Seeing Your Home as a Ministry Asset
I generally don’t get too nostalgic for the “good old days”. However, there is an aspect of past life in America that I miss. People used to know their neighbors and actually spend time in each others homes. Hospitality was a common practice. Today many people view their home, not as a space for building community, but as a place to retreat from the world. In fact, home builders, sellers, and decorators increasingly talk about the home, or parts of the home as a “retreat” from the world. It once was common for people to sit on the front porch and talk with neighbors as they walked by, or invite them up for a cup of coffee or a cold drink. Now, the norm is for people to drive home from work, push the button for the automatic garage door opener, pull in, close the door and shut the world out. People do now know their neighbors names, not to mention anything important about their lives. To the degree that Christians buy into this cultural norm, we fail to live out the Gospel and Great Commission.
It doesn’t take much reading of the New Testament to realize that Jesus and the early disciples viewed the home as a crucial place for ministry. Practicing hospitality was seen as normal. Jesus used homes as a place to heal people, teach the truth of God, answer questions from the spiritually curious, and even chastise the religiously proud and self-sufficient. We need to do the same.
Consider the impact you can begin to make in the lives of your neighbors if you invited them over for dinner or desert? It doesn’t need to be fancy, just through something on the grill. The main point is, use a meal as a chance to build a relationship. Jesus said to use our resources to make friends for the Kingdom. Your home, time, and food are resources that God wants to use to connect with your neighbors. Most people are wanting relationships but are uncertain or hesitant to actually reach out and connect. Being empowered by the Holy Spirit, you have all you need to make your home an asset for the Kingdom
Let me recommend a couple of books that are helpful.
1) Table Grace: The Role of Christian Hospitality by Douglas Webster
http://www.amazon.com/Table-Grace-role-hospitality-Christian/dp/1845507525/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331212390&sr=1-1
2) Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine Pohl
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Room-Recovering-Hospitality-Christian/dp/0802844316/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331212543&sr=1-1
There are other resources that you may come across. Feel free to pass those on to the rest of us and enjoy being used by God to build relationships with your neighbors.
Comments
Add a Comment