Book presents invitation to everyday discipleship centered around shared meals
VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 3/30/21)—“Table Life: An Invitation to Everyday Discipleship” presents a compelling invitation to everyday discipleship that is centered around shared meals. And it provides a uniquely holistic approach to table fellowship as a spiritual discipline.
Many table fellowship resources begin and end at the table, and many spiritual discipline resources limit the theological significance of the table to the Eucharist, led by clergy. On the other hand, “Table Life” is an intentional and interactive process of reflection and action, meals and mission, listening and storytelling, scripture and perspective, communion and neighboring. These disciplines connect the individual with Christ, the local church, their neighborhood and their community contexts.
The book creates an avenue for Christian community and dialogue with the hopes of connecting the unchurched and reconnecting the “dones” to the church. It offers discipleship practices that can be used in a variety of contexts, including the local church, neighborhoods, workplaces, athletic teams and any other collaborative organization.
It is targeted not only to church leaders but also to Christians who seeks to expand their Christian communities, and churched and unchurched people with a desire to follow Jesus.
“It has been said that hospitality may be described as a helping across a threshold,” says Jeffery L. Savage, spiritual director and pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church, Springfield, Ore. “In Table Life, Greg Mamula does this and more, inviting us to pull up a chair and experience the table as the heart of abundant life in Christ. Insightful and practical, Table Life is a welcome resource for those who hunger for community in the chaos of these days.”
Author the Rev. Dr. Greg Mamula is associate executive minister for American Baptist Churches of Nebraska. He regularly speaks at conferences, retreats and workshops on various topics relating to church life and ministry. He is well-versed in many topics, including preaching, pastor searches, conflict transformation, church training, pastoral continuing education, clergy ethics, Baptist polity and history, the Department of Professional Ministry, consultation and education. He co-edited the book “Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul” (Cascade Books, 2018) with Dr. Scot McKnight. He is creator and host of the podcast “Mission in 5.” He also writes articles for Ethics Daily, The Christian Citizen, and Word and Way.
Founded in 1824, Judson Press is a publishing ministry of American Baptist Home Mission Societies, American Baptist Churches USA. It is committed to producing Christ-centered leadership resources for the transformation of individuals, congregations, communities, and cultures.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission worldwide.
