Our
church session is reading and discussing the book “Five Practices of Fruitful
Congregations,” which our temporary pastor used during her time at Old Union earlier
this year. In November, we talked about
the first of these practices: “radical hospitality.” We commented on how important hospitality was
in the culture that the Bible comes from, and as we prepare to celebrate
Christmas we considered how scandalous it was that no one in Bethlehem shared
hospitality with a woman about to give birth.
“Radical
hospitality” means more than providing a warm welcome and helping someone feel
at home, although it certainly includes that as well. Hospitality becomes “radical,” or out of the
ordinary, when we take the initiative to reach people, rather than waiting for
them to come to our doorstep. One
example of such “radical” hospitality is the team of people from our church who go to a local foodbank each week to share conversation with the patrons as they
wait for their food package.
Question: In
what other ways can we initiate hospitality”?
Hospitality
often includes an invitation; think of the invitations you are receiving for
holiday gatherings. Without the
invitation, you wouldn’t know when to show up!
As the number of people who have never been inside a church continues to
grow, our invitations can include a sense of what to expect, especially for
those who don’t know a doxology from a benediction, or who may have had
negative church experiences in the past.
Question: Imagine
walking into our church for the first time.
Would you know where to go and what to do?
When
an invitation is given with a sense of obligation (“you should, or you ought
to”) it describes a duty to follow, rather than hospitality to receive. A good basis for an invitation is a
conversation about how the church has made a difference in your life.
Question: What
excites you about our church? What do
you most appreciate about it?
Once
someone responds to an invitation and comes to church, radical hospitality
means taking the extra steps to let them know they are welcome and
appreciated. For example, someone
recently moved from her regular seat to sit beside a guest during worship.
Question: How
were you welcomed the first time you came to your church? What could have made
the experience better for you?
Hospitality
continues once the guest becomes a part of the church family. Some churches (and families!) send subtle
messages to those who have recently joined, letting them know that they’re not
part of the in-crowd yet, and that they must conform to our expectations,
instead of being their true selves, before they are accepted.
Question: On
a scale of 1 to 10, do you expect newcomers to conform to our ways of doing
things, or do they change the character of our church with their unique
contributions?
