Hospitality: Life
in a Time of Fear
by Steve Clapp and Fred Bernhard
This book, by the coauthors of Widening the Welcome of Your Church, is a revision of the earlier New Life Ministries publication Hospitality: Life without Fear and was produced in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Since those events, we have been living in a time of greatly increased fear. Even before that fateful day, we were bombarded with news of threatening and disconcerting events, including crime, school violence, political scandal, and rapid societal change. Now we live with the threat of terrorism as well.
The authors show that the answer to fear is not turning inward but turning outward. Learning to recognize the presence of Christ in others can have a liberating impact on all that we do and can enable us to move past the fears which threaten to immobilize us.
This book explores:
• The
biblical and spiritual roots of hospitality as a way of life.
• How hospitality can pull us through the loneliness and fear of our time.
• How a life of prayer is essential in a life of hospitality.
• How hospitality can help us cope with increased security.
• How hospitality affects family life and friendships.
• How hospitality affects what we do in the workplace and in the community.
• How hospitality relates to the suffering of the world.
A study guide is incorporated into the book.
$15 each. 10 or more copies, $9 each. Product Code: HLF
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"This valuable new release deals directly with the tough questions raised by the tragic events of September 11. . . . recognizing the presence of Christ in others can have a liberating impact on all we do" (Christian educator).
Contents
Introduction: The Dark Day
Chapter 1 - Fear Serves a Purpose
Concept: Some of our fears are healthy and can protect us as individuals and communities from the very real dangers of our world. We need to be aware, however, that widespread fear also serves a slightly different purpose for politicians, journalists, and some businesses.
Chapter 2 - Fear, Loneliness, and Hospitality
Concept: We live in a fearful time and have learned to lock our cars, homes, hearts, and minds. God offers us the courage to reach out to others and to keep fear from overwhelming our lives.
Chapter 3 - The Spiritual Life and Hospitality
Concept: Hospitality is not another self-improvement program. True hospitality is rooted in the spiritual life and transforms the way we view ourselves, other people, and God.
Chapter 4 - Our Need for Strangers Guests
Concept: Our tendency to spend time only with those we already know limits us and keeps us from receiving all the blessings God offers. We need to see the unknown person not as a stranger but as a guest sent from God to enrich our lives. Our outreach should extend to people of other ethnic backgrounds and religions.
Chapter 5 - Prayer and Hospitality
Concept: True hospitality is only possible when our lives are grounded in prayer and intimately connected with God. Prayer can transform the fundamental way in which we view the world around us.
Chapter 6 - Hospitality and the Family
Concept: Hospitality has the power to transform how we view our spouses, parents, children, and the others who constitute family. We need to develop appreciation for the changing nature of family in our time.
Chapter 7 - Nurturing Hospitality
Concept: How hospitality can help us reclaim a sense of community in the neighborhoods where we live, in the workplace, with the people whom we do business, and with some persons we may encounter only once.
Chapter 8 - Hospitality and the Hurting
Concept: We need to discover what hospitality can mean for the poor, for race relations, for those struggling with drug and alcohol problems, for criminals and crime victims, and for others in our society who are hurting.
Chapter 9 - Hospitality and the Faith Community
Concept: Hospitality should be at the heart of the faith community and has the power to transform congregational life. Churches can help people deal with their fears and reach out to others
Study Guide
Resources