Sunday Ripple

Room for One More – The Table Ep. 1

Rob Anderson

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Welcome to the first episode of The Table series on Sunday Ripple! In this heartfelt conversation, host Rob Anderson is joined by Pastor Matt McCarter to explore the radically inclusive hospitality of Jesus—and what it looks like to live that out today.

From childhood memories around kitchen tables to unexpected meals with strangers, Rob and Matt share honest stories that highlight how the table can become a sacred space for connection, healing, and belonging. Together, they challenge us to look at who’s missing from our lives and how extending a simple invitation can reflect the heart of God.

Whether you’re a Christian hoping to live more intentionally, a ministry leader building community, or someone craving deeper relationships, this episode lays a rich foundation for reclaiming the table as a place where the kingdom of God breaks in.

In this episode:
– The difference between hospitality and entertaining
– Stories of meals that became ministry moments
– How to welcome outsiders without needing perfect conditions
– The uncomfortable truth about who we often exclude
– A simple challenge that could change someone’s life (including yours)

➡️ Pull up a chair and listen now—because small ripples of hospitality can make a big impact.

I’d really love to hear from you. Whether this episode encouraged you, brought up a question, or just made you think, you can now send a message straight to us. It’s an easy way to share your thoughts, your story, or even just say hello. Just click the link at the top of the episode description to reach out. I read every message, and I’d be honored to hear how God’s moving in your life.

ROB:
Welcome to Sunday Ripple. I'm Rob Anderson.
Each week, we explore Scripture and the ripples it can create in our everyday lives.
Sometimes we reflect on Sunday’s message.
Sometimes we dive into other passages that speak to where we are.

Whether you're a Christian or just tuning in for a thoughtful conversation, this podcast is here to help you reflect, grow, and keep the message moving through your week.
Let’s get into it.

ROB:
Hey friends—welcome back to Sunday Ripple.
This is the podcast where we believe small ripples can make a big impact.
Today, we're pulling up a chair to the start of a brand-new series called The Table.

Now, before you picture a Pinterest-perfect dinner party with matching napkins and a charcuterie board that deserves its own zip code—take a breath.
That’s not what this is about.

This is something deeper: hospitality the way Jesus lived it—the kind that says, You matter. You belong. There’s room for you.

And today’s episode is a little different. I’m so excited to welcome a guest—someone who really embodies this heart. Pastor Matt McCarter, welcome to the podcast.

MATT:
Hey Rob—so glad to be here.

ROB:
I’m super pumped to have you here. Been looking forward to this. You too?

MATT:
Oh, absolutely. I love hanging with you—but I also love people hearing my voice. So let’s go.

ROB:
[Laughs] Do you love hearing your own voice?

MATT:
I don’t know… I guess we’ll find out!

ROB:
Yeah, because we both have to listen to this afterward. It’ll be great.

ROB:
So today’s episode is called Room for One More. We’re talking about God’s heart for the outsider—for the overlooked, the left out, the person hanging on in the margins.
And honestly, I can’t think of a better person to explore this with than you.

MATT:
Aw man, honored to be here.

ROB:
Let’s kick things off with this:
Can you remember a time when someone literally made room for you at their table—physically or metaphorically?
And what did that moment do for you?

MATT:
Absolutely. I think about my grandmother. In her house, she had a kitchen table and a dining room table—totally different vibes.
The dining room was for holidays. You didn’t even sit on that furniture unless it was Thanksgiving.
But the kitchen table—that was intimate. That’s where she’d make you something specific. It was her way of saying, “I see you. You belong.”

ROB:
My grandma had something like that too. It’s wild how sacred that space can feel.

MATT:
Yeah. My grandma helped raise me when my parents worked. And when I started school, she got a job there—as the head lunch lady. So I wasn’t just a student. I was Pauline’s grandson.
I belonged. At school. At her table. Everywhere she went, she brought that hospitality with her.

ROB:
That’s beautiful. Tables really are sacred spaces.
We celebrate. We argue. We grieve. We connect.
Who you let into that space—man, that says a lot.

MATT:
Absolutely.

ROB:
Have you ever had the chance to set the table like that for someone else?

MATT:
I have. I think about how Jesus used meals. It wasn’t always about a physical table—it was about the act of breaking bread, the vulnerability of saying, “I need nourishment.”

Inviting someone to the table is saying, “I want to share this moment, this need, with you.”
It’s connection that doesn’t happen in passing.

ROB:
That’s so good.
And there’s a big difference between hospitality and entertaining, right?

MATT:
Totally. Hospitality is about presence, not presentation.

ROB:
Exactly. Genesis 18 comes to mind—Abraham just hosting strangers under a tree.
And sure, we’ve got to use wisdom, especially with young kids at home. But hospitality doesn’t always mean “come over to my house.”
It could be a restaurant or a park bench.

Have you ever had a moment like that with someone you didn’t know?

MATT:
Yes. A friend taught me how to engage with people experiencing homelessness—not just handing them a dollar, but sharing space.
One day, a man asked me for food. I said, “Let’s go to Cook Out.”
We ate together. Talked.
Never saw him again—but that moment stayed with me.

ROB:
I’ve got a story like that too. I was in Anchorage, hungry and alone, about to preach that Sunday. A man asked me for a few bucks, and I said, “Come in with me. I’ll buy you dinner.”
We sat down. He poured out his story—stage 4 cancer, a few days to live, hadn’t seen his daughter in years.
He looked at me and said, “Are you an angel?”

MATT:
Wow.

ROB:
And I was like, “No, I’m just a guy buying you a Filet-O-Fish.”
But in that moment, it felt like the kingdom of God broke in at McDonald’s.

MATT:
That’s the thing—hospitality is a form of the gospel.
You don’t always need to preach. Sometimes, just pulling out a chair is enough.

ROB:
Exactly. That St. Francis quote comes to mind: “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

ROB:
But let’s get real.
When we look around our tables—our friendships, our churches—who’s missing?

MATT:
Most of the time? Anyone outside our immediate circles.
We live in a culture of cliques. We’re afraid of discomfort. And it’s shaping our Christianity more than we’d like to admit.

ROB:
Right. We’ve confused community with comfort.
And it’s dangerous.

ROB:
That reminds me of an article I sent you—about a church in New Jersey that wanted to build transitional housing. Seventeen beds.
The city pushed back. People feared cigarette butts burning down their homes.
They tried to annex the land to build… a pickleball court.

MATT:
[Laughs] I love pickleball, but—wow.

ROB:
Right? It’s a microcosm of how we deal with discomfort. Push the problem away. Pretend it doesn’t exist.

MATT:
But it does exist. And our unwillingness to see it—that’s the real issue.

ROB:
I’ve even seen it in churches. Growing up, a woman once said, “What if we made Vacation Bible School invitation-only? That way, we’d get a higher class of children.”
That shook me. That told me everything about her table.

MATT:
Heartbreaking.

ROB:
Jesus was the outsider. He didn’t fit in any box—and yet he opened the table to everyone.

ROB:
Let’s bring this home.
Do you have a story of a time when someone crashed your “table” in the best way?

MATT:
Yes. After I came to Christ, I started hosting Bible studies at my place.
Some old fraternity friends showed up one night—with beer—planning to mock me.
By the end of the night, they were in tears.
God used that table. He turned a disruption into an invitation.

ROB:
That’s what this series is about. Reclaiming our tables as places where the kingdom breaks in and says, “You matter. There’s room for you.”

So before we wrap up, I want to leave everyone with a challenge.

Challenge of the Week:
Identify someone who’s been missing from your table—and invite them in.
It could be coffee. A walk. A simple text.
Just something that says, “I see you.”

MATT:
Love that. And yes—I’ve got a few people in mind already.

ROB:
In a world where we're building fences instead of tables, every invitation is an act of resistance.
And every act of hospitality echoes the heart of Jesus.

MATT:
Amen to that. Thanks for having me, Rob.

ROB:
Thanks for being here, Matt. It’s been a joy.

Next week, we’re diving into the way Jesus shared meals—especially with unexpected guests.

Until then—
Small ripples can make a big impact. So go make yours.

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