{"id":12847,"date":"2025-04-07T15:24:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T19:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=12847"},"modified":"2025-04-07T15:24:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T19:24:15","slug":"pastor-ed-young-sparks-debate-after-opening-a-beer-can-during-sermon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/04\/pastor-ed-young-sparks-debate-after-opening-a-beer-can-during-sermon.html","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Ed Young Sparks Debate After Opening a Beer Can During Sermon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ed Young \/ YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Texas pastor Ed Young broached controversial topic during a Sunday sermon<\/a> when he took out a can of beer and opened it on the platform. Young pastors megachurch Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, where he stood at the pulpit with a six pack of beer and addressed the \u201cmost dangerous drug and the number one drug in America.\u201d He shocked the congregation by opening a can and pouring it into a cup. He acknowledged that the members of his church came from diverse backgrounds, with some potentially in the grips of alcoholism, others having a family history of alcohol abuse, and others who were supportive of social drinking. The Bible mentions the consumption of alcohol some 200 times, with drunkenness being clearly sinful. But whether or not Christians can partake in some alcohol consumption remains a \u201chotly debated topic,\u201d admitted Young.<\/p>\n

Young stated that yes, Christians can drink but cited Ephesians 5:18 to point out that drunkenness is not allowed. Young pointed out that his congregants should be filling themselves with the Holy Spirit rather than alcohol. \u201cWhat and who are you filling your life with?\u201d asked Young. Quoting theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem, Young defined drunkenness as, \u201ca loss of good judgement, impaired thinking, diminished moral restraint, actions that harm personal or gospel reputation, compromised physical condition.\u201d He pointed to Jesus\u2019s first miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana and the mentions of alcohol related to merriness in the Proverbs as evidence to allow drinking in moderation.<\/p>\n

Young did not diminish, however, the realities of alcohol addiction. \u201cOne out of 10 become problem drinkers, become alcoholics,\u201d he said. He stated that those who choose to refrain from alcohol completely were not in the wrong either, sharing Proverbs 20:1, which states, \u201cwine is a mocker, and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.\u201d He noted that whether or not to abstain completely or to only partake in partial drinking is a personal decision that should be approached prayerfully. He also discouraged daily social drinking, saying it should only be taken occasionally. He encouraged his congregation to avoid alcohol for thirty days during the month of April. He then ended with a Quaker prayer, saying, \u201cFather, we all come here today with our fists clinched. And especially, God, over this issue of alcohol\u2014the battle over the bottle. Right now, God, in my life and in every life here, may we unclinch our fists and drop everything at the foot of the cross.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas pastor Ed Young broached controversial topic during a Sunday sermon when he took out a can of beer and opened it on the platform. Young pastors megachurch Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, where he stood at the pulpit with a six pack of beer and addressed the \u201cmost dangerous drug and the number one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":12850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor Ed Young Sparks Debate After Opening a Beer Can During Sermon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pastor Ed Young opens a beer on stage to tackle the hot-button issue of alcohol, urging Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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