Breaking bread together has been shown to connect us deeply in ways that no other experience can. A study from the University of Oxford showed that when we eat and drink together, our bonds are strengthened, we become increasingly content, and we experience a more intensified connection to the larger community.
According to author Leonard Sweet (From Tablet to Table), if we really want to learn someone’s story, sitting down at the table and breaking bread together is the best way to start. The story of Christianity didn’t take shape behind pulpits or on altars or in books. The story of Christianity takes shape around tables, as people face one another as equals, telling stories, memories, enjoying food, with one another.
In other words, as author Hugh Halter (Happy Hour Etiquette) states, “The Gospel will not be heard until our front doors open, our tables are set, and we practice the art of hospitality, celebration, and party.”
This issue of SUMS Remix looks at solutions that will help your members learn to use their “tables” as a bridge to their neighbors. The solutions include:
Jesus ate all kinds of food around all kinds of tables in all kinds of places with all kinds of people. To be a disciple of Jesus (then and now) is to love to eat, no matter what Jesus cooks and no matter where he sets the table. Even when only two are gathered, three are always present. Wherever we break bread together, Jesus is always at the table.
Leonard Sweet, From Tablet to Table
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