Thoughts generated by alcohol, well....being around it anyway

well, i must say that 12.36 seemed to come quite quickly today.......which is something i haven't thought in probably 4 years. now, i'm not some slug (anymore) who always sleeps in till just past lunchtime, i'm up everyday at a respectable 7.00 in the morning; but it seems i have made an exception this morning. the cause of this suspension of what some would call responsibility ('cause obviously responsibility in one's life is tied to the time they wakeup...) was an outrageous and quite fun, i might add, drinker last night at my friends' Tim and Kate's apartment. outrageous because there were a few times in the night when we thought a few of us may get into a tangle with a few guys over the honor of a couple of our friend's sisters who where there. luckily nothing happened, no one got their nose punched in or anything, just a few words were exchanged. it was quite fun because, well, it was a bunch of my friends, as well as a few new people that turned out to be quite cool, and i just hanging out, having a few drinks, bustin' each other's chops....you know, quality time with one another.

i noticed something last night as i was taking a moment to chill and absorb in my surroundings. there was quite a motley crew of people there, some you probably wouldn't normally find hanging out together in a typical social situation, but we all hung out like we've been friends for years. now i'm sure that the amounts of alcohol being consumed by a majority of the people there had a little something to do with it, but therein lies the rub. this "bar environment" feeling is quite an attractive thing to people, maybe more so to my generation, and i have this sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with the feeling of acceptance and community. i must admit something as a 20-something christian and somewhat regular attender of church, now this is not a new or original thought, but one that was confirmed last night: if we, the church, could capture that intangible feeling of community and acceptance that the bars have seemed to hone, we would be such a force in the world, it would not be the same. this is also where we are confronted with quite a sad hypocrisy: we are seeing sinners ( i use this word only to prove my point) and God-less people "loving" people and making them feel like they belong so much more so than the one group of people on this earth whose m.o. should be first to love above all other things, us christians. this is the time where some would probably desire answers, they would want me to provide an 8 step plan and program the local pastors should implement to alleviate this problem. however, this writer and hopefully a majority of those who would be so lucky as to read this rant, are smart enough to know that it isn't going to take a program, its going to take the hearts of all of the parts of the body (not just the mouths, if you know what i mean) being recalibrated towards love and subsequently, action; heck, its only the 2nd greatest commandment ever given. anyway, i have seemed to write quite a long entry today...oh well, hopefully it causes some of you readers to think; it sure has caused me to.