Welcome to the Table

  There is something about the dinner table that brings people together. Something about breaking bread with others helps us to open up and engage in better, richer conversation. I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s true, enough so that when I want to get to know someone and build a connection of friendship, I invite them over for dinner. Over dinner, I can offer a guest my (very) sweet tea and we can relax over a good meal and enjoy talking with one another. That’s part of my motivation for starting this blog. Recently, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people about who Jesus is. If you know me, then hopefully you know that I’d say I have an actual interactive, influential relationship with Jesus. So, I’ve loved having the chance to talk with all kinds of people (some who are Christians, some who aren’t) about this man, Jesus, who has changed my life. Jesus enjoyed breaking bread with people too. He was known for going to the houses of notorious rebels and outcasts in his society, and for sitting down with them to share a meal in their own home. Jesus knew that at the table he could talk to people in a real way.

  This is a model that I’d like to follow. As I’ve gotten to talk with different people about who Jesus is, I’ve wished every time that I could follow up our conversation by having them over for dinner and talking some more. Unfortunately, I’m at a place in life right now where many of these friends are scattered across the country and across the world, and most don’t have the means to hop on a 12 hour flight to come over for a bowl of Chili and some corn bread (they also most likely know that my cooking wouldn’t be worth the trip). So, this blog is my Plan B. I want to invite friends here to engage in a conversation with me, to hear about the Jesus that I know and to hopefully respond via e-mail, phone, Facebook, Skype, or the next time they see me in person. Most of all, I hope for this blog to be a conversation, not a personal exercise in venting or a one-way monologue.

  So, consider this your invitation to dinner. I hope you feel comfortable responding, sharing, and engaging with me in conversation here. And most of all, I hope you feel welcomed.