What are you bringing to the table? Home Church & The Potluck

What is a potluck?

Well, without checking Wikipedia, it is a meal where guests are invited to (and expected) to bring a part of the meal to share with the other guests.

While a restaurant provides professionally prepared meals and customers are only asked to show up, eat and leave (in exchange for money), a potluck is different. For a potluck, the financial cost is lower, but the investment is shown in different ways, as the meals require preparation and thought by all participants, guests and host. The potluck shows the unique personality, preferences and gifts of the guests invited. It also leaves a sense of the unknown, depending on who they are and what they bring.

Most of our Home Church gatherings involve a potluck meal. A few weeks ago 2 people brought rich desserts. We enjoyed both trifle and “dirt” over coffee. The following Saturday no one brought dessert. So for perhaps one of the first times in 2 ½ years, we did not share any dessert.

But more than our mealtime, our entire gathering together is a potluck of sorts. Everyone is invited to metaphorically bring something to the table. A prayer, a story of experiencing God through the week, an eye opening question, a song, an encouraging word, and even a listening ear. The Holy Spirit hosts our gathering, and through the Spirit's work through each one gathered, we minister to each other. We come as participants, bringing our gifts to share with the church. The Home Church gathering is a feast where God is the host and we enjoy the offerings that each member brings to the table....