Welcome!

One of the leading principles in the Old Testament, and down into the New Testament, was the principle of hospitality. The people in “bible times” were really serious about their hospitality. All you had to do was show up at the tent, door, well, whatever, and request the hospitality of the “Patriarch” and they were duty bound to provide for you.

As a matter of fact, this principle of hospitality was so very important that scriptures tell us that the lack of hospitality was one of the major “sins of Sodom” and the reason for its destruction. In the Bible, hospitality packed quite a punch!Let’s bring this down to today. Imagine if you will, a 19 to 20 something, dressed in black combat boots, jeans, a black t-shirt, a red and black “lumber jacket”, jet black hair hanging over half of his/her face, comes strolling through your church doors on Sunday morning. What might your reaction be?

Let me tell you about a reaction that truly impressed me.

I travel a fair bit in the Mission Centre and speak at Community of Christ congregations and other congregations of different denominations. My oldest son has been doing a bit of travel with me and we stumbled onto something. I started dropping Palmer off at the door, going and parking and then coming in myself. What we have experienced was really quite surprising!

At a Community of Christ congregation that is really serious about the Mission Initiative, “Experience Congregations in Mission”, when I came in I was greeted by a dear old friend but Palmer was nowhere to be seen. As soon as he had come through the door someone had spotted him, told him that everyone who came to that church had breakfast in their fellowship hall, took him there, got him set up with what he would need and went to get him a coffee. Another person asked him if he played any musical instruments and he replied that he played the bass guitar. Hearing that she exclaimed, “Wow! We really need a bass guitarist!”

The people who were with Palmer were later surprised when one of their own children told them that I was Palmer’s dad. Later that day, as I was taking Palmer home, he said, “WOW Dad, I could go to that church. The people were great!”

I guess that my question would be, what might happen if we all took the lesson of hospitality to heart? What kind of difference might it make today? How might generous hospitality serve in the Mission Initiative, Invite People to Christ or even Develop Disciples to Serve? What kind of “punch” might hospitality pack in the 21st century Community of Christ?

Take a stand to the side some Sunday, what do you see? The Canada East Mission Centre is ready to help with hospitality. Mike Hewitt has an excellent course on Hospitality that he can bring to you!

Poster is John Nichols