The dining table, coffee table, kitchen island, breakfast nook, and picnic table are cultural landmarks representing community, dialogue, and discovery.
Bridging diversity divides and generational gaps, the table has always been a foundational cornerstone of human community. All cultures, countries, and creeds have a form of “table” that is the centerpiece to the community, gathering generations around a common ground.
Within the formative experience of the church, the table was instrumental to the establishment of scripture and message.
The first mention of a table is found in Exodus 25, when God gives instructions to Moses to build the Table of Shewbread for the Tabernacle. This table was designed to hold the shewbread, translated to “Bread of the Face.”
The role of the table as a place of community, worship, and transformation continues throughout the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. The Gospels are filled with stories of Jesus around the table, demonstrating the importance of discipleship and instruction.
Jesus speaks truth while reclining at the table in the presence of Pharisees, his disciples, and other community leaders. Key conversations about such items as finances, worship, servanthood, and leadership are all discussed and demonstrated at the table.
The table has been a key character in the early church narrative. In the modern expression of church, the “table” continues to play a key role in building and shaping church communities. However, with the advancement of technology and the re-imagination of church models in the 21st century, the representation of the “table” must be re-considered.
Seven years ago, such a re-imagination took place in the hearts of pastors, Justin and Janae Klatt. Imagine Church Global, a collective of communities, was established in 2017.
In a pre-covid world, Justin and Janae embarked on an adventure to reach women and men who would not traditionally attend a brick-and-mortar church.
Growing up in legacy or brick and mortar-style churches, both pastor’s kids, Justin and Janae have a deep love and affinity for traditional church models. The endeavor to do something “new” was not in resistance to what had been the format of church, but rather out of a calling to reach groups of individuals they had yet to see in prior ministry contexts.
The idea for Imagine Church was to explore new expressions of the “table” where men and women who were previously excluded from the seating arrangement could find a seat and space at the “table” of church community. In their early church planting years, Justin and Janae were exposed to pockets of society who could not attend church for a variety of reasons, such as individuals who were bed-ridden with sickness, cancer patients, families who live on the road in traveling vehicles, or those in rural communities without a local church for miles.
Imagine Church began as a simple “experiment” to create Biblical conversations with consistent face-to-face community; discipleship around a “digital table.” During the last years, the church has continued to grow, adapt, and re-invent the content to help accommodate the ever-increasing reality of the need for deep, authentic community.
Justin and Janae have learned, through trial and error, patience and perseverance, that community and the “table” must always be the center of how the church gathers. Creating “tables” where individuals can gather, dialogue, discover, and disciple one another in their personal journey with Jesus is something that is needed in digital communities as well as in-person gatherings. Providing digital tables, with consistency and authenticity is something that can and should be worked out in a digital church expression.
One of the ways that Imagine Church has hosted tables and conversations in a digital church model is through a church-wide missional week, called “The Neighborhood Table.” Once a week each month, across all the Imagine Church communities, every member is encouraged to host a “table,” inviting those that don’t attend Imagine Church. The purpose of hosting Neighborhood Tables at the same time each month is to help create a sense of collaboration and support of a missional mindset for a nationally distributed digital church.
For example, someone in a digital community could open their home to neighbors or local friends for a home-cooked meal, at the same time a different member, who is unable to leave their home, could invite a friend for a cup of coffee over Facetime or Zoom. Additionally, families could invite friends to the local park for a BBQ, or a young adult could host a game night with pizza. The goal of “The Neighborhood Table” is to be on mission as a nationally distributed church and have a sense of collective support as each member hosts a “table” unique to their own context.
Carl Medearis, missionary and author of Speaking Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism, says sharing the life of Jesus ministers the gospel more than any information we can proselytize.
Carl writes, “The really neat thing about accepting Jesus as a person is that it makes our experience with him real. Living with a real person forces us to live honestly. Like in a friendship. Instead of living by some moral code, or conjuring up some spiritual state of mind, all we have to do is make our life about a relationship with a person” (Medearis, 141).
The power of the gospel, the life of Jesus, is best discovered around frailty of humanity at the table.
In the many varieties of “church” expressions, the need for innovation and creativity continues to drive the mission of the gospel forward. The goal as pastors isn’t to come up with the “best” idea, but rather contextualized ways of reaching new generations, cultures, and individuals with the Good News.
The power and hope of the message of Jesus has transformed lives around the “table” for over 2,000 years and continues to do so today. As pastors and leaders our job isn’t to re-invent the message but rather the method in which it can be served.
Could it be that as pastors, we are being called to get creative about the “tables” that God is asking us to shepherd? Maybe the tables in your church are digital, or perhaps they are wooden picnic tables, corporate conferences tables, urban café tables, or rugs in the center of a dirt floor. The “table” is a place to allow women and men to gather, inviting authentic Jesus’ conversations.
The table challenges us and calls us back to an Acts 2 church, where the love of Jesus was demonstrated in practical service, shared meals, prayer, and ultimately radical transformation.
