Customer Reviews

The Hospitality Commands

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alexander Strauch has written one of the most helpful books on one of the most overlooked Christian responsibilities - hospitality. The book is short, well written, and has a study guide in the back. The church that catches a vision for New Testament hospitality will find itself having great opportunities to evangelize, find new people wanting to stay and most importantly know the rich blessing of genuine Christian relationships. This book can be used for a Sunday school class, home Bible study or weekend retreat study. If you read this book you will be excited about the possibilities your church can have for practically loving one another and those whom God brings into your midst. Practical, straight forward and very Biblical like all of Strauch's books. Enjoy!

If you've been troubled or frustrated by surface relationships within the church, Strauch's book will likely point you in a direction you desire to go. Sadly, I've never heard anyone teach on hospitality before - I expect many others have not as well. Strauch does an excellent job of explaining the church's need to demonstrate hospitality between members and to those outside the church.

Most of the book takes a look at what the Scriptures command about showing hospitality. The closing pages give a few ideas for practicing hositality and list several additional resources to assist you in practicing hospitality.

This is a gem of a help on the topic of hospitality. The Bible clearly commands that Christians actively practice hospitality, and Alexander Strauch here explains these commands in an enlightening and absorbing fashion. Mr. Strauch offers many helpful tips on how to be hospitable, and explains the blessing of stretching yourself to bless others. A very good little book, as is Steve Wilkins' recent release on this topic, _Face to Face_.

Strauch is right... Hospitality is the Lost Jewel in our ministry arsenal. We're much more comfortable with large, bureaucratic and impersonal programs. That way we can "turn off" our Christianity when we leave the building and go about serving ourselves. It's threatening to help other people or - God forbid - let them into our homes. Every godly household should read, heed, and practice this advice. The need for most "programs" to do "ministry" would evaporate overnight! Did I mention you should buy a copy for every household in your church?

Possibly one of the best books I've read in a while, its short, but complete. Strauch puts this important subject in perspective, and gives great advice to those who want to implement hospitality. I recommend this to every Christian! Buy more than one copy if you can, you'll want to pass it on. If only Christians were reading this like they were "Prayer of Jabez" then their walk would truly be impacted!

Sociologists have noted that more and more Americans are disconected, and feel alone. We are more and more "hooked" and "wired" up to receive information and communicate, but there is a dearth of relationships. The church is called to reach out in love to a world like this, but how? Historically, one of the ways that the Christian community has always expressed its love to each other and to the world is through hospitality. The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch is one of my favorite types of books to recommend. Why? Because it is biblical, brief (59 pages), practical and convicting! (It's also cheap!). What more could you ask for?

The author argues that hospitality is both a means to strengthen relationships within the church (Chapter 2 "Strengthening the Love of the Christian Family") , but it is also a neglected tool we can use to evangelize our neighbors and friends (Chapter 3, "Hospitality: A Launching Pad for the Gospel").

Strauch writes, "I don't think most Christians today understand how essential hospitality is to fanning the flames of love and strengthening the Christian family. Hospitality fleshes out love in a uniquely personal and sacrificial way. Through the ministry of hospitality, we share our most prized possessions. We share our family, home, finances, food, privacy and time. Indeed, we share our very lives. So hospitality is always costly. Through the ministry of hospitality, we provide friendship, acceptance, fellowship, refreshment, comfort, and love in one of the richest and deepest ways possible for humands to understand. Unless we open the doors of our homes to one another, the reality of the local church as a close-knit family of loving brothers and sisters is only a theory" (pg. 17).

That makes some sense, but is it biblical? Strauch says yes, and he backs it up with an impressive list of hospitality commands and examples from Scripture. (Rom. 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9, Heb. 13:1-2 among others). After thoroughly proving his case from Scripture, the author then seeks to equip his readers with ideas on how to demonstrate hospitality. "The belief that hospitality is important and the actual practice of hospitality are two different things. Many Christians never advance beyond the theory level" (p. 49). The author then follows by listing sixteen helpful hints to begin practicing hospitality as a church or as a family. At the end of the book is a 3 session study guide which makes this book useable for small groups or individual study.

If you are looking for new ways to obediently serve the Lord and step out in faith this year, consider getting this book and then "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." (Rom. 12:13).

God commands you to be hospitable. I don't know if I would have ever put it that way if I had not read Alexander Strauch's little (53 pages) book, The Hospitality Commands.

Strauch argues that "hospitality" was a distinctive mark of the early church (6).

Christ brings people together as a family (10) that loves each other (12). That love opens up one's home and life to others in living out the Gospel (17). Inviting people into the home is key to hospitality (18).

Historically, home meetings have been the most fruitful base for evangelism (21). Especially when a meal is shared with another (24). The home was also the first place for travelling ministers to stay and work from (26). Hospitality includes generous, loving support for workers of the Gospel (29).

In the fourth chapter, he shows that hospitality is an actual command, not a matter of money or ability, but obedience (34). And all persons are to share in offering hospitality (37). The biggest stumbling block to this is our selfishness (38). Nevertheless, we are responsible to show hospitality to all Christians we encounter (40) - for which there may be unexpected reward (41). Christian leaders, in particular, must show hospitality (43). Except in the case of false teachers and unrepentant brothers and sisters (44). This chapter ends with a list (with Scriptures) of fourteen distinctive of Christian hospitality (47).

The final chapter is sixteen "helpful hints" for practicing hospitality - including some additional resources one might find useful.

The book includes a study guide for individual or group use.

I highly recommend this book in an age where we live as though we don't need each other and "what's mine is mine."

The one point at which I would like further clarification - especially as a minister - is how, when showing hospitality - to keep boundaries. For example, I prefer not to have people to my house, because it is my sanctuary - it is the one place I can go where people do not show up to make demands on me (in person, anyway). How might one keep the home, if one invites people in, from becoming a place where people believe they have a right to show up at any time and demand to be provided for because you are the minster and you "work" for them? Perhaps the answer is found in a mutual understanding of hospitality. I wish he had spent more time on this.

I ordered this online after having it on my wish list for over a year, and when I received it in the mail, I was really disappointed to see that it was small (only around 50 pages of actual "book"), and thought to myself that I should have paid more attention to those details in the product info.

However, after having read it, I have to say that this is the absolute BEST book I have ever read on hospitality. It is practical and gets to the heart of the matter that hospitality truly is a command, and is motivated by love. A lot of books on hospitality, I have found, focus more on "entertaining", and this book, I believe, is quite biblical.

I loved it, and would recommend it to any Christian.

This book is a GREAT study on showing Christian Love through the gift of hospitality. The only drawback I see is the author's tendency to rely too much on human thoughts (those of "Biblical scholars" and "Experts") and not as much on scripture. He does quote quite a bit of Bible, but I would have liked to see more reliance on scripture and less on what someone said.

I gave it four stars because in spite of this drawback he does make a great case for the cause of hospitality as a practical way of showing Christian Love. All in all a good study and well worth the time and effort!