The necessity of peek-a-boo

One of the key values we have at Open Table is participation. That means we want people to be engaged, share, see and be seen. That can be uncomfortable for some, but here’s why that’s a value and why it’s important to what God wants to do through us.

Have you ever played peek-a-boo with a child? It’s one of the first joys of life -- to see and be seen. There’s a moment of pure joy when we see each other -- eyes light up, the face widens into a smile. These are signs of familiarity and acceptance, bonding and community. These are very important elements to identity formation and character development, dimensions that are central to our discipleship. 

When church is primarily about information and less about connection, there is a risk of learning something without it shaping our character or helping us feel rooted in a collective identity. This often leads to a shallow discipleship and a lack of integrity. So here participation means we encourage sharing, we want you to know one another, we want you to see one another with familiarity and smile! All of this breaks us out of our task-driven, episodic, self-serving routine of our lives. This is why we want you to participate every Sunday even in a small way.