Wow. Not that I hadn’t received fair warning from some of you – but I didn’t really believe it. Less than 6 hours after this posting went live, I received an email from the woman who oversees Theology on Tap nationwide. She said I’m more than welcome to join “Renew Theology on Tap” (via registration process and fees), but I am not to use the name “Theology on Tap” or any derivatives (which she said includes “Theology on the Rocks”). I guess I understand this from a technical/legal standpoint, but wow…they really are all over this. And for a group that will be as small as ours…not making any money off it…just seems a little over the top. When do copyrights start to infringe on the ministry of the greater church…?
This summer we are going to be starting up Theology on Tap, sponsored by Asbury United Methodist Church. I’m still trying to finalize the name, whether we’ll go with the traditional “Theology on Tap” or try something different like “Theology on the Rocks.” Any creative suggestions are welcomed!
It is our hope that it will serve as both a fellowship opportunity for young adults (and others) in our congregation, but we’re also hoping that it will be an outreach and mission of the church, that we’ll be able to take some really important and relevant conversations about life and spirituality outside the walls of the church (where many young adults wouldn’t necessarily choose to be at 8:50am on Sunday mornings) and to places where people hang out.
I am sure that many of you have been a part of similar programs, and I’d love to hear what worked well for you, what didn’t work, what conversations really went well, which ones didn’t seem to go anywhere. Any advice would be very helpful.