Every week, my husband and I venture out to our local pub. This is for several reasons. Mainly, we need to eat and secondly for great conversations with some friends we have made over the last two-and a-bit years in the town of Wollombi, close to where we own acreage.

Our visits to the pub have made me think a lot about community and how people connect. On one of our recent pub visits, we ordered early, and the food was ready in a snap, so hubby and I excused ourselves from our barstools to a nearby table to consume that great home-cooked style food. Through the meal, a conversation ensued from the barstool gallery located close to our table. The question that was asked from the barstool was, “Have you ever read the bible?”. The question was heartfelt, genuine and searching. All of me wanted to jump up and take a pew on an empty barstool and get amongst the chat. I looked at my husband, Matt, who gave me a wry smile and who was also eavesdropping on the chatter while consuming dinner. This later turned into quite a conversation between Matt and I, being the observers from afar.

The consensus among the barstool gallery was ‘no’. Many questions ensued. Facts like ‘Did you know that every year the bible is the bestselling book and they leave it off the bestselling book list?” Again, the consensus was “no”. One of the larrikins made a bold statement saying, “a man definitely wrote it!” To which garnered the “Why” question he was looking for from an innocent female, only to reply and gesturing with both hands.... “because it is only this thick” and then gesturing with his hands wider apart .... “and not this thick.”, to which the gallery broke out in laughter.

Being the Maven[1] that I am, I thought about all the questions that were asked and all the questions I could have answered; additionally, all the questions that may have ensued but were not to be. In contemplating the questions, like

“Why is the bible the true best seller?”

“Do you know how many persecuted Christians in the world die for its contents?”

Have you asked yourself why this is the case?

Many in the free world do not know anything about the wisdom the bible contains. It has answers for the inner most yearning and brokenness a person can have; How it outlines that every person is precious and made for a purpose; how it contains the answers about how we should interact in relationships and secrets about how somethings, as humans, we are not supposed to carry; And how you can live this life and know exactly what and why you were created, If (and it’s a big IF) you want to spend the time to search it out .... All of this is hidden in plain sight.

Secondly, we all attend church. Whether your church is at the local pub on a Friday night, the local sports ground on a Saturday or hanging with friends, it all comes down to the same thing. As humans we were created for community. When I became a Christian at the age of 26, I did not stop going to the pub on Friday nights or the rugby on a Saturday. What I did find was community at church on a Sunday had a lot more of the answers about life that I had, than the barstool gallery on a Friday night.

[1] ‘Maven’ is a phase to describe someone who gathers information. The phrase ‘Maven’ is used by Malcolm Gladwell (2000). The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference. Little, Brown & Co.