On Our Best Day
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever you are feeling or thinking today. Breathe. Take a few moments and allow yourself to be fully present, free from distractions.
When was the last time you were invited to take part in an adventure, whether through imagination or real life? What did the experience teach you about yourself? In what ways did you embrace meaning, discover purpose and find welcome through others?
Christian Social Innovation, L. Gregory Jones
In his book, Jones describes the children of Israel as “wanderers in the wilderness, whining about their current situation, blaming Moses and wanting to return to what was familiar.” Jones reminds and challenges us to discover and live out God’s story for ourselves and our churches so that our story gives us meaning, hope, and purpose.
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry
“So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord, Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.
Ask the questions that have no answers. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.
Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.”
Food for Thought
To me, toilet seats are not a luxury, but in Santiago, Cuba, they are - as are the pipes that allow a person to flush regularly, and toilet paper that does not fall apart at the touch - toilet paper at all, for that matter. In November 2017, I journeyed with Central Baptist Theological Seminary on a cultural immersion trip to Cuba. I prepared for the trip considering what these lovely people did not have, and what I would need to go without while I was there. And though I already knew about discovering assets and affirming strengths, I embarked upon the trip as an American Christian woman with an attitude of conditional flexibility.
In a TEDTalk, Reverend Bill Stanfield, minister and community developer, challenges people to focus on what is right in communities or situations - to live into the positives of what is happening - to remember the best in the people around you, and to “invest in people on their BEST day!” I listened to this TEDTalk years later after my trip to Cuba, and immediately it brought to mind this experience that has remained so significant in my life.
I believe I had a positive outlook during most of our travels, but I have to admit that I prefer the familiar. I prefer living and traveling in air conditioning, easily understanding a country’s language, and of course, drinking Diet Coke with ice. At the same time, I believe that being an adventurer who embraces a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset can open me to understanding myself and the world around me in bigger ways. Leaning into what is unfamiliar invites us into a new story and allows us to invest in the BEST of what is around us.
I am grateful that in this moment, in this experience, I chose to become an adventurer and an investor. When I think of Joey, our traveling companion, ministerial colleague, and brother in Christ, I remember the ways he joyfully welcomed me and the ways we nurtured a friendship together. I also think of the beautiful, almost angelic, pastor’s wife who was pregnant with her second child. She, too, extended herself to us with a welcoming spirit and invested in us through trust and generous gifts of hospitality. Through mutual friendship, gifts of refreshment, and fellowship with traveling strangers, we invested in one another. In this experience, I rediscovered meaning, hope, and purpose.
I think of my BEST day as our last night in Cuba. Our group had experienced a two-day visit with thirteen churches in two or three provinces in eastern Cuba. We traveled together in a rental, “somewhat air-conditioned” Mercedes van at speeds that I do not want to have confirmed, and we drank more espressos and tuKolas than I could actually count. But the culmination of this day was coming together in community with classmates, travel companions, and hosts in a beautiful city restaurant in Holguin, Cuba. It was an opportunity to catch my breath after our whirlwind travels and simply enjoy the company around me.
The best memory of the evening was not the food or drink but the conversation, laughter, and fellowship. As we waited for our food, gathered around one big table, we played one of those old youth ministry games where you provide part of a sentence, and another completes the sentence using objects or letters from the alphabet. All the people in our travel group were welcomed in the game, and the sentence starter became “This week while I was in Cuba.” Each person was invited to repeat the sentence starter and then complete the sentence using a letter of the alphabet (in order). We all laughed and cheered at the creative responses of our friends, colleagues, and hosts; the group relaxed, breathed, and celebrated the gift that this week had become for each of us.
I will always remember this experience and how a welcoming, generous spirit can be defined as “the gift that inspires others to become the best we can be.” I will also always imagine that big table in the restaurant in Holguin, Cuba and what it represented to me on my BEST day with that beautiful community.
Transformation is a result we all desire in one way or another. How might God be calling you to be transformative in the ways you extend welcome and invest in the best of what is happening in your community?
Blessing
Welcoming Spirit,
generous & loving God,
help us embrace meaning,
discover purpose and welcome others in adventurous living with YOU!
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
When was the last time you were invited to take part in an adventure? How did your learnings prepare you to embrace meaning, discover purpose and welcome others?
Think of a time when sharing a meal with someone served as a rich life experience. Share with others or write in your journal about what made the experience so significant.
If you could design a guest list of people to invite to dinner and engage in conversation, who would be seated at your table? Share or write in your journal the who and why of your guest list.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Play a game! As each child is welcomed to the table, invite them to complete a sentence like “Today when I came to the welcome table, I brought…” then complete the sentence using a letter of the alphabet (in alphabetical order).
Ask each child to design their own guest list. No restrictions! (including Super Heroes or cartoon characters) Prompt them to reflect on what makes each one of those guests special.
Read a children’s book or Bible story about feelings of inclusion, or discuss an example of a person in their life that is welcoming. Ask them to point out the characteristics of welcome they observed in the story or with loved ones.
Meet our Welcoming Voice!
Rev. Dr. Ka’thy Gore Chappell is the Executive Director for Baptist Woman in Ministry of NC. Ka’thy is a graduate of Auburn University, B.S., Southern Seminary, M.R.E. & Central Seminary, D.Min. She has served in congregational ministry at First Baptist Asheville, First Baptist Cary and Forest Hills Baptist Raleigh, as well as denominational ministry at Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of NC.
Outside of her incredible work in ministry, Ka’thy enjoys walking in her neighborhood, reading books, and watching movies!
To hear more from Rev. Dr. Chappell throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!