Transformational, not Transactional

The last Wednesday of June, I participated in the Warp and Woof podcast with Dr. Mark Eckle and Dr. Clyde Posley. The topic of discussion for this program was Transformational Relationships. We discussed the need to walk with a person long enough to see sustainable change in their life instead of just providing quick goods and assistance for immediate needs. In this context, I promoted our efforts to bring The Open Table to Indianapolis. The Open Table is a program that seeks to create a team of 6-8 volunteers who meet one hour per week for a year with one person working on transitioning out of poverty to help that person (referred to as a brother or sister) develop and execute a plan to self-sufficiency.

Last October, Food 4 Souls and Diakonos Community sponsored a presentation about The Open Table to faith-based ministries and social workers serving friends without homes. Since then we have been working on creating a plan to implement this program in Indianapolis. We will be planning a callout meeting with other ministries and churches in late August or Early September to create the team that will help us with this. Our initial goal is to see at least three tables launched in the first year and build it from there. Please pray that God will align the right partners who will work with us in bringing the Open Table to Indianapolis.

If you would like to see the YouTube feed of the interview (along with the moments “off air” that are not heard on the podcast), you can click the video below. My interview begins at 1 hour and 15 seconds. The dialogue between Dr. Eckle and Dr. Posley in the first hour is also very interesting to watch. If you live in the Indianapolis area and would like to know more about our efforts to bring this program to Indianapolis and how you could be involved, go to https://diakonoslife.org/current-projects-in-developmet/the-open-table-in-indianapolis/. Fill out the contact form on this page to stay updated on meetings to get things started.