missional eating

"Jesus ate with tax collectors. Tax collectors were collaborators with the Romans, the people who were occupying God’s promised land. This meant they were not only betraying the nation, but they were enemies of God. God sits and eats with his enemies. That’s what happening in the meals of Jesus. It’s an amazing expression of Gospel grace. You would not believe it if it were not in the Scriptures. The Pharisees certainly could not believe it"

"The great thing about using meals to do community and mission is that it doesn’t add anything to your busy schedule. We already have 21 ready-made opportunities each week. Nor do you have some kind to special missiological training. You just need to love Jesus, love people, and enjoy eating...
  • Invite members of your Christian community for your evening meal.
  • Meet up for breakfast with someone on the way to work.
  • Use lunch in the canteen to get to know your colleagues.
  • If you’re single, then entertaining families might be difficult, but invite them for dessert or cake.

Try to invite unbelievers together with believers so your unbelieving friends are introduced to the Christian community and get to see how Christians relate."

Tim Chester, Is your dining room table on mission? (read the full thing here)