About Us
We started Small Church Big Table as a resource for fellow pastors interested in shared leadership which was a gift forged in us through our church’s conversations around LGBTQ inclusion. Although we occasionally still do coaching in shared leadership, the need has increased to help leaders navigate the fraught questions and divisive conversations around LGBTQ people’s involvement in church.
About Small Church Big Table
Why We Do LGBTQ Inclusion Work
Our non-profit status and board
Origin Stories: A Team Formed Out of Failure
Why “Small Church Big Table”
If you’d like to get to know us, here’s a short intro video.
Meet the Co-Founders
Bill White
Bill White lives in the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach with his wife Katy, who is a doctor working with those on the margins. She does not describe herself as a pastor’s wife. They have two kids, one working in political communications and one in college in graduate school.
Bill worked for 25 years in the evangelical world as missionary, parachurch staff, and pastor. He shifted more post-evangelical around the time his kids identified as gay. Being “the loud pastor,” Bill attempts to have people over for dinner every night. (This depends largely on negotiations with Katy, who is not an extrovert.) He plays board games on the other nights. Bill is an Enneagram 8 who has spent many years in therapy and spiritual direction and needs to spend many more.
Brenna Rubio
Brenna Rubio lives in the Long Beach area with her husband Israel, who describes himself as both high school administrator and pastor’s wife. Their multicultural family includes four kids, ranging from early elementary to high school, and a semi-feral cat.
Brenna’s been in ministry for about twenty years now. Compared to Bill, she’s “the quiet pastor.” Her favorite days involve coffee, reading and just enough people. For those into the Enneagram, she’s a 1 all the way! Growing up a military brat who moved every few years (aka a third culture kid) and a feminist-in-the-making in traditional church spaces, she resonates with others who feel like perpetual outsiders.
More about Where They Pastor
City Church of Long Beach is a small, wonderfully quirky and big-hearted congregation based out of the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach, CA. Their vision is to be a radically welcoming community on the journey toward Jesus, joining him in the renewal of all things.