B is for Blessing
This has been at the heart of every Jewish Sabbath meal since Abraham. It was a vital part of the early church composed of Jewish converts. The Hebrew for ‘blessing’ (barak) means to ‘empower to strength’. When we gather we should seek God’s blessing and then to pass that blessing on to members of our community.
The way it will work in the Lounge is that before we eat we will encourage each other by speaking a blessing over one another. That might mean reading a passage of Scripture over each other or by speaking specific words of encouragement. We will supply certain biblical passages to model how to do it to begin with. This segment should only take 5-10 minutes.
E is for Eating
We’ve got this down pat, haven’t we? But instead of saying a hurried grace we will break a loaf of bread and drink wine/juice at the beginning of the meal. This way we will be acknowledging Christ’s presence at our table and our allegiance to him.
L is for Listening
We acknowledge that some among us hear God speak in unique, prophetic ways. Some others share God’s heart for justice and peace in this world. Others still can bring a song or a word to us to encourage us. We want everyone to be engaged and participating in our gathering. The fullness of the heart of God and our corporate life is revealed as people listen to the Lord and respond as he prompts us to share. So after we eat there will be a time of silence (or accompanied by soft music) while people still themselves and respond to God’s promptings. This will be followed by a time of sharing.
L is for Learning
We will include our usual teaching program with a monthly look at trends in culture and Paul Novak’s monthly look at the Lord’s Prayer etc. This will continue to take multiple forms depending on the teachers and the exercise.
S is for Sent-ness
At the end of each Lounge session there will be an opportunity for people to share a story or a need for prayer or a point of encouragement about their missional activity wherever they’re ‘sent’. This might involve sharing about your role as a missionary in your workplace. It might be that you have a heart for the persecuted church and you wish to share news or prayer points associated with this. Not everyone will share each week, though.
