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by Allan Rodney Tilley (Author)
"I am so lonely. I do not have a friend at all. I live in the loneliest city in America." These are all the sentiments that we hear spoken each and every day. We are an alienated society in the West and are trying to find our role in life and our significance in some sort of structure whether it be family or some social group. This is where the church can play a role in accepting people into the household of faith. Hospitality is the link in the chain that binds the initial introduction, the first greeting, the smile to the full inclusion into the Family of God and the Fellowship of the Church. There are so many that are disconnected, lonely, in despair, and feel alienated from God and man. At these times the church and those in fellowship with the church should be the hand that reaches out and connects God to man. Hospitality in the early church was that tool that was vital in the growth of the church. They met and ate in each other's homes daily. They ate, took part in the sacraments, and held out a welcoming hand to all those that they met. We too, in the West and particular those in church, should extend a hand of hospitality. In this book we will study the theology of hospitality in both the Old and New Testament, and also the expression of hospitality in the cultures that were prevalent at the time. We will study the influence of the Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures on the establishment of what we now call, "Christian" culture. We will discuss how we can incorporate a heart of hospitality in the church in ways both practical and religiously so that all will be welcomed and embraced. A cup of coffee, a meal shared, and a conversation enriched with friends will be a sign of the compassionate church.
