Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

Reading this review reveals you already have some interest in the topic of this book. To ask that you not write this book off too soon would be misguided at best. You are likely as interested as I was when I first saw the title. “God and Guinness? Two of my favorite things? Sign me up!”

Stephen Mansfield begins the book with a dazzling overview through the history of beer, and it does great justice to highlighting what lead to the stringent prohibition that extends into the mindset of so many Christians even today. The mindset came after years of beer seen not only as acceptable but beneficial.

With the first chapter precursor out the way, Mansfield dives into the history of the Guinness brand we all recognize beginning with Arthur Guinness 250 years ago. Revealed in these pages is a family line of brilliant brewers who continually changed the way things were always done. Through countless challenges, the brand would endure with more than, but still including a drive for excellence, innovation, expansion, and mastery.

More important than all these is the silver thread weaving its way throughout. Deep in the heart of its original founder, Arthur, is a heart for their God which would kindle each generation to follow. Mansfield reveals lines of Guinnesses you likely have never seen who were renowned men of faith.

This foundational faith of the Guinness family line necessarily created stories of benevolence, compassion, and social justice, which would be groundbreaking even today. You will find stories of revitalization of whole cities and countries brought about by the Guinness brand and family because they could not avoid the call of their God on their lives.

Mansfield is an able historian, and if you are like me the history will weigh on your attention from time to time. If you have a love for beer or God, you may have to challenge yourself to endure through your own judgments. But if you have a love for both God and beer, this book will leave you craving a world changing conversation with friends over a pint of the saintly stout.

Challenge

Few phrases make a pastor cringe and fight the urge to cup their hands over their ears in a childish I-can't-hear-you motion. Some of these include:
"I'm not being fed here."
"Where is MY tithe being used?"
"We've never done it that way before."
"How far is 'too far'?"
"Was that you at the pub Friday night?"

One statement which has not particularly made me cringe but has had me really searching and thinking lately is the idea of "being challenged".

We like to say there are churches we don't go to because we aren't challenged.

We go to churches because we are challenged.

We want to listen to podcasts from speakers who challenge us and avoid books by authors who don't challenge us.

We say that we want to be challenged, but that is not true.

We say we want to go to places and people who can challenge us, but we lie.

Granted, we lie because we have re-defined (falsely) what "challenge" actually means. When we say want to be challenged, we mean we want someone to blow our minds. We want someone to communicate something in a way we have never thought about it before. We want to think of things more loftily than we had before.

We want to read books that really make us think, and in so doing, make us learn a lot.

We want these things, and we call it challenge, but we have misunderstood and forgotten the primary element to challenge.

Action!
Movement!
Application!

Challenge is a call to engage and change.

We do not want to be challenged. We want to learn more, maybe. We want to know more information, perhaps. We want to answer more questions correctly than someone else, probably.

But very few really want to be challenged, because being challenged means being called to engage and change. Very few of us want to change anything as most of us are too comfortable to engage.

Challenge has to do with whether or not you want to engage something enough to enact change in the way you live, act, or do. Challenge has to do with whether or not what you are reading, hearing, studying, or interacting with engages you to act.

Will my life be different? Will I live differently or am I just waiting for you to blow my mind?

Do I really want to be challenged, or do I really want to know more information than you?

I think of books we commonly call 'challenging' by guys like C.S. Lewis, NT Wright, Bonhoeffer, and I wonder if any of them, as brilliant as they may be, actually engaged me enough to change, act, and live differently.

I think of books by people like Shane Claiborne, SD Gordon, and Francis Chan; books I could read in a day or two but I was engaged to see choices I needed to make to really be more like Jesus.

I think of podcasts I've listened to that I once thought were great challenging sermons, but I cannot remember many that really rocked my life in a way which made me say, "I need to change some things."

The most challenging speakers, writers, and pastors are not necessarily the most profound.

This is because it is not their role to be challenging. It is not up to THEM for YOU to be challenged.

Being challenged is up to YOU! When presented with something, no matter how simple the presentation, its up to YOU to determine whether you will engage and change.

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READING: "The Search for God and Guinness" by Stephen Mansfield
LISTENING TO: "No One's First and You're Next" by Modest Mouse

First book on its way

My first book to review is in the mail. I am not entirely sure the title could be any more perfect. Are you serious!?

More information @

http://bit.ly/X0XDl

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LISTENING TO: "How The Day Sounds" by Greg Laswell