As we approach St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate the passionate Christ follower God used to lead so much of Ireland into the Christian faith, it got me pondering another interesting character in Irish history, Arthur Guinness. Both Patrick in the 400’s and Guinness in the 1700’s used beer within the context of Christian mission and ministry. Patrick employed a brewer in his household and often brought beer as a gift to village leaders he was seeking to evangelize. (And try not to read into that any motivation other than beer was truly an appreciated gift!)
I first got a hint about what an amazing individual Arthur Guinness is when the Doyle family in a vacation last spring checking out our ancestral heritage, toured the amazing Guinness Brewery in Dublin. But I never really knew the full Guinness story until Darryl Buckle, our new Pastor of Adult Ministries bought me a gift, a newly published book by USA Today columnist, Stephen Mansfield. It’s titled, “The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World?” It was written to celebrate the Guinness Company’s 250th anniversary.
Who would have thought that a book about an iconic Irish stout and the family that had made it famous would actually be a riveting and inspiring read, challenging us how to live and do business for the glory of God. While it might sound strange to some from more traditional evangelical settings, Arthur Guinness was motivated by his deep personal commitment to God to develop a product that would contribute to the good of society through a company devoted to the well being of its employees.
Here are some interesting thoughts that have come from reading Mansfield’s book:
• Arthur Guinness was deeply impacted by John Wesley’s preaching in Dublin. With Wesley he accepted the idea from Psalm 104 that alcohol in moderation was a gift from God “to gladden the heart”. However Wesley deplored the use of distilled beverages such as gin, brandy and whiskey because they led so quickly to the sin of drunkenness. Guinness came to see the brewing of beer as a way to promote the God honouring moderate use of alcohol, while leading people away from the “Gin Houses” that were such a blight in Irish and British society. Brewing beer was part of his mission to make a positive difference in Irish society.
• Guinness founded the first Sunday Schools in Ireland. He fought against dueling. And he chaired the board of a hospital for the poor. He had a huge Christ centred social conscience. As a Protestant he fought for the rights of the oppressed Roman Catholic majority in Ireland.
• The generations that followed Guinness produced not only some very God honouring businessmen, but some passionate pastors as well. In the 1890’s, Rupert Guinness, future head of the brewery, received five million pounds from his father on his wedding day. Shortly after, he moved into a house in the slums and launched a series of programs that served the poor.
• The Guinness brewery routinely paid wages that were 10 to 20 percent higher than average and had a reputation for being the best place to work in Ireland. Guinness paid for all of his employees’ ages 14 to 30 to attend technical schools if they wanted and more advanced school if they qualified. He provided medical and dental health care to the whole family, with doctors and nurses on site; subsidized meals; provided a company funded pension, sports facilities, free concerts … And the list of way over the top generous employee benefits goes on and on. Guinness believed, “You cannot make money from people unless you are wiling for people to make money from you.”
• And then in 2003, scientists at the University of Wisconsin reported that a pint a day of Guinness is good for the human heart, confirming that call to drink a little wine in 1 Timothy 5:23, is relevant today and can be extended to beer!
It’s only been in recent years that major evangelical denominational families like Christian & Missionary Alliance that Redwood Park is a part of, have been officially willing to go back to a balanced biblically grounded understanding regarding the consumption of alcohol. The latest edition of the Manual of the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Canada states:
“The Bible contains guidelines regarding the moderate use of alcohol and warnings regarding its misuse. The misuse of alcohol is damaging to individuals, families and society. The C&MA expects its credentialed workers to exercise their Christian freedom responsibly within the framework of God’s Word.”
Guinness, Wesley and St. Patrick would all have approved.
But what’s most fascinating about the life and legacy of Arthur Guinness is not the novelty of seeing beer as a tool in Christian mission, as much as it’s simply to see how a Christian businessman worked out his faith so holistically through his business. We truly need to see God raise up a few more Arthur Guinness’ in the world!! Oh and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Thank you for such a comprehesive overview of the book. It is unfortunate that I do not like Guinness, but perhaps some mercy can be extended to some ice cold Budweiser. Somehow the title is not as good…God and Bud! Ah well summer is on its’ way!
Godbless you for your kingdom work,up North and arround the world.
It seems to me this is another example of applied Christianity, vs head knowledge. He truly lived out the idea of Christian service!! He will have had a great impact on the Kingdom!!! To God be the Glory!
Lets just look the other way about how only Protestants were managers in Guinness, a practice that continues until relatively recently and was duplicated in other Irish organisations, including the State owned Irish Life and An Bord Trachtala (the Irish Trade Board).
Told your hiring Buckle was genius..;-) Nice Buck. Plus great read Doug..you expressed it well. And now you have a theological basis to enjoy your next Guiness with. If someone doesn’t like Guiness are they still a Christian..or is it a milk-meat issue…
Hey Ewan … appreciate your insight there! Thanks.
I Like Beer
Thanks Jarret for one of the more intelligent comments added this post!
Cool story Doug, interesting… being involved in First Nations ministry for almost 20 years, there’s no balanced view of beer there! It’s all or nothing. Abstinence or Alcoholic. My son works with FASD kids and adults who are chronic criminals, largely due to the brain injuries they received inutero. I’ve gone into rooms to clean up after suicides and the atmosphere was always thick with the smell of one thing – alcohol. Now I know that biblically it is not a sin to have a drink… but there are ethnic groups which are physiologically more susceptable to drunkenness and addiction. (I didn’t previously believe this) I’ve seen the damage done by the abuse of alcohol, both in the white and aborignal community. To model and promote a responsible approach to any alocohol consumption is a no-brainer, but it needs to be done with sensitivity that we’re not all Irish!
Also tragic what happens when the oringinal compassionate approach of the founders of the company are replaced down the road by the profit motive. I have been run off the road in the rain forest of west Africa by Guinness trucks, which had penetrated their product into areas the gospel of Christ hadn’t. Addiction was rampant there. How strange is it that I was travelling with a mission org. founded by the same Guiness family?
Hey, I just want to type a bit here after reading Brent’s post. I, too, have worked with Aboriginal children and families, now for almost 15 years, and have cared for and nurtured a number of FASD children. I am still involved in many of their lives.
Over the years I have greived much over/for these children, and their families – their past/history… etc. I have wrestled with the whole idea of alcohol, etc. I went through a time were I COULD NOT have a drink of any type of alcholic beverage,- did not even want to see a bottle of any kind and if I did, wanted to throw it to smash it!-because I was so upset about the effects of alcohol on these children and their LIVES! I believe the bottom line is- it boils down to choice!, and the individual God given freedom to choose. So how do we choose wisely?!?
I believe what is most needed is healing, education, and an emphasis on the fact that we do have choices to make in life. I try to teach the children I have an influence on to chose healthy! If we talk openly about the vulnerablity/ perhaps ethnic suseptability with the children/youth/ young adults… they are more likely to be able to make a healthy choice when it comes to their own desicion around consumption of alcohol. There is now a whole new teaching on pregnancy and alcohol consumption… something very new, but crucial at stopping FASD! Again-education! I believe the more real and open we are about this, the less influence alcohol will have. The other thing I believe is very important is accepting responsibility for choices made. If we make a poor choice, lets accept it, forgive and move forward. Jesus is all about wholeness and forgivness, and we need to be proactive in taking responsibilies for our lives and our futures. So lets teach the children well… give them the tools they need to live healthy/make healthy choices. Alexander Graham Bell didn’t invent the phone so someone can scamm an old lady out of her Visa limit, nor so that someone else can make obscene or harassing calls, yet these things occur, and to some people more vulneralbe than others. Some use tools wisely… some use tools for murder weapons or to commit other crimes. Lets love and teach, our children (all!)well!, and that may mean explaining some realities of their own make up and vulnerabilities, in a culture were greed is rampant. Lets give them a sense of belonging, of self respect/esteem, and ‘pride’ in who they are socially and spiritually;
Lets empower them in practical ways, through spiritual teaching/guidance, and by the Holy Spirit, to do great things… to be creative… and inventive!, rather than hand over their personal power to LIVE… to a bottle, a pill, cigarette, or greed, etc. Lets do our best!, and leave the rest to God. I don’t like beer, but then, I do like a glass of good wine. And, I do like a good story!
[...] Perhaps St. Guinness? March 20109 comments 3 [...]
I think the first two posts may have been the same person……
correction* ..the first two posts that look like novels.