The dinner table plays a vital role in the development of families and community. I believe that we have lost this important item in our American Christian culture. It is hard to gather others around a table to spend time breaking bread together and caring for each other. In my recent readings I have been reading Mudhouse Sabbath, this book which is looking at some of the Jewish rituals is causing me to again see the importance of the table in the development of Christian community.
My father-in-law yesterday was talking about a group of his co-workers who he has been getting to know around the break room table at work. He made the comment that these men that he has been chatting with are often more open and honest than those he has encountered in the church he currently is in. This is not necessarily a surprising comment to me. I have realized that there are things in the church that causes community to not grow. Often people don't want to spend the time to get to know others and invest in their lives. People also aren't really living the Christian life that they are proclaiming they live and are afraid to have others see them for who they really are. Our culture makes us believe that no one has the right to tell us how we should live and as a result we don't want to even open the door to have another person speak truth into our lives.
Being part of a large church it is hard to thrive and push for community development as it is easy to be part of the crowd. I find it hard to find others who are like minded and desire to be part of something more. To share time at a dinner table and to be part of each others lives. To help each other out with projects, and whatever life may bring. Christ and the disciples lived life together. They broke bread together and spent time together. Poeple in the early church valued the importance of involvement in each others lives. With how our culture and technology has spread families apart it has caused seperation and distance.
I desire to see couples, singles, and famalies involved in each others lives. Sharing meals and spending time doing things together. Having small gatherings of people to watch movies, play games, and just spend time together........... To start to develop the church in a more practical way...
---tfkr
1 comment:
Tim, Just heard about a book that is written by George Barna called Revolution that discuss the kind of community you are talking about and how there is a trend over the last year to move back toward that. I would like to chat with you more about it maybe read it and get together to talk about it, let me know.
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