About Us
In August of 2003 I became the second lead pastor in the history of the church. In January 2004 our 20 year old church fasted and prayed to seek the Lord’s will and guidance. It was a signficant time in our communal life as a church. It brought some insight. It also brought a desperate dissatisfaction in me and others.
In the summer of 2004 I laid everything down and asked the Lord to show me again his Kingdom. By “laid everything down” I mean our goals, methods, style, and other things that can be the focus of a church’s maintenance instead of the gospel. The Lord did some radical eye-opening. He brought teachers and faithful guides. Among the most significant were Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch the writers of “Shaping Of Things To Come” who did a conference at our church. There were a couple of loose canons in the form of church planters who started a Mosaic church and redefined practically everything I understood about “incarnation”. A long-suffering Alliance church planter held me steady in the worst times of the transition. A new district superintent who had started an inner-city work in New Orleans and who connected us with the Christian Community Development Association and some wild-hearted radicals in Jacksonville, FL who showed us what it really means to love people.
We sold a building. Moved to a warehouse in an industrial part of town. Adopted an elementary school to give back to the community. Asked them where the kids who needed some attention were. They told us about a couple of apartment complexes. One of them had a group of women who had been working with immigrant people for years and were willing to take us under their wing. We started to connect with the people who embodied who we want to be.
This is our journey from my perspective. While I have the privilege of leading this stalwart group of saints, I am not the primary mover. Everything good that has happened has been the Lord working through someone in the community besides me. For me, that’s the coolest part of all.
We’re nothing special. We are just trying to stay faithful to our Lord and his Kingdom.
Check out the website to get more specifics: www.opentablecommunity.org
Jim Eaton said
Well…that was quite descriptive…a journey full of innovative guides, loose cannons, long-suffering church planters, and wild-hearted radicals…for some reason I feel like I have taken that trip down the rabbit hole…in the event that you have a spare sane moment and want to spend more of your time in the realm of words, here are a few blogs that tell our local story…come on in a make yourself at home…perhaps I’ll crash your party too…it might be fun to try cross-breeding a few rabbits.
http://www.exitingeden.wordpress.com
http://www.lifeinquip.wordpress.com
Peace,
Jim
littlesoulatthebigtable said
For those new to the scene Jim is an amazing guy who was crucial in our stepping out. The Lord took him to bigger and better things in PA. Things we can definetly learn from.
So go check ‘em out.
Ti