Coffee & Brats

Some things seem to go well together—ham & cheese, peanut butter & jelly, cake & ice cream, etc. Have you ever considered the combination of coffee & brats? Honestly, I think that I prefer having a soft drink with brats. However, recently I have come to appreciate the link between a brat and a cup of java. The journey to my coffee-brat interest began many years ago.

In the 1990’s I attended a 6-week seminar at the New Tribes Bible college in Michigan. At that time, I was introduced to Butch Bennett and Caffeinated Conversation. Butch was one of the Bible teachers at the school. He invited several fellows over to his house to watch basketball and eat pizza. We had a great time. I think that I enjoyed talking about “theology” with Butch more than watching the game. Butch told us about a group of staff and students who met once a week at a local coffee shop to talk about theological issues. They called their coffee shop discussion group “Caffeinated Conversation.” It sounded like an interesting concept.

A few years later, one of the students from that Bible college introduced Caffeinated Conversation to our Missionary Training Center in Missouri. We enjoyed talking about various passages of Scripture or theological issues that were of a concern at the time.

When I moved to Florida, several men joined me in starting a Caffeinated Conversation group here. We have an amazing time of fellowship once a week as we look at the Word of God and discuss questions that we have.

In December, Butch and Pat Bennett moved here to Florida. Butch has also joined our Caffeinated Conversation group.

By now you are probably picturing a group of guys sitting around a BBQ grill, sipping coffee, eating brats, and talking about the Bible. Well, that is not quite the connection between coffee & brats that I had in mind.

Technically, Butch has retired, but I don’t think anyone “truly” retires in Ethnos360. He was asked to head up a new department that would field questions and give guidance about various theological issues. Our Caffeinated Conversation group seemed like a natural fit to help with this new department. What is the name of this department? Drumroll please! It is the Biblical Research And Theological department—BRAT. To be clear, BRAT is pronounced “brät” as in the sausage. It is not pronounced “brat” as in an ill-mannered child!

And that explains my newfound appreciation for brats & coffee.

It seems like there has been an uptick in the number of COVID cases here in our area. A few of our folks here have had COVID in recent days. At least 1 required some time in the hospital. We do appreciate your prayers for God’s hand of protection on us.

Blessings,

Bob

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Fence Sitting Is Not an Option

Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18:21)

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

—C.S. Lewis