Of Wine
I heard a documentary today on CBC radio about the wine crisis in France. It turns out that they have lost a lot of market share, and quite a few farms and wineries are struggling. Listening to the discussion, a few things struck me as interesting.

The first was that wine consumption in France is down 50% from 1960. I won't go on an anti-alcohol rant here, but I see it supporting my claim that alcohol is increasingly irrelevant in our society, and responsible individuals will learn to consume less. I'm not saying this to condemn anyone, I just think that on the whole, the negatives of alcohol outweigh the positives.

The second thing is the struggle between old and new world wine production. The French are losing market share internationally, and the US, Canada and New Zealand, etc. are competing well. Hearing the comparisons, it seems to me that the problems in the wine industry are a metaphor for what is happening in the church. A discussion with a Canadian winery operator followed, and the comparisons were more than striking. I won't draw direct comparisons, but I'll list off the differences. For some the comparisons are obvious, for others it's not so clear. The Emerging church group have their frustrations with church institutions, and other people also have their own frustrations. Read through these comparisons, and draw your own analogies. Here, the old world is European countries producing wine in the style of their forefathers, and the new world is other countries producing wine however they want.

- The old world dictates the flavour and style to the masses based on the weather conditions of a certain year, while the new world responds to market demand.
- The old world names their wines after the region or winery that produces it, while the new world names their wines based on the grapes being used.
- The old world repeats the customs taught to them, and only uses technology to enhance or speed up the customs, while the new world embraces new technologies, new methods of production, and new varieties of wines, based on market demand.

I don't think that a market analogy has to mean that churches need to bow to the pressures of mainstream society, but listening to people at a grassroots level benefits church structures and larger denominational units.

   [ posted by William @ 5:42 PM ]