What kind of church?

People ask me all the time, what kind of church is Common Table?  Same question, but always really different.  If I've learned anything at all I've learned that many questions like this are contextual ... What I mean is that every other person who asks is really seeking an answer within their particular framework, addressing their particular baggage or background.  For example, some are wondering, are you traditional or modern. for some it means denominational or independent,  for others it could be legalistic or grace centered, liberal or conservative.  All of them ask "where is your church located". I frequently am reluctant to answer what kind of church we are without having somewhat of an understanding of the story behind the question. Along the journey of developing a new faith community, I've learned more than ever before that "church" is a loaded word and that the question is almost never really the question. 

Most who inquire have some sort of experience or history, good and bad, with the idea of church... rarely has it been neutral.  If theirs was a good experience, rarely will they understand or be interested in our version, because we don't really resemble anyone's previous experience.  If theirs was a negative or damaging history, then just by using the terminology, they are turned away without ever witnessing how unlike their memories we are.  Until very recently, I've really just given up trying to explain "church" in general and Common Table specifically to anyone who asks because I find myself between a rock and a hard place and at this point in my life I can just simply choose not to be.  Honestly, in the two years that we've been gathering, standing in the midst of it, I'm pretty sure that I couldn't explain us, and the parts that I could no one would believe anyway.  It wasn't until these past two weeks, as I've been sorting through images of our history, while at the same time wrestling with Jesus' words "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" that I've been given some insight into who we've become.

We really always imagined that we could be a church in the city, that looked like the city, and that loved the city. I'll have to confess that I must have held on to some very different images of that reality because it's nothing like I had imagined.  I never imagined that, like many of our neighbors, Common Table would spend some time homeless.  I never imagined that, like many of our neighbors, one of our homes would be torn down much sooner than we had imagined.  I never imagined that, like some who have called Common Table home, we would spend time doing a church version of "couch surfing" and depending on hospitality in unexpected places.  I guess I envisioned something cool and cutting edge and we are just not that at all, probably more a reflection of my own reality than anything else.  There was a point, ... ok several points,  when I wondered what went wrong ... what did I miss ... and I've asked it out loud to the only one I've felt that I could blame... and all I've gotten is silence mixed with the unmistakable push to keep moving forward.  But I've come to understand that what we so often do is mistake God's silence for his absence. He may in fact be silent, but His activity is most certainly not absent.

We began this Fall with an in depth journey into Jesus words in the beatitudes ... no grand wisdom on my part, it just felt right.  I decided to recognize a fairly unusual birthday to celebrate ... a 2nd one ... no grand wisdom, it just felt right.  Putting together a video recalling the journey of Common Table just felt right.  And through this, I heard the whisper ... this is who you are.  I led you to this part of the city simply to establish a community that was centered around the common table of Jesus.  That's all.  It's no deeper than that.  Be centered around the  Jesus who claimed the beatitudes as the new world order ... all of those "blessed are's" lived out, wrestled with, failed at, only to be wrestled with again, beatitudes. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers ... It's still not what I imagined, but I know now that it's what He did... And most days, that's really all that I need.  What kind of church is Common Table?  We are this kind of church: