Welcoming Aliens

My last blog post explored one of the major ways that we devote ourselves to "the fellowship" - that of discovering and employing our spiritual gifts. Another way is through hospitality. While some may have a special gift for hospitality, all Christians are exhorted throughout the New Testament to exercise this very important activity. Here are a couple of examples:

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality" (Romans 12:13)

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." (1 Peter 4:9)

This word, hospitality, is a translation of the greek word "Philoxenos" which means to be friendly (Philo) to the alien, stranger, or outsider (xenos). This hospitality is certainly to be extended to our close friends who are in the church but it is to be especially offered to those who are on the margins. Those who are new. Those who are nervous about stepping foot in a church. Those who are new to discussing the Bible and are unfamiliar with Christian terms. Those who have things in their lives about which they are feeling shame. These are the kinds of people that the church is making special effort to welcome into the family.

So how do you carry this out? The first is to adopt the mindset of "host" instead of "guest". Whenever we are in our home and people are coming over, we shift into the host mode. The doorbell rings and we answer it. We immediately greet whomever is at the door instead of waiting to be spoken to. We ask if there is anything that our guests would like to eat or drink. If someone spills, we hurry to get a napkin and clean things up so our guest doesn't feel any embarrassment.

This is how we want people to be thinking in regard to their interactions in the church. Our tendency is to meet enough people to feel socially comfortable and then ignore those that are new to the scene. If the new people want to break in, they have to initiate conversation themselves or have a friend on the inside that can help bridge the gap. This may work for some, but many will walk away, especially if engaging the church is scary to begin with.

Once you're looking outside yourself at those around who may be new, it's time to make the next step. Invite the person into your life. It's a great start to greet new people that you meet on a Sunday morning or at house church, but it's not enough to really welcome the alien. It will take an invite to grab a coffee or play softball or volunteer at a MH event. Those of us that are connected to the church, most likely had a person invite us into their lives in a significant way and that is why we stuck around.

The ultimate way of inviting someone into your life is to invite them into your home. In the early church, we see the first Christians meeting from house to house. There is something special that happens when a person gets to experience you where you live. So much is revealed about a person when you get to see them at home. The home itself. The other people that live there with you. Pets, hobbies, pictures, music . . . If you are a fully devoted follower of Christ, so much of Christ will be communicated through the experience of your home without you even knowing it.

This post is part of a series on the basics of being a disciple