A Bigger Table by John Pavlovitz

On John Pavlovitz's blog, Stuff That Needs to be Said, he continually reminds us of what is important about being a believer.  Kindness, Patience, Authenticity, Diversity, Loving as Jesus did.  For those of us who were raised as conservative Christians, as he was, his comments and opinions are extremely challenging because John is not about the status quo or business as usual.  His journey has been scary, slow, emotionally difficult ...and freeing. 

In "A Bigger Table", John continues to risk the ire of conservatives by suggesting that our new media driven/ formulated churches have somehow missed the mark.  He wants to see us reach out wider to the broken people who think very differently than we do, and to set up church differently.  He reminds us that Jesus welcomed Matthew the tax collector, the centurion, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman, a leper....all of the fringe people who had been discarded by both society and the religious order of the day.  And...he wants us not just to minister to them, but to embrace and love them IN OUR CHURCHES.  His book is full of the stories of these people who have been turned out by believers, from fellowships they had lovingly belonged to.

This book was so challenging for me, but so good.  It resonated with my growing conviction that meeting Jesus and walking with him, is not a one-time decision to be counted by evangelists...but a lifetime of processing, walking, submitting, growing.  And we need to be those who walk alongside with encouragement, and with no judgement for the broken who have made huge messes of their lives.  We need to love them right where they are, not demanding change, but offering grace.  I am ready to admit, after experiencing a church that is economically, racially and politically diverse; that my previous "know it all" hard stances were wrong.  I am not ready at my age to start a new kind of church like John is doing in Raleigh, NC.  I don't yet agree with all of his beliefs, but I am intrigued by the journey he has been on and am blessed by the way he powerfully uses his blog to initiate discussions about the wrongs that he sees.  He may be a modern day prophet.  I am trying to listen.