|
 AGWM Personnel, John and Gayle Butrin, have a unique ministry in Berlin, Germany which they call "Matthew's Table". It isn't a restaurant, coffee house, bed-and-breakfast, or a feeding program. It's a relational ministry based on hospitality. At the table, when food is shared and eaten, cultural and social barriers are broken and opportunities for sharing the claims of Christ abound.
One of the "leaves" in Matthew's table is the addition of good music. The Butrins have come into contact with a couple of Christian musicians from the German Opera who want their lives to be a witness to their colleagues. While visiting at Matthew's Table, one of them expressed a desire to have a place to hang out and do impromptu music with unbelieving friends - all with a view to sharing the Lord's love with them.
 On a Sunday morning at Matthew’s Table, the quartette from the German Opera sang Brahms' O shone Nacht Opus 92. Sitting at the table as they sang were sixteen of Butrin's neighbors and friends for whom they have been praying.
Brahms as worship? John Butrin exclaims, "Yep! In the context of our ministry goal to introduce people from a post-Christian culture to faith in Jesus, we cannot afford to isolate worship from mission. So many today seem to think that worship means that we devote a certain segment of our church program to standing and singing a certain style of songs to or about the Lord. While that practice is certainly valid, it doesn’t nearly define what the Bible describes as our spiritual act of worship in Romans 12. True worship involves my sacrificing the entire capacity of my being to the purposes of God: loving others, being hospitable and generous, feeding the hungry – in other words, living missionally."
One of the members of the German Opera expressed, "If only you had a piano." To condense a long story, the Butrins are now 'baby-sitting' a 7 foot concert grand piano which the owner is trying to sell. In the meantime, the owner asked them to use it for the Lord's glory. Until it is sold, they will begin semi-regular musical interludes including praise and worship with the goal of reaching musicians and their friends for Jesus.
The holidays provided several opportunities for relationship-building, especially with the Butrins' neighbors. They sponsored a Christmas open house with both German and English carol singing. In the process they welcomed usually-reticent neighbors into their home and some solid new friendships are now in process. One man, a guest of one of the neighbors, said, "I've lived in Germany all my life and have never had so much fun with total strangers." It never ceases to amaze the Butrins how much can be accomplished with a bite of good food and bit of genuine love.
|
