My absolute favorite part of owning this Cerakote shop, hands down, has to be the Whiskey & Worship event we hold here every month. Nope, we ain’t worshiping the whiskey, so let me explain.
A year or so ago a good friend of mine, Greg, mentioned he thought it would be neat to hold a Bible study where we could have a cigar or sip on a bit of whiskey while we chat. I immediately thought that was a great idea. My girlfriend and I had been going back to church every week for a year or two at this point and I was becoming more devoted to my faith. I still enjoyed that sip of whiskey on ice after a long day, and for some reason it always tastes so much better with a buddy.
We talked about this for a few months back and forth. I don’t think either of us really felt qualified to start such an event, I know I didn’t, but we decided to just go for it. Sometimes you just have to dive in and worry about how it’s gonna work when you get there. Funny enough, we just talked about this at our last event when we were studying Luke 24. This was after Jesus was crucified and Mary Magdalene and the women were taking oil and spices to anoint his body. In Mark 16 it says they questioned one another “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” They didn’t know how it was going to be done, but they went anyways and God provided a way.
You don’t talk about Fight Club! Whiskey & Worship!
So anyway, we got together one night and hashed out a bit of how we think it should go. We came up with a few guidelines we thought were important. 1) What’s said here stays here. Kind of like Fight Club. You don’t talk about Whiskey & Worship! It’s important that men know whatever they share here is safe. Yes, we encourage you to share W&W with other men and invite them in, but whatever a man chooses to share here is not shared with anyone else.
2) Keep it about the Bible. This isn’t about the whiskey or cigars. If you’re more interested in that, there are plenty of bars to drink your fill. This is more about talking about the Bible and becoming better men. We have a few other guidelines like keep off your phone and try not to interrupt a man sharing his thoughts, but really those main two are the most important.
So we gave it a go. To say I was nervous to lead a group of men in a meeting like this would be an understatement, but it went great. We’ve been doing this now for a year. Every month there’s a different mix of men, but it’s so refreshing to be surrounded by men on a similar path as you and talking about things that actually matter, not just about sports or the weather.
One thing we’ve started doing in the second half of our meetings is asking the men, “What are you struggling with?” This gives them a chance to vent and get things off their chest. If they have a problem and want advice, there have been many times when excellent help was given. It’s a space to unload without worry and to gain a different perspective from men walking a similar path. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” That’s something we truly believe in.
Wanna join?
If you’re in the area and are interested in joining us, or maybe you want to start your own gathering, feel free to contact us! We will give you whatever help we can. We’re more than happy to help more men become part of a great group like this. It’s something society desperately needs.
I’ve started doing simple study guides for each month, available below. We generally do 2-3 chapters each month. The study guides are just simple outlines followed by some thought provoking questions to help get the conversation flowing. These will be updated every month, so bookmark this page and check back.
Feel free to use them wherever you like and give us a shout with any questions or suggestions!
If you don’t have a Bible, don’t worry. You can read online or download an app for your phone, for free, at the button below!👇
~Sam
