I’m not a beer-drinking man. In fact, besides wine at a few weddings, the only alcohol I ever drank was a too-big slurp of Rum and Coke. I was five. My dad thought it would be funny to switch my Coca-Cola with his adult version while I was off playing Ms. Pacman at the bar. He got me good.

For most of my life, I quickly judged and heavily avoided all who drank alcohol. I saw what it did to my family and to the many men and women whose lives I watched disintegrate at the circuit of bars we frequented.

I’ve changed a good bit in the past decade, and although I remain abstemiously disciplined (in this area, at least), I have no interest in following my great-grandmother’s role as a local president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (Okay, so I’m a guy and couldn’t anyway, but you get the point). I have many Christian friends who drink and unless they are abusing the practice, I no longer feel anxious around them.

So what am I getting at? Twice, recently, I came across articles that connected ministry with traditionally controversial topics. In both cases, I saw potential benefits, but the conservative side of me cringed. Here’s what I want to know:

If God cares about every area of life, is it possible to go too far in our response to his call?

Consider the two articles in question:

• David Dunham over at Christ and Pop Culture asks, “What can a guy who made beer teach us about prayer?” Go and read his well-written response to the upcoming 250th Anniversary of Guinness beer.
• Bradley Moore over at High Calling Blogs asks, “All strippers need insurance too, right?” Go and read his reflections on a true story of ministry at the local brothel.

These two leave me with mixed thoughts. Are they valid callings? Do the folks in these jobs pass the test of being “in the world but not of it”? How else can Christians reach the two audiences – drunkards and strippers – if we don’t go to them?

Help?