You Wouldn't Do That on Facebook

You Wouldn't Do That on Facebook

People often ask why the Table is necessary if we already have Facebook and other social media networks. It's a good question with a simple answer: The Table is a smaller, safer, more intimate community. It encourages a different kind of connection that you rarely find on a worldwide network.

Would you post the following on Facebook?

• Your failures with [fill in the blank sin].
• Your struggles with [fill in the blank hardship].
• Your frustrations with [fill in the blank person].

Facebook lacks a certain sensitivity. Throwing out status updates and sharing pictures doesn't always accommodate confession, forgiveness or grace. Unfortunately, there's a lot of judgment out there. It can be scary to open up, and more often than not people won't. We worry about what friends, family and even employers might think.

But the smaller community of the Table offers an intimate space that's not scary, but safe. There's a sensitivity that you won't find on Facebook because the Table is rooted in real-life community.

It's also true with the more mundane. Would you be willing to share the following with the world on Facebook?

• Your address.
• Your stuff.
• Your needs.

Once again, sometimes Facebook is a little too big. Maybe you're having a board game night and you want to invite lots of people, but posting your address on Facebook seems like a little much. Sharing it with a smaller group on the Table might feel more comfortable. Likewise, you might be willing to share your chainsaw, favorite DVD or a pie pan, but you're not going to post it to Facebook where half your friends live hundreds of miles away. And your needs? It's hard to ask for help, and on Facebook that can feel a little awkward. What happens when someone questions your need?

Not so on the Table. It's designed for sharing and helping. It's not awkward, it's welcome. The smaller, more intimate community also makes it comfortable. It's like gathering with your friends around, well, the kitchen table. Facebook, on the other hand, is more like standing around on the street corner. You can have great conversations and meet amazing people while walking down the street, but it's probably not the place you'd pick for a sensitive conversation.

Facebook simply isn't designed for these kinds of connections. But the Table is. Not only that, but most of these scenarios have actually happened on the Table (just read some of our stories). People have been more open than we expected, sharing intimate and private concerns with their church family and being lifted up in support, prayer and love.

As John Piper said when describing a woman who shared a difficult struggle on the Table, "This is not Facebook, this is our church." This isn't about embracing technology, it's about being the body of Christ.

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If you have a story about making these kinds of connections on the Table, share it in our Birthday Video Contest. You could win an iPad!