James MacDonald has been known for teaching against drinking alcohol. He has counseled abstinence. Yet despite his teaching he has been known for drinking alcohol despite what he has taught. This is a post that preserves James MacDonald’s teaching and also the recent Twitter discussion about James and alcohol. If someone can provide me a picture of James MacDonald’s wine rack I would love to include that in this post.
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”
Ernest Hemingway
“Its liquor is like the sweetest dew from Heaven.”
Lu Yu
He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine.
2 Chronicles 11:11 NIV
This has come up from time to time in differing conversations. People have raised James MacDonald’s teaching about alcohol vs. his behavior. Just to be clear I have no problems with alcohol or people drinking alcohol. What I do have a problem with is a person teaching others one thing, and then not following it themself. James MacDonald has been knowing for teaching against alcohol. Then he has been seen drinking. Earlier I listened to this sermon by James MacDonald where he pushed abstinence. Then earlier there was a discussion on Twitter that looked at James MacDonald’s teaching about alcohol. This post is designed to preserve tat Twitter discussion. If anyone can get me a picture of James MacDonald’s wine rack I would be happy to insert it into this post.
Wondering Eagle 
I went to my ladies group at Harvest in 1999 ish. And I told them I needed help. I was drinking to excess, and I needed more than AA and prayer groups. I was struggling with $$ and my mortgage was too much for someone just laid off by Ameritech/SBC. I didn’t want anything from them, but to help me quit drinking. They said they would have a woman call me from the church who was a recovering alcoholic. We met at Panera in Crystal Lake. I shared my testimony, and story. She told me she would counsel me at $300 a 30 min session every week. I asked why so much, after I talked about how broke and broken I was. She said they have to put more than just my love for God as a carrot. The End. I got sober 10 years later in Dec 2009. Been cold turkey, and by the Grace of Jesus, zero taste for it since December 2009. And I mean nothing. No weddings, no mimosas Christmas morning. Not one sip since. I won’t even take cough syrup.
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Kimberly l am happy for you. I am grateful for how things turned out. The issue here is not abstinence. It’s James MacDonald not following his own teaching. How can a pastor teach such behavior and be exempt. I am not against abstinence but l am troubled by James MacDonald having double standards.
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Hardcore Dry taking The Secret Sip.
So what else is new?
There are a lot of old jokes on just this subject.
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