The Courageously Hospitable Leader

Have you ever wondered how being hospitable can challenge your faith life and make you a better, more courageous leader?

To be hospitable in Abraham’s day meant that being hospitable was not optional, it was expected. Abraham, while dependent on the Lord, acted in an intentionally brave and courageous way.  In Genesis 18:2-5 we read how the Lord appeared again to Abraham while he was living in the oak grove at Mamre. One hot summer afternoon as he was sitting at the opening of his tent, he suddenly noticed three men coming toward him.  He sprang up to meet them and welcomed them. “Sirs”, he said, “please don’t go any further.  Stop a while and rest here in the shade of this tree while I get water to refresh your feet, and a bite to eat to strengthen you. Do stay awhile before continuing your journey.” “All right,” they said, “do as you have said.”

Abraham sprang up, in other words, he was in a state of expectation which drove him to action in order to meet the needs of these traveling strangers. Abraham took a leap of faith. This type of action takes courage because you never know how your act will be responded to.  Meeting another’s need for food and shelter was and still is one of the most immediate and practical ways to obey God and do His will.  It is also a time honored relationship builder.  Hebrews 13:2 suggests that we, like Abraham, might actually entertain angels.

When was the last time you welcomed someone into your home for a brief stay? Are you, like Abraham, waiting expectantly for the opportunity to receive visitors for the sake of the Kingdom?

Does your church have a hospitality ministry?  If not, would you consider starting one? Perhaps you have a sister church in another part of the world who would be greatly impacted by connecting with you and your congregation.

Wanting to learn more about establishing a practical Hospitality Ministry?

Contact Karen Frisella - karen@joyalongthejourney.com, former Director of Willow Creek Community Church’s Global Hospitality Ministry and founder of Joy Along The Journey.  Karen has a passion for helping churches establish their own Hospitality Ministry and helping Christ-followers rediscover this ancient practice, in a contemporary way, for themselves.

The Power of a Welcome

Welcomes are conveyed in all different ways; with a smile, a word or a touch.  A smile expressed to a passing stranger as you’re walking to work can convey gladness in the moment.  A ‘hello’ to the checkout person at the grocery store can turn what would otherwise be a dull routine for that person into a refreshingly joyful moment.  A handshake as a way of greeting a business associate at the start of a business meeting conveys contact and a willingness to engage.  

All of these simple expressions are congenial ways to welcome people into a small space of time in our day – these times make up much of life.  In fact, I contend, that it is in precisely these times that the overall quality of our lives are expressed each day.  The way you treat people in the everyday, mundane events of the day that reflect who we are in Christ.  Moreover, how we express that love toward others and how welcoming we are as individuals as we live in this earthly home is a living testimony of Grace. 

Paul wrote in the Book of Philemon, “I always thank God when I am praying for you, dear Philemon, because I keep hearing of your love and trust in the Lord Jesus and in his people.  And I pray that as you share your faith with others it will grip their lives, too as they see the wealth of good things in you that come from Jesus Christ. I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.”  Philemon 1:4-7 TLB

As Christians we are encouraged to be hospitable people.  Offering hospitality (home stay) to a fellow Christian on their journey is, in a very practical sense, a powerful way of extending oneself for the sake of another. 

Toward a practical end, giving our fellow co-laborers in Christ a place to rest whilst undertaking ministry travel encourages them to be good stewards as their travel expenses are reduced.  But the real power comes before the guest even arrives when we lift up the traveler in prayer and ask for God’s will to be done in the life of this person while they are there for the conference or church visit. 

The JOY comes from participating in and experiencing God through what happens over these few days.  Perspectives are opened.  Visions are cast.  Life is purposeful.  Missions are formed.  Friendships made… all through the power of a welcome.

Karen Frisella

Founder

Joy Along the Journey

A Bed and a Table, a Chair and a Lamp

Room preparers.  The Old and New Testament is full of stories of people who practiced hospitality.  In 2 Kings 4:9-10 there is a story of a well-to-do woman of Shunem who offered the prophet Elisha hospitality.  “She said to her husband, I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God.  Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him.  Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”

Likewise in Romans 12:13 Paul instructs believers “to pursue or practice hospitality.”  He urged the believers to “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed them.”  (Romans 15:7) 

Hospitality was a way of life fundamental to Christian identity.  Its mysteries and riches are revealed most fully when it is practiced.  I believe that it is a gift from God to be counted among those who cultivate ‘room preparedness’. 

In Biblical times untold amounts of ministry had been done because people (no matter their status in life) availed themselves to others and practiced hospitality.  Room preparers offered their space without fan fare or expecting praise simply because it was the natural thing to do.  The Gospel spread, churches grew in strength and number – all because ‘room preparers’ expectantly waited for a guest in need.

This ancient practice is being replicated today in order to advance Kingdom efforts for churches, conferences, non-profit business, the arts, etc. 

Today, Joy Along The Journey, a Christian Hospitality Network, is one example of contemporary practitioners of hospitality.  Providing hospitality has its challenges, but Joy Along The Journey was borne out of a ministry in a local church.  Its mission is to safely and securely connect hospitable Christians with Christians who travel – usually for ministry purposes. 

As Christine Pohl states in her book Making Room, “In God’s remarkable economy as we make room for hospitality, more room becomes available to us for life, hope and grace.”  The most potent setting for hospitality, she adds, is in the overlap of private and public space; hospitality flourishes at the intersection of the personal, intimate characteristics of the home and the transforming expectations of the church.  Practioners view hospitality as a sacred practice and find God is especially present in guest/host relationships.  There is a mutual blessing in hospitality.

Everyday Christians who recover this lost art will find untold joy in welcoming and being welcomed by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and it all simply starts with a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp.

Karen Frisella

Founder

Joy Along the Journey

Hospitality Ministry - The Welcoming Church

Have you ever thought of starting a Hospitality Ministry in your church? Karen Frisella directed the Hospitality Ministry for the Willow Creek Association for over ten years, and is the Founder of Joy Along the Journey, a Christian Host Home Network.

She recently shared some thoughts on her blog about the value of hospitality and how to be a welcoming church.