Like most people I have the most clarity in the morning. Literally in the first fifteen minutes, lying in bed, life makes sense, my delusions fall away, and I believe, perhaps more than I will for the rest of the day, in God. I don’t know what it is about morning. I’m sure it can all be explained through brain chemistry.
The only other time I get that feeling of clarity is when I hear the gospel. I’m not talking about the gospel of Jesus you get on religious television, or the gospel presented that is really more about the person presenting than the gospel itself.
I’m talking about the intrinsic idea there is something beautiful about life, but it’s not quite right. And the idea God is somehow making it right, and I can somehow be a part of that through a relationship with Jesus. This absurdity makes sense to me every time I hear it. And it hasn’t stopped making sense to me, though I’ve gone through waves of cynicism. Paul says the wisdom of God is the foolishness of man. And I can see both the foolishness and truth in the gospel. I’ve wanted to disassociate from all things christian because, at least in the media, we are so often represented by the ridiculous. But I’ve never been able to walk away from that simple message of the Gospel of Jesus.
A couple years ago I sat down with about twenty-five friends and asked them each five questions. I asked what they thought of Christians before they became one, then I asked when they realized there was darkness in life, then how they realized there was darkness in themselves, and what it looked like to have God break into that darkness. Then I asked what their life looked like now.
A film crew from South Africa filmed the interviews for the better part of four days. When they got home, they clipped together many of the answers and I was amazed that the clips, while coming from many different voices, had a common narrative as though it had been experienced by an individual.
I must have watched this clip twenty times in a row, one day, each time just getting more and more comfort. Of course it has some of the vocabulary of religion in it, but if you can get passed that, I think this piece is the story of what it means to be human.
The Open Table is a small-group book that anybody can buy to introduce the gospel to anybody else. Its designed so people can start a little small group, inviting folks over for dinner for about six weeks. There is a DVD that you can get as well that stimulates conversation.
My old and dear friend John MacMurray and I wrote the workbook together. If you are looking for my usual writing voice, kind of entertaining and fun, this isn’t your book. I tried to get out of the way on this one and just answer some questions. John did a terrific job putting together the scripture references and basic outline, and I wrote over the top of that. Anyway, you can find out more here.
Here is the video I was talking about. I’d love to know what you think and feel as you watch it.
Great stuff! I too often find myself put off by christian culture. I wish more people could see videos like this and talk to people like this rather than viewing christianity through tv evangelists. The common theme of brokenness would certainly hit home much more than the “health and wealth” gospel that we hear everywhere today. Thanks Don!
thanks Don,
that is a great video, i really appreciate it.
I have grown up in the church and am now serving as a Worship Pastor at a church in St. Louis. what each of those people said was extremely genuine to me, more genuine than a lot of people that i know. i would love to check out The Open Table and see what it’s about. Thanks again.
As I watched the video, I thought about possibilities. The stories and experiences of the gospel do have a common element, though told from such a variety of perspectives. That gives this video universal appeal. I am just beginning a new job of creating community within an apartment complex, and I can envision bringing a group of neighbors together to discuss ideas provoked by this video. I have used Alpha materials before to engage groups in conversation, but I appreciate the narrative format here. I am spreading the word about The Open Table, and I look forward to when the materials are available.
Great video Don. It was very natural- a lot like sitting in a living room and just having an honest conversation. Very much the sense of “community” and “acceptance” permeates the message and atmosphere.
Hey Don;
I’m unsure. I think the video is very genuine and sincere, which will make it a valuable piece for church folks and maybe lapsed church folks. But (as you mentioned) there is a lot of the vocabulary of religion in it.
Maybe it’s just me, but I have some doubt whether people who are really outside the Christian subculture will resonate with it…
Not because it is cheesy or manipulative, but simply because it uses insider language while it talks about universal experiences.
I’d like to hear what the participants think they would have thought of this themselves before their transformations.
(I also posted it on my blog to ask for reaction, if anything interesting comes in I’ll pass it on)
A breath of fresh air. This resonnates with me (my story) in a huge way.
I saw this clip on YouTube – at least I think it is the same one, since it won’t load on the computer I am presently using(!) Your approach has great promise and I believe will be extremelly effective in transmitting an understanding of Christian experience to many who are put off by typical ‘evangelism’. I am very encouraged that there is something I can possibly share with all the friends I have made over the many years before I fully reconnected with my Christian faith. It makes sense to me and conveys authentic experience in ways that most other approaches completely lack. Thanks for doing the work to make this happen!
I love the diversity of people in the video and the honesty they don’t seem to be afraid of. I’m continually captivated by the notion that the sharing of human stories can, not only, bring healing to the storyteller, but also help heal those who hear their story.
Hey! This all looks great. I had been watching the jointheopentable.com website for availability, but just ordered the stuff through Thomas Nelson, so if you’re reading this it is out. Don might not want to pimp his own stuff, but I will!
I love that this video encourages those who may have a desire to know God, and it appears to not have any assumptions about how much someone knows about God/Christianity. Go to Borders or Family Christian or Cokesbury or whatever- and look around at what would be a good resource for someone who has 0 knowledge/experience of church. Slim pickins.
Just last week I had lunch with a senior in high school who wanted to know God, and I’m sad to say I almost didn’t know even where to start. I think something like this helps make seemingly large looming subjects very accessible, the next steps after conversations over Chevy’s chips and salsa.
The prominent word that kept surfacing in my mind while watching this video was “relevant.” Each person said something that I could relate to in some way. However, for some reason, I think Rick McKinley is the one person I could connect best with. Perhaps he reminds me of my brother, which is counter-intuitive all by itself. I still land on the word “relevant”. And, I think this book and DVD could potentially be helpful to many folks out there who are “stuck in life” and/or feeling “trapped” by religion.
The video made me long to move to the Northwest! The phrase “make me a new person” is very powerful and I found myself immediately praying it. I believed in Jesus when I was four years old—but thirty years later I am still in need of daily renewal.
this is a really moving video. it is disarming to see people sharing authentically from their hearts… i think the family of God would more compassionately and winsomely engage with a hurting world if we remembered our own stories in these ways–how God has entered in to our stories, transformed and healed…and that we are actively in that process of seeing light come to darkness. that we are each called by name by a God whose love makes all things new. good stuff.
i love that.
i love that we are a part of this enormous, ongoing, beautiful narrative made up of so many different stories and yet i feel every one of them as real and close to me.
i dig, donald! i hope your voice is one more in the movement to just know God through Jesus – that pretense and rubbish goes away as much as possible so we’re freed to see Him and live with Him and others well! peace, bro!
there is something extremely rich about the faith of those who weren’t brought up in a church, thinking it was all fine and dandy. There have been many times when I wished I was raised in a family that knew and loved Jesus, but more and more I realise how powerful it is to share my faith story. As much as I have run from the subculture of wwjd bracelets, like you said, I haven’t been able to (nor have I really wanted to) run from God. There’s something so beautiful in seeing love being poured out. Truth being spoken. Life being lived selfishly. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to so see it so clearly, but once our eyes adjust, our hearts overflow with love. The love of a servant. This is when all the horrors and frustrations with the “christian church” are merely a past thought, and all we can really see is beauty. From the ashes. Love. Reality that life is hard, but God is so so so darn good. Thanks for the refreshing form of sharing our faith.
Pretty sweet!
I like the concept and the video really sets the stage, er, table well for someone wanting to have a better idea of what they might be getting themselves into. I can definitely see getting together with a few folks over a beer or two (or three) and having an honest, non-threatening, conversation about God.
What I feel when I watch the video is…longing. I’ve been a Christian since I was 15, I’m going to be 32 in a week and there is something in what each of these people are saying, the same something I see in the eyes of some Christians and read between the lines of some books, something that I don’t have, have never had and I want it so badly. A certainty, a knowing…I don’t know how to describe it, but the ache of missing it eats away at me sometimes. I almost always feel completely out of place in church. I know intellectually that I am free in Christ, yet I feel so bound by I don’t know what. I have given up on church several times in my life, only to go back and try again. I think I’ve arrived at a place where I feel like there must be some failing in me. I love Jesus and I know in my heart there is more to this life with Him than what I am experiencing. I think I struggle with a lot of fear in stepping outside of the box that I got saved in, the quintessential, conservative evangelical church. I think outside of those confines, but I think I’m scared to really LIVE there. I live across the river from Portland in the depths of suburbia (Vancouver, WA) and have grown disenchanted, but sadly comfortable in the church as I have known it. Despite the comfort, I can’t escape the feeling of being a round peg attempting to fit in a square hole. Anyway, all that to say, I find the Open Table a very beautiful, encouraging thing and I truly admire anyone who is brave enough to be real about their faith. For some reason, it gives me hope that perhaps I may yet find what I am looking for, as these folks so clearly have. Re-reading this rambling incoherent comment I feel a little silly. I am prone to sentimental reflection late at night; I should probably steer clear of the keyboard at such times. I don’t think I’ve ever commented on any website or blog in my life, I don’t know why I’m doing it now. The anonymity of the whole thing is appealing and it feels good to let some of it out, even for a second.
What’s up Don. Thanks for the open table. The things you are doing with your life are much needed and amaze me. I would be comfortable joining an open table group with people who are close to me, and would like to think I would with anyone. If I try to put myself in the shoes of someone completely new to all this or just curious, I am not sure how I think I would take it. If the group consisted of merely aquaintances as oppose to close friends, I think it is inevitable people will be uncomfortable. This might not be the case, as it is could be just my lack of comfort in my own skin. Maybe it is the little bit of religious lingo, but the more I think about it, the more I believe some of that kind of language is at least somewhat necessary. I mean, we are talking about the creator of the universe, so it is natural to use some words that are not used in everyday conversation. And all of these words still do not measure up to the truth. I think it’s a good idea; just thinking out loud here.
Thoughts:
Well put together for today’s generation
Deep insights into individual spiritual pathways
Very genuine and authentic
Feeling:
I flashed back to my journey and I smiled. A NEW creation….I was and am!
Good job Don and John
Your Target Demographic…
will eat this up. Chris Wignall’s comments are true, but this is marketing material for the people who will buy the material. If this video were pointed at your target’s target, your targets wouldn’t get it right away. Am I right in thinking that this is aimed at the people who will buy it?
This is the small part of it that troubles me. The insiderish language that drips off of these interviews has a tendency to trump the sincerity of your interviewees. There is no diversity in the story. They’re all “This is how I was before I thought like you, and this is how I am now that I do think like you.” Even you’re part of the interview doesn’t diffuse the awkwardness of that single voice.
Two other perspectives that could be heard here. One was mentioned by Chris Wignall. The other would be a perspective that says, “I knew nothing other than the insider language, I totally bought it, and it took me 28 years to realize I was in a ghetto that didn’t let me tap into the fullness of life.”
But, the people who will be diffused by this perspective are not the ones who buy this material. They are merely the “targets” of the people who buy this material. Whether that is something that needs some training material is another discussion.
What an open and honest invitation to the meet the Creator. Dialogue, that’s what this is all about essentially. Our Creator’s desire to have a dialogue. I recently read Blue Like Jazz and it had a very deep impact on me spiritually, it was like reading my own thoughts. Thanks Don for your boldness, can’t wait to read your other works.
a great way to start the morning off!
thanks for sharing.
I don’t doubt the honesty of the people interviewed, but I agree with the insider language comment made earlier. Don, as you say there is a common thread here. But is that because these are typical responses that we’ve all learned to recite? i.e. My life was crappy-I found Jesus-Now its better.
I think its difficult to talk about love. Poets and artist do it best.
Personally the summer camp background music in the video creeps me out.
I am responding to Mikey Ames’ comment: “I knew nothing other than the insider language, I totally bought it, and it took me 28 years to realize I was in a ghetto that didn’t let me tap into the fullness of life.”
I agree with this completely. Though saved for years, I began to glimpse this “fullness of life” through an experience of deep grief that forced me to hang on to Jesus rather than the church, but it was Blue Like Jazz that really opened the gates to that full life.
First off let me say great background music. “Clark” really takes you there, ya know?
I am currently in a small group that is on the brink of extinction. As I’m sure you know there is so much small group bible study lil’ Christian book store B.S. out there it really makes me want to vomit! It all seems so luke warm, and this my friend (I hope it’s is alright that i refer to you as friend, I feel as though I know you…I suppose books will create a sort of author/reader bond) Brings warmth to my soul. I, like so many who have previously left comments, am in desperate need of something more, something that is so far from the “this is the way we go to church – 4 mediocre songs, a man talks, an invitation with a slow sad song, and out the door” way of life. I’m so sick of it Don, im ready to leave… head out on the open road perhaps in a yellow van, with rice and beans, and maybe a box of rasin bran in hand…I’m ready nontheless for an open table. Thanks!
Ben Bozon – Youth Pastor – Fort Worth, Texas.
I think the concept is good. I love the idea of asking a bunch of friends those questions and enjoying the diverse answers as well as finding the common threads.
What stood out to me, was that nobody in the video (possibly due to the nature of the questions?) had a story about thinking they knew God, getting disenchanted, walking away, struggling with faith, then re-engaging with God in a new and/or deeper way. I think this kind of spiritual walk (the warm, hot, cold, warm, hot syndrome) is common. And, on that note, thanks to Megan for being willing to be so vulnerable about that in her own life. Megan, you are pretty much normal in my experience! However, I think many Christians don’t think it’s okay to talk about their ongoing or recurring struggles with faith openly…as if it would undo their salvation or be viewed as blasphemy. I could ramble on about that more. But I won’t.
For the most part I agree with Chris Wignall’s and Mikey Ames’ comments. I am one of those who has gone the warm, hot, cold, warm, hot path. I can tell you that when I was in the cold or warm phase, I would not have watched this video, especially if somebody invited me to watch it.
(more evidence of my spunkiness) I attribute my recommitment to follow Christ (7 years ago) to the promise of the Holy Spirit & how She moves in mysterious ways. And the power of prayer because I know my sister had a bunch of people praying for me!
Having said all that, I had forwarded your first Open Table post (pre-inauguration) to some friends who are pondering some of the same things you seemed to be pondering when you put this Open Table concept together. One of them has been a Young Life leader for 23 years and has been frustrated to watch many of the kids walk away from Christianity in college. He’s trying to figure out how to keep that from happening. Since I resemble that remark, all I can do is share my story. It’s too long for here though!
Hmm, I’m going to go ahead and post OT; but at 2:02 in the video that signpost is from Edgefield by McMenamins and that’s where my wife and I stayed on our honeymoon last October.
It just made me happy to see it.
You have put words to an experience I often have when hearing stories on radio shows like “Radio Lab” and “This American Life”. I feel filled to the brim, overwhelmed with what you call, “the intrinsic idea there is something beautiful about life, but it’s not quite right”. Like you said – Clarity. I think,”Of course God exists, of course I need Him. It is so obvious, right?”
The gospel is all around us, shouting out. God is making himself known – even out of the mouths of scientists, thinkers, and average folk who would rather deny Him or have yet to take notice of Him.
thanks for putting words to a feeling…
(and if you or anyone reading this comment has not tapped in to “Radio Lab”, you should. Start with “Emergence”, “Sleep”, and “Memory and Forgetting”…but they are all amazing – God has created a pretty crazy amazing world…)
I am to the point that I hate telling people I am a Christian. When I say that I am a Christian I find that the people around me almost take a step back. I become isolated because people are afraid of what is going to come next. Will I gift them a bible? Will I tell them they need to be saved or that they are going to hell? No of course I won’t but they don’t know it. They just know I’m a Christian and that they have some sort of experience with that term.
That being said, in no way does this mean I am denying Christ. But I feel that I have a better opportunity to show them that Christ is my love, my passion. I’m a regular girl, I have issues, I get sad, I get happy, I struggle with temptation and sin. But I desire to show grace and love. I desire to feed the hungry and take care of the sick and welcome strangers in to my home. Not because it is the “right thing” to do, but because I love my Jesus.
I’ve been “born and raised” a christian but have definitely struggled with what that meant because I too have been exposed to the televangelist, “target” language, or the churchgoer that just believes everything is “God’s will” or “blesses” me when I need support.
Where I live we have wonderful community. That is so important. The conversation about Jesus is alive and honest and most times very raw. But I believe it is what should be happening among everyone. Not just Christians. Letting people know of their struggles and questions helps people to feel normal, accepted, less threatened. Listening to people tell their stories is an opportunity for love and understanding of one another. This is what Jesus wanted all along.
Really great, I’m excited to see the effects of this.
[...] he sent out (and has posted on his blog) a post about The Open Table. You can watch the video but the concept is designed for small [...]
reminds me of the day when i prayed to Christ for the first time. brought back those emotions strongly. it seems to me that it is the most intimate and holy time in a person’s life, receiving Christ. the beginning of promise of a new life. and he has given me a new life. its been an unbelievable ride and changing of self. just listening to friends i know and the others in the video that i don’t, draws me to my knees in how God is able to have that profound moment with us all. just one look in their eyes brings the realization that it was every bit as powerful for them to be set free and accepted as it was for me.
thank you, i have had a rocky road coming to christ and this reminded me of how the path may not get less rocky but you seem to navigate the terrain better once you have christ with you
Don,
This video was so great. The realness of it was the best part–real people talking about a real God. It’s incredible.
Thankyou for posting this!
Don,
I have great hopes for this project. Christ is relational, his stories are relational, his life story is relational, and I believe we are meant to experience him through relationships. Having people open up honestly about themselves and the way God has entered their lives and begun that relationship allows people to listen without feeling pressured or attacked. This isn’t a sales ad, it’s just a story. Luckily for all of us, it’s a powerful story.
I’m planning on getting a copy and sending it to a friend in another state who has always been more inquisitive about Christianity than our other friends. Thanks for providing this opportunity.
this was just so beautiful!
touching video that i’ll be showing my friends.
i simply love you writing, by the way, don!
i have a dream to one day (in life or eternity) to
buy you a cup of coffee and have a chat w/you;)
stay blessed, cool guy!
I’m not sure what ‘insider’ language a few of you were talking about; perhaps ‘sin’ and ‘grace?’ If so, you guys need to give you heads a shake. Both of those words resonate within the human condition regardless of the background or the proximity to ‘religion.’
It would be nice if those of us who have been chewed up, spit out and left for dead by other ‘christians’ could find the message of Jesus so simple, and a church where we could feel free to worship. For me, even the word ‘church’ is fraught with politics and questions; while I cannot abide the hierarchy within the traditional church setting because of the inevitable abuses of power this generates–I’ve also found that the emerging church has a legalism all it’s own based on politics, works and pseudo-intellectualism–in both settings, Jesus has become a tool in the argument instead of a saviour. Neutral ground is hard to find.
Sometimes I feel like the prodigal returning and finding out that the house has burned down and the family has moved–no return address.
Great video! I am excited to hear about this project. I am a Ministry Leader for a Celebrate Recovery Program and I felt like this video was made for the people we serve. Honest, open, and real.
My small group from Ecclesia-Houston is planning on doing this. The website doesn’t appear to be ready yet, but I just ordered the DVD and book from Amazon… ;o)
Pretty sweet. I’m excited about the series, I would love to try it and know several groups I want to recommend it to… I cringed a little at all the religious language, though. I always wonder if that puts off people who aren’t Christians or if it stirs something in them. I’m sure it’s both.
Hi Don, I love the concept. As I was watching the video I was thinking, “Wow! This is excellent! I can’t wait to post this to my Facebook profile. My non-Christian friends might really connect with this.”
But I was totally confused by the ending.
“come meet the author… the open table… an invitation to know God… switchvert… Thomas Nelson” and if I pause it and stare real hard I can make out thomasnelson.com which is an online store for religious products.
ok, I get it now, it’s a promotional video for the small group study. I just wish there was a version of the video that would end with a link to an evangelistic website where seekers could learn more about Jesus, so I could share it with my non-Christian friends.
Beautiful. Visually stunning. The honesty was so raw, that it was refreshing. I actually teared up.
Don, I hit this site after a curious search for your profile on google while I am still reading your book “searching for God knows what?”.
I do believe that this video has the honest expression of Faith and life. I commend you for sharing this would the community. I tended to like this video just like your book. And It stuck to me that somehow we tend to like / agree with things that are inline with our thoughts or perceptions (travelling along common path to discovering the same island). It seemed obvious that you would want to potray, promote or share such ideas and thoughts which have the “Donish” flavor to it.
It was today that I was thinking about how we tend to become rigid / set in a mould when it comes God, sprituality etc. This I think is (also) true for people who may not be categorized as the “stereotype Christians”.
I was reading thru some of the comments and found that Chris Wignall made some very valid statements. I have notice that there is a tendancy to associate Jesus Christ (and so God the creator Himself) to some external concepts (relgious thoughts, ideas – using the same religious jargons).
But the truth of the matter is that God is able to reach out to lost sinner through different life experiences and yet the WAY is alway the only one through JESUS.
I am remided of the incident where a blind man was asked a bunch of relgious folks about how he was healed. He was say it was Jesus and these folks would try their best to convince the man that it was not possible that he could be healed. His answer seemed simple, I was once blind and now I see and I know that it was this man Jesus who opened my eyes.
Similarly I see a tendancy to somehow categorize, reason and justify the salvation exprience in words , phrases that have a universal acceptence of being God’s ways and means to save mankind. I am sure there will be many who will be there who will say I dont know these concepts (grace, redemption etc) that you are talking about. All I know is I was once lost and now I am saved by Him.
All praise be to God who is not restricted by mans ability to understand but who always surpasses our understanding when it comes to Him reaching to His lost Children.
I am the film-maker from South Africa who worked with Don on this project. The clip above is basically “the whole story”. In reality, it takes the viewer/participant 5 weeks to take this journey. We put this clip together because it really does show the beauty and simplicity of our journey, of each individual’s journey for that matter. This really had nothing to do with using any specific language, it was simply about seeing that journey in action. If you pick up a copy you will hear Rick, Jon and some others make statements which, I have never before heard in a church, but its not even about that, it is about making a space where people are willing and open to share their own stories.
Lastly… that “Summer Camp” music is some of the most profound and moving music I have ever heard. You can check out more of the artists music at http://www.virb.com/jasonclark
really, Jesus came to save Christians too .. [stole that from something I saw on Burnside Writers Coop]. But it’s best paraphrase of my post.
the point made about the video and it’s likely audience didn’t carry their own logic far enough. getting ANYONE to engage Him and pursue Him is THE point..even if they think they’re really healing and helping someone else.
next time you think you’re pulling the curtain back, make sure you don’t stop 1/2 way, or better still, don’t assume the worst.
really, Jesus came to save Christians too .. [stole that from something I saw on Burnside Writers Coop]. But it’s best paraphrase of my post.
the point made about the video and it’s likely audience didn’t carry their own logic far enough. getting ANYONE to engage Him and pursue Him is THE point..even if they think they’re really healing and helping someone else.
Well done!
God is good!!!! I think one of my favorite things to hear, is how people get to know God… we’ve all been on the other side of the fence at one point.. and what is it that gets us or helps us to climb over.
Deb
I signed up. I’m trying to heal after over a decade in an abusive church. I’ve now quit church altogether, and am trying to figure out who the heck Jesus really is.
So good, man! Keep at it. Your work is refreshing. Helps those of us in the south to think outside the “religious box” (we need a lot of help down here!).
if i had high cheek bones and an i-phone, i’d call to tell you that i cried watching the video. it’s honest, transparent, and speaks the heart of the gospel. hope to check out the book.