circumstances in a God honoring and righteous manner, through Christ who gives him strength.

Proof-texting can be incredibly dangerous. After all, the bible is so big, so vast, so complex, and written over so many centuries in all sorts of contexts, that you can find a "proof text" for pretty much whatever you want. Indeed, throughout human history wars have been fought, slavery institutionalized, woman treated as property, capital punishment celebrated, and ethnic cleansing enacted all based on the misuse of the bible. A verse or passage of scripture supposedly went "pop" for someone and away they go. 

And so we give this hard, difficult, tricky, ancient book to people who don't really read books at the best of time, not since school, not even a novel, not even the newspaper, and wonder why it sucks the life out of them and fills them with guilt rather than serving as a life-giving way of connecting with God. 

In fact, if you've read this far in this blog post, you are doing better than most people do these days. The internet has destroyed reading. People click from one link to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next. Slow, careful, deep reading is a lost art. Personal reading is at an all-time low, and thus we shouldn’t be surprised that Bible reading is for many at an all-time low.

Well actually, personal reading isn’t at an all-time low. 

I exaggerate. 

The truth is that by-and-large mostly through history humans have been illiterate.

In fact, for the most part Christians haven’t historically had access to their own Bible let alone the possibility of “quiet times” where they could read four chapters a day and get through some Bible-in-a-year reading plan. Christians only started reading the bible "personally" in the 1500’s and even then it took a hundred years and more before Christians started to own their own bible. (And then look what happened... but that's a different story). 

This should be an instant source of comfort. Especially to those who aren't readers, but also to those who find the practice of a "quiet time" to be draining and guilt-laden rather than life-giving. There are other ways of relating to God and relating to the bible. It hasn't always been "quiet times" and it hasn't always been all about reading. We've 1500 years of Christian history without individual bible reading. The point of which isn't to do away with individual bible reading (necessarily), but rather to think more carefully about how we can relate to the bible in life-giving ways. 

More than ever Christians need to be "bible literate" but we should perhaps realize the pathway to bible literacy across the board isn't likely to be more individualistic bible reading. Especially when we consider that we are all wired to connect with God in different ways. 

We won't go into it in great detail, but numbers of different Christian authors have looked at the ways in which different people are wired to connect with God. Christian Schwarz in his book The 3 Colours of Your Spirituality offers nine different pathways that people find meaningful in regard to relating to God. We shouldn't be surprised that different folks on different pathways find they each relate to the bible differently. And the church should make space for this! 

Scripture-driven: These folk love the idea of the "quiet time." This will be incredibly life giving to them, energizing and rewarding. If you are a scripture driven person, and you are still reading this post, you might have found yourself protesting the whole way through. "Quiet times" will be your thing.  

Doctrinal: For doctrine orientated people, they'll appreciate the idea of adding in commentaries to their reading, adding in resources that explain how various traditions have wrestled with scripture and come to make sense of it. They'll be wanting to find "truth" in the bible that is meaningful to "life." 

Rational: Rational type folk tend to start with "life" and then have questions for the bible in light of their experiences of life. They search for "truth" in light of "life."

Sharing: Sharing people are more interested in telling than in reading. They love to share with others that which they have learned and come to a revelation of.

Mystics: For the mystic the bible can be a frustrating barrier to connecting with the Divine at times. An unnecessary intermediary. Mystics can be loose cannons though. Here the bible as God's word becomes a healthy anchor point in life. 

Sensory types and Enthusiasts: Less reading and more experiencing, doing, and engaging suits the sensory and enthusiastic types. Why would you lock yourself away in a room for a "quiet time?" Roll your sleeves up, get out and be the light of Christ in the world, or find the light of Christ in the world.

Sacramental: For sacramental type folk, they are more interested in having communion, sharing a meal, being in nature. "Why more learning about the cross and communion? Have communion, don’t you see that until you take communion it's naught but ideas? As you take communion it comes alive!" They laugh at folk who sit in their rooms reading about the heavens declaring the glory of the Lord and instead buy a telescope and go camping. 

The long and the short of it all is that we’re not all going to relate to the bible the same. We do have to figure out how we are going to relate to the bible though. 

So rather than just more individual "quiet time" type bible reading, here are a few bullet point ideas that might help you in your relationship with the bible. 

1.      We worship Jesus not the bible.

The bible is not a member of the Trinity. The bible is not God. We are followers of Christ not of the bible. Certainly the bible is a great gift to the church in its serving as a signpost pointing to the Word of God that is Jesus. We follow Jesus.

2.      The bible is the word of God that points us to the Word of God.

The bible is helpful in that it points us to Jesus, Jesus who is the inherent, infallible, holy Word of God. Sadly though some people miss Jesus in how they follow the bible. The bible becomes a weapon, a way of crushing others, a heavy weight, a burden, a self-help manual, keys to success and motivation

3.      It’s about bible living not bible reading.

The question is not, have I read four chapters of the Bible today? The question is, have I loved God with all my heart and soul and mind? Have I loved my neighbor as myself? This is what it is all about and you know enough of the bible to get stuck into that for the rest of your life. This in itself should do away with guilt and condemnation. You don’t have to tick the box of 6 or 7 “quiet times.”  Try and tick the box of “doing my best to be like Jesus in the world.”  Of course, you won’t always be able to tick this box. We all blow it from time to time. Find grace and forgiveness in these moments though, not guilt and condemnation.

Having said this, we of course need God’s word to be continually shaping our lives. Of course, of course, of course.

4.      Read the Bible in community.

The Bible wasn’t written to you, nor was the bible written to me. It was written for us but not to us. It was written to particular communities, at particular times, and for particular reasons. These communities would wrestle together to make sense of God’s word to them. Academics, laborers, stay home mums, business people, teachers, teenagers, the elderly, those experiencing heartache and loss, those thriving in life. Scriptures were always worked out in community. 

So, if you are not a reader or not someone inclined towards the scripture-driven or doctrinal pathway, then it is really important to be in a church community that is scripture-driven and has a passion for sound doctrine.

For you though, your bible “reading” may in fact end up being a lot more "bible listening" (as others preach and teach and explain), "bible watching" (as you look at how others in your church community live out the bible in their lives), and "bible conversing" (as you talk with others in your community, ask questions and wrestle with the text together).

It's not all about reading! Listening, watching and conversing maybe the pathway forward for you when it comes to bible literacy. 

Some super spiritual type people might like to declare that this is problematic as you’ll only ever have “second-hand revelations of God” rather than “first-hand revelations of God.” They might declare you to be cutting corners. Don’t worry though, this is stupid for a couple of reasons. Firstly, unless you a reading in Hebrew or Greek you’re already relying on the work of others and it is already second-hand. You have already cut a corner. Secondly, if something is a revelation to you, it is a revelation to you! Any revelation you have is always a first-hand revelation to you. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a revelation.

5.      Less is more, join the “slow Bible” movement.

If you are going to read in community, well the reading gets a lot slower. It is always faster to do something by yourself, of course. It isn’t always better for you though. Inviting others into the conversation will slow it all down, but at the same time has the potentially to bring it all alive.

Invite a couple of friends into conversation. Read the same book of the bible together. Meet up for coffee to discuss.

Invite an expert into the conversation. It is pretty easy to get your hands on really good commentaries. Academic. Pastoral. Everyday life application. You can decide how deep you want to go.

Obviously, this is more reading so it isn’t going to be for everyone. If you are a listener or a watcher or a conversationalist, try to listen to those that read deeply etc.

More reading slows it down. Here though, please understand that less is more. Don’t try to get through the bible in a year. Stop. Try to get through a couple of books of the bible each year and add in an appropriate commentary on each book. Add in some appropriate conversation partners. You’ve got years of doing this ahead of you so slow down.

Tom Wright has a series For Everyone that’d be a good and easily accessible entry point. A basic commentery on every book of the New Testament by one of the world's leading biblical scholars. All written for the everyday reader though. Buy them as a set, buy them one-by-one. 

Maybe rather than a commentary, read a couple of books about the bible. A little bit of understanding of how it works can be a game changer!

Try The Drama of Scripture by Bartholomew and Goheen helps you to understand the big story and narrative arc of the bible. It is excellent. Or perhaps The Bible Tells Me So by Peter Enns. Enns is laugh-out-loud funny and looks at the dilemmas that come with some of the tricky bits of the bible and the unfortunate ways we have tried to work our way around them. The New Testament Story by Ben Witherington is a great introduction as to how we even came to have the New Testament. Them, Us, and Me by Jacqueline Grey is helpful with the Old Testament, what does that have to do with our lives today? A great book. 

Less is more!

Join the slow bible movement.

After all, anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.

6.      Don’t mistake the bible as a flat text, not all is equal.

Give privilege to the Gospels, the stories of Jesus, the Epistles to the church.

7.      Always read in light of Christ.

8.      Remember that the goal in our reading is that we’d be more like Jesus. 

Friday Craft Beer Review: Lion Breweries’ Waikato Draught

Truth be told, this is the first time I’ve sampled Lion Breweries’ Waikato offering, despite it being one of New Zealand's oldest beers. 91 years old apparently!

According to beer historian Mr Wiki, Waikato Draught was originally brewed in Hamilton by the Innes Family Brewery, the first brewery in New Zealand owned by a woman. Lion Nathan acquired the brewery in 1961 with production continuing in Hamilton until 1987 before being moved to Auckland. Unfortunately for Hamilton, this shift to Auckland meant Hamilton officially became New Zealand’s "Most Uninspiring City.” A title held until the first class debut of Daniel Vettori for Northern Districts against England ten years later in 1997. His first wicket, that of Nasser Hussain (caught at first slip attempting to drive), is recognised by the local council of the time as breathing new life into the city and inspired their catch phrase “Hamilton; Where It’s Happening,” Good stuff Lucas! Shortly after they planted a garden and bought some hot air balloons and things have been on the up and up every since. But I digress. In 2005 Waikato Draught won gold in the draught category of the Brew NZ beer awards with its classic beer being described as having a “strong malty flavour with well-defined bitterness.” That’ll be something to look out for!

What else? Technically a draught beer is one poured via a handle and from a keg or cask, now-a-days though Waikato primarily comes in a can or a bottle. In fact, it is rare to find Waikato Draught on tap outside of the 7,067-person town of Huntly. Basically very view taverns are brave enough to invest in a 50 litre keg. It might take 10 - 15 years to work through that much Waikato Draught and not many publicans are willing to sign up to that kind of commitment. Nevertheless, if one is prepared to make the trip to one of Huntly’s local establishments you’ll be able to find Waikato Draught on tap as well as a better-than-average chance of a Thursday night schnitzel special. Just follow the sound of the Waikato chainsaws calling to each other (they don't text over there) and keep a look out for the Huntly Hurricane (aka Lance Hohaia). Draught continues to be used in the title only out of tradition. Other than that, as a malty/bitter beer we’d expect it to be in some way related to the Pale Ale family. Whether a long lost cousin to be welcome home or an ugly step sister, we’ll have to wait and see.    

Let’s see how this goes.

Price: $7.99 4x330mls. Waikato Draught is certainly priced competitively when one compares it to other craft beers we’ve reviewed. Interestingly enough, Waikato Draught gets cheaper per bottle when you buy in bulk. A box of 15 works out at $1.73 per bottle and a box of 24 at $1.66. In theory then, a 249 pack would work out at about .59c per bottle. They’re practically giving it away. Or, maybe my math is wrong.

Alcohol content: 4.0%

Colour: Deep amber and golden hues. Plenty of bubbles and a reasonable white frothy head.

Aroma: Faint notes of sweet toffee are discernable. There is also subtle sour note as well, kind of a mix between 24-hour charity relay sweat, apprentice builder’s body odour, and the sticky wooden floors of the Mount Rugby Club just before church used to start after a Saturday night 40^th birthday back in the day.

Palate: Even chilled the sweet malt flavours come through, hints of Pam's golden syrup. Other than that it is simply wet and watery. It is slightly fizzy but totally lacking any body. In terms of strong taste and bitterness; whoever did the write-up extolling the virtues of this draught beer has obviously never sampled a good stout or a quality IPA. I’m not convinced this beer even has any hops in it.

Finish: The initial swig of this beer is quite palatable compared to the finish. The finish is where it becomes pretty off-putting as it is hard to work out what the tangy aftertaste exactly is. Many myths surround what may or may not be the special ingredients used in this brewing process. Since 2011 the general consensus seems to be Beaver's Rugby World Cup winning socks and undies, the very ones worn as he nervously took the kick that became "The Kick." I’m not convinced though. This old misty is even more tangy than that. It’s almost as if someone has combined the muddy water of the Waikato river with select segments of yellow snow from Mount Ruapehu and a hint of Stihl’s HP 2 Stroke chainsaw oil, and then actually put it in the bottle! It's hard to digest.

On the Chart: Well in terms of complexity we’re sitting pretty low. Well let’s be honest, this bit of mooloo magic just isn’t that magical and will line up right at the bottom of the chart. It’s also not hoppy in the slightest. And while it is a touch malty, it's certainly not anything like a deep dark porter or stout. This is pretty middle of the road. A refreshing beer rather than a beer to be savoured. It’s looking pretty lonely on the chart.

Conclusion: Truthfully, Lion Breweries’ Waikato Draught is an easy drink. Easy like a glass of water is easy. There isn’t a lot to it. I’d say that’s why it is sold in 24 packs and maybe even one day in 249 packs for .59c a bottle. I think the idea with Waikato Draught is to come back for more. This isn't craft beer. Craft beer is different. Craft beer is to be savoured rather than skulled, and the flavours, like anything of substance, eventually fatigue the palate. Most craft beers are sold as a single drink, though you do get a few 4 packs and a handful of 6 packs. This particular Waikato Draught was one of 4 but I’m bamboozled as to what to do with the other three; I’m not touching them. Glad I didn't get a box of 24.

In all honesty, it’s not that Waikato Draught is that bad, it more that it just isn’t that good. Why waste time or money on a beer like this? When you want a coffee you go to local café for an espresso not to Gregg’s for an instant. It doesn't matter that Gregg calls it a "Special Blend" we know it isn't true. When you want steak you throw a scotch on the grill not a piece of marinated BBQ steak with those lines in it (where do those lines even come from anyway!?!). When you want a beer you pop a Tuatara or a Panhead or something from Garage Project. You stay away from Waikato Draught. At least I would. Quality over quantity I say. Less is more. This is an ugly step sister rather than a Cinderalla. Run!

Friday Craft Beer Review: Moa's Festive Season Belgian IPA

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Eagle Brewery’s RED IPA. In that review I mentioned the wide variety of IPA options that various breweries are coming up with these days. One variety mentioned was a Belgian Style IPA. Essentially this is an IPA brewed with Belgian yeast. Belgian yeast has a very distinct taste and to include it in an IPA changes the beer quite significantly. While off putting to some, others find it a very pleasant flavour. I enjoy the flavour when it is mild but find it pretty overwhelming when it comes through strong. Well funnily enough, after mentioning that two weeks ago, and then reviewing a traditional Belgian style abbey beer last week (delicious), I’ve come across a Belgian style IPA courtesy of Moa Brewing NZ.

Moa Brewing Company is based in Marlborough, New Zealand. While Marlborough is one of New Zealand’s most famous wine regions, Moa Brewing is all about delicious hand crafted beer. They launched in 2003 and have been going from strength to strength ever since. Most of Moa’s beers are bottle conditioned with yeast and sugar added to the brew just before bottling. This means their beers have a cloudy sediment at the bottom, nothing to worry about though, it all just adds to the magic.

Moa promote this beer as an American style IPA brewed with Belgian ale yeast. This little blurb points towards the beer being very bitter / very hoppy, with strong citrus, pine, and fruity notes. This will be followed by a distinctive after taste that comes from the Belgian yeast; off putting to some and delicious to others depending to how strong it comes through. In Moa’s St Joseph Belgium Tripel (yep, that’s right, what a name!) the yeast flavour comes through too strong for me. Other Belgians I’ve had were more balanced and truly delicious. Like Leffe’s Bruin. Yum. 

Let’s see how this goes. It has the potential to be a great combination. 

Price: $7.99 500mls

Alcohol content: 6.0%

Colour: Deep amber gold with plenty of bubbles and a lovely white frothy head. 

Aroma: Strong hoppy smells of grapefruit and tropical fruit. More fruity than herbaceous. 

Palate: Very hoppy but the hops are full of beautiful fruity bitterness. Reasonably fizzy. Really quite lovely. 

Finish: As you swallow you can't miss the distinct Belgian yeast flavour profile coming through. It is beautifully balanced though and comes through quite sweet and not at all over powering. There is a slight sweet toffee like malt finish too. Big bitterness sticks to the roof of your mouth while the lovely sweetness swirls around your tongue and cheeks.  

On the Chart: This festive Belgian IPA is pretty hoppy, probably more out towards the double IPA side of things, which you would expect with an American style IPA (APA). But the sweet yeast and toffee malts certainly add a nice complexity that mixes everything up. So we are well left and with a really great degree of complexity.

Conclusion: This is a really nice beer that has been well executed. The Belgian yeast is slightly milder than how it comes through in Moa's St Joseph, which for me is a positive thing. It's not too pungent. While it is quite a bitter beer the yeast and the malts provide a lovely contrast and everything fits together really nicely. If you like double IPAs or IPAs, and if you like the beers of Belgium, this is a really good combination. Good stuff Moa!