The What and the Why of "Table Gatherings"

"The Son of Man came eating and drinking ..." (Matthew 11:19)

In the church (meaning all gatherings of people who purport to follow Jesus Christ) there is often a discussion of why Jesus came to earth, but not as much emphasis is placed on how he came.  Why did he come?  Well many reasons are given - reasons to be explored and emulated.  He came to seek and save those who were not part of his Kingdom.  He came to defeat the power of the devil, the power of sin, and the power of death.  He came proclaiming the Kindgom of God.  This list is not exhaustive.

Again, though, how did he come to earth?

Simply, Jesus came with a posture reflecting his desire to present with people.  People already within the faith community, people exploring who Jesus is, and those on the margins of society because (spoiler alert!) he loves people.

That posture was often demonstrated through his willingness to share table fellowship (fancy for meals and beverages) with people.  Often the "wrong" people.  That's why some folks got to calling Jesus a glutton and a drunkard.

So, we've started having Table Gatherings this year in Rocky River (and Lakewood) made up of people in our neighborhood.  These gatherings have intentionally included people in nearby west side neighborhoods who also want to learn and explore how to be like Jesus.  None of us need to be taught how to eat and drink, but we do need to learn how to listen across the table from people who may not be like us. We need to hear their hearts, longings, fears, etc. We're made up of a good ol' mix of sinners and saints, and saints who are sinners.  We're made up of people who want to explore Jesus and his ways.  And we very simply like being present across the table from one another in a way that reflects the God who wants to be present with us - most clearly revealed in Jesus Christ.

What's that?  You have some questions?

So, is this a church, a small group, or something else?

Glad you asked.  The answer is yes, yes, and yes.  Technically, this group meeting on Friday nights is a missional community (community group on mission together to be a blessing to our neighborhood and one another) based out of Renew Communities in Berea.  We are located in Rocky River, but we include friends from nearby communities like Lakewood and three neighborhoods in Cleveland.  It is our hope that together we can explore what Table Gatherings in their own neighborhoods can look like. As the Table Gatherings grow and blossom, some of them may join together to form a church.  They won't cease to meet in particular neighborhoods and homes.  There will simply be overlap between the people who participate in the different gatherings.  I say that, "yes" this may very well be "something else," too, because we believe that the Table Gatherings we are doing now may be an incubator of sorts for new Table Gatherings.

What if I'm already at another church?

We'd be glad for you to attend if you want to explore ways of sharing life together that may be missing from your current church experiences.  That means for some of you, this might become your new "church home," but for others it will mean you will be with us for a time to explore new ways of "being the church" together that you will take back with you to your local church.  We don't mind blurred lines of church involvement if you don't.

What do your gatherings look like?

We had two formal gatherings, but now we have one, as we explore for the future what additional gatherings might look like.  Feel free to informally (or formally) gather with friends and neighbors near you (I think that goes without saying, but I said it).  Our Table Gathering on Friday nights have been taking place at the Buehrle's home in Rocky River for dinner (6 pm), a short lesson for children, and a short time of liturgical (guided) prayer from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.  The bulk of the time is spent eating, drinking and conversing about life, life in the Kindgom of Jesus, and the mundane things of life.

Is this gathering sufficient to constitute "church"?

We'll constantly be exploring what other gatherings we may add, but we anticipate that most of our learning about what it means to follow Jesus will happen in less formal contexts "across the table" from friends and neighbors and new friends and neighbors.  One of the key mantras of these gatherings is that "there's always room for one more."  There are already discussions happening regarding other childrens gatherings, men's gatherings, and women's gatherings.  These discussions are not leading to anything yet, but spreading ourselves thin at the start of a school year only to burn out probably isn't a good idea :) ...

Okay, you've talked about Friday, what about Sunday?

I'm with you.  I like things well defined and I like tradition.  So, I feel uneasy when I'm not gathering for worship in a building on a Sunday morning.  At this point in time, I'd invite you to think about how the early church functioned.  The church functioned with a lot of things up in the air.  The church functioned in the midst of persecution.  They gathered, yes, on the Sabbath in the Synagogue, but they also gathered in homes.  We are very deliberately emphasizing the fact that "church" is intended to function from Monday through Saturday and not just on Sunday, so please bear with us as we determine how and if a Sunday morning service fits into this thing called "church."  If you can't bear with us on that, they go ahead and show up at a church service somewhere on a Sunday if you believe you should! We're not trying to be unconventional just for the sake of being different.  We're just trying to push against the status quo for the sake of Jesus' mission.  The word "church" comes from the word ecclesia, meaning "gathering."  So, we're just a community of Jesus followers (at various stages) - sinner and saints, saintly sinners, and sinnerly (I know, not a word) saints - who want to be the church more than we want to go to church.  Yeah, yeah, it doesn't have to be mutually exclusive (going vs. being), but let's be honest.  It often is.

How do I get involved? 

Show up.  Tell your story across the table (as much of it as you'd like - you won't be put on any "hot seat").  If it's the Friday gathering, you may want to bring a beverage, side, or dessert to share, but we're most interested in you just showing up.

What's your contact info.?

Mine is Matt Buehrle - mattburly@gmail.com ... we'll add others as we go.