Never eat alone again

This week marked the first dinner in the 12 Dinners In 12 Weeks initiative at OMNI.

Lat me start out by saying it was amazing, and I loved every bit of it.

Brothers Jean and Nicholas Matthee invited me and my wife to a barbecue dinner at their house along with some of their skater buddies, friends, and mates from school. We talked, laughed and asked each other all the usual small talk questions that's appropriate for first time acquaintances in a setting like that.

Later on in the evening, the about ten of us sat down to a beautiful South African meal with boerewors, pap, sous, and a bakslaai. The delicious food were quickly chased by a really lekker ice cream and old school type chocolate sauce.

Over dinner I learned about Rynand's tough choices and his road back to recovery, Amori talked about her struggle in coming to terms with a difficult situation with her family, Henroe boasted about his new job and worried about the risks he's taking in leaving the old one behind, Wesley dreamed with us about creating a space for his non-believing friends to connect with Christ, and Tobi and Jonathan shared stories about their campus experiences and gaming addictions.

It was amazing how, over the course of one informal dinner, I managed to open my life and share it with a bunch of people I never would've had the opportunity to meet, let alone have them share such intimate details about their lives, dreams, doubts and fears with us.

In the context of good food and friendly faces I once again found yet another place where I could belong to yet another diverse group of people who needs me, needs Jesus and probably just as important, I need as well.

Thanks Jean, Nic, Tertia, Johan and Sanmarie for being so intentional with your life and your stuff, and for connecting those in your specific worlds with each other, with us, and with Jesus.

That's what OMNI | churcheverywhere is all about, really.

If you want to still host or join one of the 12 Dinners, go here and make yourself heard.