What seems to trip so many people up is that God’s riches come at what seems like a steep price. “Die to self.” I believe the greatest challenge is to discover we naturally see things upside down or backward (choose your favorite). Die to gain – is a bizarre concept until the Holy Spirit kicks in.

Waiting for God to make you rich with diamonds and expensive toys is a dead end street leading to disillusionment and continued pride. I want the other riches, the ones God wants to give me through the pain and suffering brought up in this great post. James 1:2-4 may be one of the best verses bringing home this point from God’s perspective.

I am not advocating right or wrong names for churches. My experience and observations indicate that something as simple as “house church” works as does Matthew’s Table or The Journey Church. When we start thinking or acting as though our name is the biggest key to having people be impacted by the gospel of Christ, we live in a state of discombobulation (a fun sounding word, but a sorry state to be in). Selecting a name can be a big discussion point as well as area to pay consultants to come and find the perfectly marketable name and image. There is a place for creativity. There is a place for making things look good. After all, we are doing it for the glory of God. But knowing that they will know we are Christians by our love for one another, we have a challenge before us. Knowing that the Son of Man did not come to serve but to be served, we have an example to follow. Knowing that the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost, we have a massive search that should be ongoing. Knowing that we are to make disciples as we go, we are to be ever mindful of who those disciples are and how they are coming along–and making disciples.

My take is this. “Matthew’s Table” is a beautiful ideal. If it is lived out in a way that is consistent with the name, then it is going to be a healthy expression of the body of Christ. “The Journey” is a wonderful ideal that if it is lived out in a way that is consistent with the name, then it is going to be a healthy expression of the body of Christ. “House church” is a wonderful ideal that if lived out as the body of Christ impacting every aspect of a home and other homes surrounding it, then it is going to be a healthy expression of the body of Christ. The words church and disciple are denoted by something that is profound and life-changing. Living out an expression of either or both of these words will have lasting, profound, far-reaching impact.

Our name (and methodology), Matthew’s Table, sticks out like a sore thumb here in on the buckle of the Bible Belt south. Our self-designation hopefully says something of the radical table fellowship Jesus practiced and his mission in the world rather than trying to be subversive or “attractive enough so people will come to us.”