Hospitality is not an optional ministry!
Romans 12:13 (KJV)
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
1 Timothy 3:2 (KJV)
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to
hospitality, apt to teach;
Titus 1:8 (KJV)
8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
1 Peter 4:9 (KJV)
9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
MINISTRY IS HOSPITALITY, AND HOSPITALITY THAT
IS MORE THAN AN EVENT. IT IS SIMPLY THE
CHRISTIAN WAY OF LIFE.
Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
(Romans 15:7)
While much hospitality focuses on individuals or families opening their
homes to others, a vital practice which enables “house churches” to meet
(e.g., Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19), I am focusing attention on
churches gathering outside of the home.
Romans 16:5 (KJV)
5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my
wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
1 Corinthians 16:19 (KJV)
19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you
much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Thus, spring-boarding from 1 Corinthians 16, a passage overflowing with
gospel labor, here are five more ways we can pursue hospitality in the
church.
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- INTRODUCE PEOPLE AND BUILD NETWORKS FOR MINISTRY.
In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul is doing all he can to urge Apollos to return to
Corinth and minister to them (v. 12); he is urging godly servants like the
household of Stephanas to lead (v. 15) and others to follow (v. 16). He is
sending Timothy to Corinth (v. 10) and he delights to receive Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus (v. 17). Moreover, he sends greetings from the
churches in Asia to the church in Corinth (v. 19), he himself sends
greetings (v. 21) and he passes on the hearty greetings of Aquila and
Priscilla (v. 20). In short, Paul was an extraordinary
networker, who delighted to connect people to other
people.
Indeed, it seems that following Jesus’ model, he did nothing without
bringing others with him. In this way, he built up the body of Christ by
introducing members of the body to one another. This happened at the
personal level and the church level. And it is something we should do as
well. Whether in ministry or not, we should all be aware of who our
brothers and sisters in Christ are and how we can mediate conversation,
friendships, and partnerships for the gospel. - INVITE SOMEONE TO COFFEE, LUNCH, OR TO ANYTHING YOU ARE
DOING.
Such introductions can take place anywhere, but lasting, loving
relationships need something more than momentary hallway
conversations. To foster relationships, therefore, we must go deeper—or
at least, we must go longer. This might look like grabbing coffee or a
meal together. Maybe it looks like taking a new couple out to lunch after
church, or setting up a play date with another family, or intentionally
inviting someone from another age demographic to join your game night.
Creativity and availability are key here. If you are willing to reach out to
others, you will reap the blessing of being a conduit of grace to them.
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Often we fail to invite others because we think unless we can set aside
time for them alone, the time would be wasted. But that’s not true at all.
Discipleship best occurs in the midst of the mundane. So, look for ways
to grab coffee, but don’t neglect drive time, chore time, or going-to-the
grocery time. You’d be surprised how many ways you can redeem the
time, when you think: How can I bring someone with me?
- INVITE SOMEONE TO YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP OR START A
DISCIPLESHIP GROUP.
Moving from the informal to the more formal, it is important to help
church visitors find contact points other than Sunday morning worship.
Most people stay in church when they make relational connection. And
one one-hour worship service a week is not sufficient to make that
connection.
For that reason, our church has community groups that meet throughout
the week. These times of fellowship enable us to talk more openly about
life challenges and personal application of the Bible. But people may not
know about them or want to go without a personal invitation.
At the same time, we should look for ways to gather groups of believers.
You might call this a disciples group and it might include Bible study,
prayer, mentoring, or just intentional times of men or women gathering
to exhort one another from God’s Word.
Both of these groups are tangible places in the church body where
community and care are fostered. When medical crises and personal loss
afflict us, our community groups are there to step in. Yet, such care can
only be felt as people commit to a weekly community group. Likewise,
when life-changing decisions need to be made, what better forum than a
group of Bible-saturated believers to pray with and listen to. Still, such
connections depend on individuals taking initiative to invite others. - NEVER MINISTER ALONE.
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To further this point, we might say: Don’t try to follow Christ by yourself,
and never minister alone.
Plagiarizing Jesus (Acts 20:35) he says, “It’s better to give before you
receive.” And again, “Real networking [is] about finding ways
to make other people more successful.” Indeed, whenever we do
anything for the Lord our aim should another’s benefit. But it is possible
to serve one group while robbing another.
Here’s what I mean. If in all your teaching, serving, hosting, helping you
always serve alone, you are robbing another generation from learning
how to teach, serve, host, or help. Scripture teaches us, the normative
way to do ministry is in community—two-by-two, in groups, or within or
sent out from the local church.
Indeed, we are not simply called to serve God, we are called to bring
others with us. Paul says to Timothy, “what you have heard from me in
the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able
to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Clearly, God intends for his
disciples to disciple others as they make disciples of
others. Indeed, the Christian faith and the Christian ministry are meant
to be shared.
And this transferal of discipleship comes not only face-to-face as we
instruct those who might listen, but also side-by-side as we labor with
those who already are. Therefore, if you to want magnify
community and mission in the church, stop doing things by
yourself and invite someone along. In the classroom, or the Bible
study, or the personal visitation, invite someone to go with you. Stop
doing ministry alone and look for ways to multiply your
labors.
- GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS.
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Finally, hospitality must not neglect the body. Typically, hospitality
involves some sort of food, but we must also have a category for physical
touch and what Paul calls the “holy kiss.”
In 1 Corinthians 16:20, he writes “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” In
fact, he says this four times in his letters (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor.
13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26); Peter says it once (1 Pet. 5:14). Interestingly, this is
the same number of times the Lord’s Supper is mentioned in Scripture.
Yet, how many of us practice this “holy kiss” or know how to?
Without making the church a kissing booth, there is an important
principle that underlies Paul command. If our church is a family, then
family affection is appropriate—and necessary. Their must be place of
sanctified touch.
The “holy kiss” envisions a way for Christian community to recover in
Jesus how human beings were originally meant to touch each other.
Physical touch is meant as a holy act. Few of us know in an experiential
way what it means to touch or be touched in a sacred way. Profane touch
has mentored and broken most of us.
Put succinctly, physical touch matters. We are not walking brains or
disembodied souls. We have bodies—aching, tired, untrustworthy
bodies. And as we hobble through this world, it is appropriate to pat a
back, hug a side, grab an elbow, or hold a hand. Yes, culture will dictate
practice—hence the reason we may not greet each other with a kiss. But
make no mistake, we must communicate grace to bodies and souls.
The widow needs more than a “Hello, how are you?” She needs a hug.
Children need more than a “Slow down, stop running.” They need a
gentle pat on the head from strong men. The redeemed prostitute needs
more than “I’m glad you are here,” she needs to receive the touch of
godly women and to learn that men’s eyes are not just vehicles of lust but
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also instruments for empathy. In short, to be the body of Christ, we must
care for the bodies of others.
Much could be misunderstood about this call for physical touch, but that
only shows how desperately we need our Lord to sanctify our misguided
understanding of the body.
NOT AN OPTIONAL MINISTRY
In the end, we must remember Jesus was forsaken that we would be
received by the Father. And being received by our heavenly father, we are
supplied with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3) and then called to
receive others (Romans 15:7). Surely this includes sharing the message of
Christ, but it also includes sharing our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8). And
because the Word of God communicates love to embodied creatures, we
must learn how to do more than speak words. We must pursue
hospitality.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:8, “I do not want to see you now just in
passing. I hope to spend some time with you.” In these words, we learn
true gospel ministry—for apostles and auto mechanics—devotes itself to
the whole man. In spending ample time with the Corinthians, Paul
indicates his desire to be in their homes, at their tables, around their
places of work—maybe even at their burial site. Such life-on-life ministry
is filled with giving and receiving, hosting and helping. In other words,
ministry is hospitality, and hospitality that is more than an event. It is
simply the Christian way of life.
Indeed, may this way of life be our own. And may we continue to pray
and think and plan ways we can pursue hospitality to share both our lives
and the life-giving message of Christ with others.