Author: Joe

Joe https://www.theawesomenessconspiracy.com Joe sees the world through a slightly skewed lens...sort of like a trout looking up through the surface of a mountain stream, trying to discern what's real from what's not. A pastor, writer, speaker, former youth leader, and fanatical fly fisherman, Joe holds a master's degree in Christian Ministry from Asbury Theological Seminary and is a provisional Deacon in the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He and his wife Lorie reside along the Ohio River in the small town of Williamstown, West Virginia, from which they continue to launch a lifetime of adventures.

Oct. 13 Gathering: Outspoken

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Special Guest: Emily Harger

This Sunday at New Wineskins we are thrilled to welcome filmmaker Emily Harger, who is screening her documentary film, “Outspoken” at WVU-Parkersburg this week.

Emily will talk about the making of the film and enter into dialogue about the ways the faith community and LGBTQIA+ community can work together to support the innate dignity and worth of all people.

We encourage you to attend the screening on Thursday, Oct. 10, at WVU-P at 6pm, and then join us on Sunday, Oct. 13, at the Marietta Brewing Company for an extended conversation with Emily.

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm

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Sept. 29 Gathering: The Shrewd Manager

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Guest host: Kevin Malcomb

In the middle of the gospel of Luke, we find what seems to be a bizarre story about a business manager who gets fired and then cheats his boss by reducing the debts of those who owe him money. And rather than get angry, the man’s master commends him for his shrewdness.

It’s one of the more confusing passages in scripture. Is Jesus saying that we should cheat and lie and befriend those who do likewise in order to gain favor? Or is something else going on at a deeper level?

This Sunday at New Wineskins, guest host Kevin Malcomb will walk us through a conversation about the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-13) and we’ll explore what Jesus might really be trying to say by looking at the bigger picture Luke is trying to paint.

Join us this Sunday, Sept. 29, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company to join in the conversation!

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm

Sept. 15 Gathering: Open Forum

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This week’s topic at New Wineskins will be whatever YOU want it to be!

Do you have a question about faith, church, or the Bible that’s been gnawing at you? Do you have something you want to share with the New Wineskins community for further insight?

This is your chance to bring those issues up, see what’s on other folks’ minds, and see how the “hive mind” of our gathering brings us to new understanding and awareness.

Join us this Sunday, Sept. 15, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company to share your ideas, questions, and stories!

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm

Sept. 1 Gathering: Discernment

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How many times have you heard someone say something to the effect of “God told me to…” or “I felt God saying…” or “God has a plan for (me/you/us/them)?”

Did you ever wonder what they meant by that? How they were hearing or perceiving God? And why it may seem so different than what or how you sense God communicating with you?

Discernment—how we know what we know—can be a daunting and confusing process. How can we learn to “listen” for God? How can we trust what we perceive? And how do we act faithfully on what we believe God is prompting us to do?

This week at New Wineskins, we’ll dig into the topic of discernment and talk about our different experiences of how it works, both for us as individuals and within the context of community.

Be sure to join us this Sunday, Sept. 1, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company to share your ideas, questions, and stories about discernment!

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm

Aug. 18 Gathering: “The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like…”

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In Matthew Chapter 13, Jesus tells a series of parables about the kingdom of heaven. We know that’s what they’re about because they all start with “…the kingdom of heaven is like….”

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted seeds.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.

The kingdom of heaven is like yeast.

A treasure.

A merchant.

A net.

So what is Jesus getting at? Who was he talking to and why? What does he even mean by “the kingdom of heaven?”

This week at New Wineskins we’ll continue our summer series on the parables of Jesus with a discussion of the “kingdom of heaven” parables in Matthew 13 and the implications for how they can inform the way we exist and behave in our world today.

Please plan to join us this Sunday, Aug. 18, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company and bring your voice to the conversation!

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm

Aug. 4 Gathering: The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (with guest host Kevin Malcomb!)

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In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a series of parables that have a unifying agricultural theme and start with “The Kingdom of Heaven is like….”

In the second parable in that series (Matt. 13:24-30), Jesus tells a story about the kingdom of heaven being like a farmer who planted good seeds in a field, but an enemy sowed weed among the good crop. The wheat and weeds grew together until the farmhands offered to clean out the bad stuff, but the farmer said to let both crops grow together until the harvest, when the harvester would sort the good from the bad. A little later (Matt 13:36-43) Jesus explains the parable to his disciples. And for ages since, we’ve interpreted the story as a tale of who gets to go to heaven and who gets sent to hell when they die.

But as with all parables, there is a deeper story behind the story. And this week, our own Kevin Malcomb will lead our discussion into the layers below the surface!

Join us this Sunday, Aug. 4, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company as we continue our summer series on the parables of Jesus!

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm

July 21 Gathering: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

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In Luke 18, Jesus tells a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector who both come into the temple to pray. The self-righteous Pharisee thanks God for all his power and influence. The tax collector begs for mercy. And Jesus uses the story to spin the difference between privilege and humility.

On the surface, we usually read this parable in the light of our own individual virtues and shortcomings. Will we be proud, like the Pharisee, or will we be humble, like the tax collector?

But, as usual, Jesus is painting on a larger canvas. His teachings are far more rarely about individual morality than they are about society and culture. The whole rather than the one.

Join us this Sunday, July 21, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company as we dig a little deeper into this familiar parable. We’ll listen to it through a couple of different translations and a contemporary paraphrase to see where Jesus may be saying something even more significant than we’ve come to expect.

Happy half-hour at 6:30pm, conversation starts at 7:00pm