Our Vision & Values

The Table exists to shift a generation from reactionary to visionary through the person and work of Jesus.

In a country where Christianity is coming to be seen more as a place of exclusion and hate, The Table longs to embody a different way. A way that is inclusive and affirming of all people regardless of ethnic background, gender identity, age, or sexual orientation. A way that seeks to live out a beautiful Christian faith. We’d love to have you join us on the journey.

What we value

Thoughtful

We are a community that values thoughtfulness in how we approach faith, life, and the people around us. We are ok with taking things a bit slowly. We think it through, weighing the cost of our words and the implications of our actions. To be thoughtful means that there are no questions or issues that we are unwilling to tackle. Instead, we seek to mirror both the calm and the depth of Christ for whom nothing was off-limits.

Inclusive

We are a radically inclusive community. The reactionary mind is constantly searching for an enemy to exclude, but we keep searching for new people to bring to the table. We keep stretching, stretching, stretching the definitions of who might be valued and welcomed into God’s kingdom. No matter what socioeconomic bracket, racial identity, sexual identity, mental facility, or moral standing, we want to create a tent big enough to hold everyone.

Eclectic

Radical inclusivity means that we want to live into the tension that “difference” creates and celebrate the beautiful chaos of it all. This means we are a remarkably eclectic community. We think there’s beauty in bringing unexpected people, ideas, and traditions of Christianity together because it’s in that place of creative tension that new life happens. That’s why we want and need people of differing theologies, politics, personalities, and giftedness in one community. Sure, it’s uncomfortable at times, but we’re all better off for it because without the new and different we cannot stretch and grow.

Communal

We are a church devoted to the principles of communion. To participate in communion is to lean into the mystery of Christ’s present nearness. As a communal church, we are committed to being present to one another. To allow the depth that is fostered in being in communion with one another to resonate out into the world around us. We believe that to be in communion with one another is to participate in the reparative, restorative, renewing life of Christ.

Vulnerable

We are a church committed to vulnerability as it is the linchpin to all of our other values. It takes vulnerability to be introspective in the way that thoughtfulness requires. It takes vulnerability to allow the risks and challenges in the way inclusivity requires. It takes vulnerability to do the work of synthesizing eclectic ideas and making room for the ways our assumptions will be challenged when we do that. And it takes vulnerability to foster the kind of depth and relational intimacy that communion inspires.

LGBTQI+ and one level of membership

When we started the Table a big part of our motivation was to offer a place where gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex folks could be not only welcomed, but fully participate in every aspect of the life of the church — whether that’s leading a small group, preaching a sermon, or serving as an elder/staff member. In short, at The Table we only recognize one level of church membership regardless of a person’s race, gender, gender identity (i.e. their own internal sense of gender), or sexual orientation. For us, this isn’t about singling people out or offering special treatment. We know LGBTQI+ folx just want to follow Christ and be allowed to serve and lead like anyone else, and we look forward to the day when that idea is such a given in our world that churches no longer have to dedicate a part of their site to name it. However, in the meantime, we felt it was important that we state unequivocally where we stand.

What we believe

  • We believe in God as unending perfect relationship — simple yet multiple, one and yet three — Father, Son, and Spirit.
  • We believe that the Son, Jesus Christ, became flesh. He lived, breathed, and walked among us and that through his life of love a new way of being human has been made available to all people — rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, male and female.
  • We believe that death has stolen into the world through sin, turning us into strangers of God, one another, and even ourselves. Yet, through the death and resurrection of the Son we are now reconciled to the Father.
  • We believe that in communion we re-encounter the crucified and resurrected one.
  • We believe that through baptism we go down into death and then are raised alive in Christ by the Spirit.
  • We believe that the church is an essential means of grace in our lives, for it’s in community that we see ourselves more truly and learn to patiently bear with those very different than ourselves.
  • We believe that Scripture is given to guide and instruct us in how to live a life of love, and that the ultimate goal of this sacred text is to point us to Christ.
  • We believe that while all creation groans waiting for the day of its redemption, at Christ’ return all things and all people will be made new.
  • We believe that in a reactionary, bitter, and angry world, we are called to introduce people to the visionary path of Jesus. A path marked by kindness, justice, and peace-making.