A pastor’s work is full of indirect opportunities. There are very few moments where a pastor gets to swing the hammer and hit the nail for the last time and see it complete the foundation of faith. Pastoral work involves years of patient prayers and ongoing conversations. In effect, the pastor inquires of God to inspire change in a person’s heart and asks the person to be open to that change…and IF the mediation process goes well the pastor then assists the person to allow the Holy Spirit to transform their
behaviors. If behaviors change THEN the person begins to see how God uses their faithfulness to change the world. The sanctifying process is painstaking and years in the making.This blog is designed to assist people with taking those steps toward God and transformation. It is entitled
Table Conversations because dinner conversations are a place where people gather together and have the potential to discuss an array of topics. Friends eat together to reacquaint themselves, families share a meal to catch up from the day, holiday meals are mini-reunions bringing extended families back together, and even communion is a meal – a table where God’s family gathers to allow God’s grace to pervade every inch of the human experience.
Of course, dinner conversations are uncomfortable when politics or religion surface or the putdowns of competing sports teams get too personal. But that’s what makes table conversations effective; when the conversation gets uncomfortable just take another bite and chew slowly. And quite possibly the conversation might shed light on difficult topics without getting a door in the face. When we eat together we more easily overlook our divisions and, if only because we have food in our mouth, we listen better, too. For these purposes the heart of this blog is to bring different issues and Scriptures to the proverbial dinner table.
The joy about a Blog is that a reader has the opportunity to read and reread insights from God’s Word and a Christian witness and respond with more than “likes” and tweets. Chew the topic for a while and respond with different tastes. It takes all kinds to inspire the building of people’s faith structures…often just one nail at a time.
