I have been having a conversation with a good friend on the need for community in the formation of authentic Christianity. He sent me the following quote from Henri Nouwen this morning:"The table is one of the most intimate places in our lives. It is there that we give ourselves to one another. When we say, 'Take some more, let me serve you another plate, let me pour you another glass, don't be shy, enjoy it,' we say a lot more than our words express. We invite our friends to become part of our lives. We want them to be nurtured by the same food and drink that nurture us. We desire communion. That is why a refusal to eat and drink what a host offers is so offensive. It feels like a rejection of an invitation to intimacy. Strange as it may sound, the table is the place where we want to become food for one another. Every breakfast, lunch, or dinner can become a time of growing communion with one another."
The quest in organizational leadership is make opportunities for authentic engagements where we can practice true Christian hospitality and in doing so set the stage for growing communion.
