July 9, 2016 – The Christian “App” Devotions The Table,
iOS | Web, (The World Map of Christian Apps: 48 tools every Christian should know about; by Jeffrey Kranz)

“So he (Jesus) came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:5-10

With all of the social networks that exist on the “Interweb”, I am surprised that I have not heard more about Christian social networks. “The Table” is just such an “App”. The Table is a social network that helps church members get to know one another, stay connected throughout the week, pray for one another, and serve one another. Here is a little information from their website: “The Table is a custom social platform that aims to encourage community in your local church, empower leaders and move people beyond the pews and into authentic, life changing relationships. It enables church to happen between church services.”

In the time of Jesus, when there was no social media technology the likes of what we have today – heck they barely had any real technology outside of weapons, tools and the wheel. So, the city well and the city gate were places people gathered to socialize (so to speak) and to share news, gossip and do business. The benefit of having a place to gather is the one-on-one personal and physical relationships that can be developed – and the ability of people to strengthen their interpersonal skills. With online “communities”, we lose the physical closeness of the relationships, but with these communities we can develop relationships with people all over the world. My wife is a good example. She has developed relationships with women across the East and West Coasts in online communities for all kinds of interests. She has even had the opportunity to meet many of them as we have traveled on the East coast.

Maybe it is time to try a Christian social network – not just for dating, but also for meeting others who are trying to make sense of their faith and how our faith can be lived in the world.

Pastor Dave