SOUL SOUP
COMMUNITY
ABOUT
THE BIG PICTURE
Our desire is to pursue authentic truth until transformative love emerges.
OUR APPROACH
Soul Soup Community creates a safe communal table where we can ask deep questions
about life, the soul, and the divine.
VALUES
RESPECT
Everyone has a right to their own journey and current perspective.
CURIOSITY
Wanting to learn more about how others understand the world.
LOVE
We fight for others' highest good.
HUMILITY
Each person's perspective is only part of a greater whole; we need each other.
SELF-AWARENESS
A desire to explore our inner tendencies and their effect on others.
HISTORY
Soul Soup Community was inspired in 2018 when Brian McLaren spoke at Vinings Lake Church near Atlanta, GA and said that creating community can be as simple as making soup together. An idea was born to enjoy eating good food and allowing space for people to explore their current truth without judgment.
The topics of discussion range greatly and often incorporate references to contemporary thought leaders, ancient mystics, poetry, movies, and many other things. Respect and holding our own understanding of life, the soul, and the divine with an open hand are critical for acceptance of each other and new ideas.
We recognize that the divine is far greater and more expansive than we can ever hope to know--but we come closer when we seek to understand other people's perspectives, for we are more than social creatures who gather together for comfort and warmth on our individual quests; we help make each other whole.
WHO WE ARE
Hi, we’re Chris and Armandee.
We are just two people who have spent a lifetime chasing a feeling: the feeling of truly being known.
Our journey hasn’t been a straight line. Over the years, we’ve lived and worked on four different continents, raising a family and trying to build community wherever we landed. We’ve hosted neighborhood co-ops, joined church groups, organized dinner parties, and attended countless gatherings.
Some of these experiments worked beautifully. Others, frankly, didn’t. We’ve sat in rooms full of people where the conversation stayed safely on the surface, leaving us feeling just as lonely as when we arrived. We’ve tried to force depth and found it only created awkwardness. We’ve learned that good intentions and a warm meal aren’t always enough to bridge the gap between "hello" and "I see you."
Soul Soup was born from that frustration—and from our family.
As we raised our children, we noticed something special happening at our own table. Our kids, especially our daughter Allyssa, began asking questions that went deeper than the usual small talk. They challenged us to look past the "how was your day?" and ask, "what’s really going on in your heart?"
Allyssa even began crafting her own question cards (which she called Surface Tension) to help friends navigate those deeper waters. Watching her and our other children create space for honesty inspired us to stop waiting for the "perfect" community to appear and start building it ourselves.
What We Believe
We don’t claim to have all the answers. We aren’t therapists, and we aren’t experts in human connection. We are simply hosts who have learned, through years of trial and error, that structure creates safety, and safety creates connection.
We believe that everyone deserves a space where they can take off the mask, drop the performance, and be exactly who they are. We believe that the kitchen is a holy place where strangers can become friends, and that a simple bowl of soup can be the catalyst for a profound shift in how we see each other.
Our Hope for You
We created Soul Soup not to teach you how to be perfect hosts, but to invite you to be brave enough to open your door. We hope to inspire you to create your own table—a place where people feel welcome, safe, and at home.
Whether you’ve been hosting for years or have never invited a guest over, there is a place for you here. Let’s cook together, share honestly, and rediscover the joy of being human together.
With gratitude and hope,
Chris & Armandee