the table

for anyone who doesn't know, i plan on calling my church "the table." i thought extensively about the name and the connotations of the name. i wanted a name that would be catchy and at the same time meaningful, and "the table" is the name at which i arrived.

community and fellowship are the first things that comes to my mind when i think of the table, something the church is supposed to be about, not to mention that these are deep seeded needs of our culture. i am reminded of the song "the table" by riley armstrong whose lyrics follow:

the table's where my father thanked the Lord for providing
the table's where he sat us down and told us to stop fighting
at the table there were tears, at the table there was laughter.

the table's where my mother brought the fruits of her labors
we never did go hungry although there were times we were able
at the table love prevailed, at the table love was always there.

chorus:
i was always safe and warm
sheltered from the sticks and stones
and although time passed by and we moved on
i will still pray Lord keep my family strong
'cause life out there isn't how life was around the table.

the table's where my family shared the joys and the sorrows
stories of the day and the goals for tomorrow
at the table someone listened, at the table someone always cared.

and i will never forget all the memories at the table
holidays with relatives and coffee with the neighbors
at the table we were home, at the table we were never alone.

bridge:
around the table we were one
'round the table we were fortunate to grow up
and as we ask to be excused we never will remove it from our hearts.

i know this song is written about a family's kitchen table and yet it carries a lot of the sentiments that i envision for the church. the table will be a place for laughter and tears. it'll be a warm and safe place where someone always listens and cares. it'll be a place of provision and a place for mediation. it'll be a place for family and friends, a place of unity. it'll be a place where we grow. and hopefully it will be a place that never leaves our hearts even if we move on.

i envision that the table will be people's second chance at church. to that end and in the spirit of the table, i chose psalm 34:8 to be the verse that expresses the mission and vision of the church. it says, "taste and see that the Lord is good." it's not taste and see that christianity is good, or taste and see that church is good. instead it points people to God. too often people have been hurt or burnt by christians or by the church. the fact is, people and human institutions can and will fail us, but the Lord will not. we desire to point people to Him and yet try to remove the barriers that inhibit people from participating in the human institution.

finally, in an attempt to remove barriers that may inhibit people coming, i left off the designation of church. i did not leave of that designation lightly as i love the church or at least, as a friend of mine pointed out, the idea of church. yet i do not intend for there to be any confusion that Christ and the gospel will be our central focus. and since the church is the body of Christ, our church will be a church regardless of it being a part of the designation. the upside, however, is that an individual who may never walk into a "church" may find their way into "the table."

i wish to make one last point and one which i will elaborate on further at a later date. the name "the table" plays into a ministry plan that i have to reach out to wait staff, bar staff, and host staff in the service industry. look for more on that later.