Hospitality

At church, we are called to serve. All of us, not just the pastors and staff.

However, it goes beyond serving – we’re called to be hospitable. We can serve grumpily – believe me, as I’ve done “secret shopper” visits for churches, I’ve seen it all. Worship team vocalists leading the congregation in songs about the greatness of God with completely blank looks on their faces. Kids workers who give you a condemning stare when they see the puke stain on your child’s shirt from the mess you just cleaned up in the car. Greeters who welcome you with comparable warmness to gum they are scraping off of their shoe…

The problem? These people aren’t truly serving – they’re just doing a job. Everyone has bad days and rough patches, but these shouldn’t be the norm. We show true kindness, compassion, etc.. when our service is others-centered. If it’s “us-centered,” we’re just checking off an item on our holier than thou checklist so that we can feel good about ourselves. The truth is, we’ll feel better when we do the right things – and treat people the way we would like to be treated.

“Service is a monologue – we decide how we want to do things and set our own standards for service. Hospitality, on the other hand, is a dialogue…listening to that person with every sense, and following up with a thoughtful, gracious, appropriate response.” – Danny Meyer