Just come on over.Many people today feel lonely, isolated, and disconnected from God and others. We crave authentic community, but we have no idea where to start. We’d be glad to cultivate friendships; but honestly, who’s got the time? In Invited, writer Leslie Verner says real hospitality is not having a Pinterest-perfect table or well-appointed living room. True hospitality is not clean, … hospitality is not clean, comfortable, or controlled. It is an invitation to enter a sacred space together with friends and strangers. Through vivid accounts from her life and travels in Uganda, China, and Tajikistan, and stories of visiting congregations in the United States, Verner shares stories of life around the table and how hospitality is at the heart of Christian community. What if we in the West learned about hospitality from people around the globe? What if our homes became laboratories of belonging?
Invited will empower you to open your home, get to know your neighbors, and prioritize people over tasks. Holy hospitality requires more of Jesus and less of us. It leads not only to loving the stranger but to becoming the stranger. Welcome to a new kind of hospitality.
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Leslie Verner reshaped my view of hospitality from a laborious task I should be doing to a way of life that is open, lovely, and already within my reach. She asserts that “hospitality is not for the called or gifted. It’s not for the gregarious extroverts with huge houses and overflowing bank accounts. And it’s not for the people with angelic children, respectable roommates, or perfect marriages … Hospitality is for everyone.”
Biblical hospitality, according to Verner, is a privilege offered to those of us who have already been invited into God’s Kingdom. He invited us, so we invite others.
And it doesn’t have to be as complicated as most of us make it. A heart open to the Holy Spirit’s leading is all it takes. God can use a simple meal, a messy house, or some space for spontaneity in our calendar to bring us into community with those around us.
I found Verner’s application of the Good Samaritan parable delightfully refreshing. She points out that the Samaritan who stopped to help the wounded traveler did not go out of his way to find someone to serve; instead, he came alongside one already on his path. Biblical hospitality can be as simple as noticing those on the roads we already travel.
Verner also challenges the notion that those who go on missions are somehow more “holy” than those who stay. “While some of us may be led to move, go, and pledge ourselves to other lands, most of us are tasked with the mission to stay.” She demonstrates how those who remain in one place long enough to grow roots are uniquely poised to foster community.
As an introvert, I especially appreciated the chapter on solitude and how times of refreshment and reflection before the Lord serve to fuel our service to others.
Every Christ-follower in the North American church should read this book. Reclaiming the art of hospitality is imperative for reaching those around us and for experiencing genuine community.
Invited combines vignettes from Verner’s personal experiences with other cultures, fresh applications of the Scriptures, and practical tips for making hospitality reachable. The tone is nurturing and—you guessed it—inviting. Even to those of us who cringe at the thought of throwing a party.
In a world where we’re more connected than ever, the majority of people feel alone. How can that be? In this book, Leslie reminds us of the importance of hospitality, especially in our artificially connected world. She also points out that hospitality doesn’t mean perfection, it just means loving other people well. I especially love the section she includes at the back of the book with ideas of simple ways to show hospitality. For anyone who wants to create a stronger community and wants to love others well, this book is for you!
“You do hospitality anyway, God seemed to say. You do it in the stress and the mess and the raisins smashed into the carpet. You do it when you’re hollering over three preschoolers telling knock-knock jokes with no punchline and talking about poop and pee at the table. You do it when your children throw tantrums and blatantly disobey you in front of your friends and family. You do it because doing life together means not hiding behind closed doors but inviting people into your actual life. And your actual life is not pretty. It’s not organized, perfect, or pristine. You do it because I am a hospitable, generous God and because Jesus was a model of serving despite inconveniences. You invite because I invited you, and you welcome because the Bible says you may well bring angels in disguise into your home. And you invite because when you invite, you are inviting me.” ~ Leslie Verner