Discipleship & Eating Alone

This past week, I was up in St. Louis and was waiting for a friend at one of my favorite restaurants.  I was a bit early and...well...he is usually late.  So I sat on a bench near the front of the restaurant and waited for him before getting seated.  But as I waited, something interesting happened...

A man walked in.  He was dressed in business attire and was one of those guys that exude an air of confident control.  Well groomed.  Perfect stature.  Articulate.  Powerful.  As soon as he walked in, the hostess immediately came running. 

"Just one for lunch?" she asked him. 

"Yes...um...wait."  And with that hesitant response, he spun around to look me in the eye.

"Are you waiting on someone or are you also eating alone?"

I responded that I was waiting on someone.  He spun back around and had the hostess take him to his seat.  The rest of the lunch was uneventful.  My friend showed up, we ate together and talked about discipleship and how the Church was changing.  It was a good lunch.  But...

I couldn't get the initial lunch invite out of my head.  To be fair, maybe he had just read Never Eat Alone or some other book like it.  Maybe he was just being polite after walking in front of me.  Maybe he was lonely.  I don't know, but his invite got me thinking about discipleship.

It seems that so many of us who work for the Church are trying to figure out how to help people walk with Jesus.  Some are trying to launch new, bigger, and better programs.  Some are building even larger and more blinged-out buildings.  Some are trying to squeeze more into an already over crowded schedule.  But maybe we are trying too hard.

What if discipleship wasn't about doing more.  What if it was simply about doing what we already do...but with a new vision for those around us?  What if it was about a new vision for how everyday things could be used to share life and advance the Kingdom of God?  The guy at the restaurant had to eat anyway.  He simply saw me and invited me to join him.  No big deal.  Just a shared meal.  I like the idea.  I like the thought that living for Jesus might be as simple as eating...and inviting others to join me.