Mission as Hospitality: Imitating the Hospitable God in Mission

by Edward L. Smither

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2021

God is a missionary God. God is also hospitable in his nature. He makes his enemies friends and invites them to intimate communion. The mission of God in Scripture often occurs through hospitality when God's people encounter the not-yet people of God at table or in hospitable environments and invite them to believe. This motif of mission as hospitality plays out through the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and through the Eucharist. It can also be observed through the witness of monks and contemporary missionaries who embraced a hospitable approach to mission. For the church to participate in God's mission today, a vision to win, conquer, or change the world should be exchanged for a conviction to welcome the stranger and make room for others while proclaiming the gospel--that is, to imitate the hospitable God in mission.

Praise for Mission as Hospitality

“If hospitable mission is less about inviting others into our space where we are in charge and more about being vulnerable in the presence of others in their home venues, then Edward Smither calls followers of Jesus to the uncomfortable place of being guests in an unpredictable pluralistic commons. As God who so loved the world gave . . . so also does Mission as Hospitality invite our openhandedness and open-heartedness in embodying the redemptive love and justice of Jesus for others.”

—Amos Yong, Professor of Theology and Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary



“We are living in the midst of one of the greatest missionary moments in the history of the church, but is the church prepared for it? God is a missionary God, whose mission can be seen throughout the pages of the Bible and history. In Mission as Hospitality, Ed Smither reminds us that God’s mission is hospitable. In doing so, he offers the church a timeless approach to faithfully join in God’s mission today through hospitality that welcomes the stranger and makes room for others. Read it, digest it, use it!”

—Winfield Bevins, Director of Church Planting, Asbury Seminary, and author of Ever Ancient Ever New



“Far more than a strategy for mission, hospitality is a way of life that shapes Christian practices and embodies the welcome of God. Combining ancient insights with current examples, Smither invites readers to grasp the power, grace, and transformation that come as we understand and embrace mission as hospitality.”

—Christine D. Pohl, Professor Emerita, Asbury Theological Seminary, and author of Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition

Product Details

• Title: Mission as Hospitality: Imitating the Hospitable God in Mission
• Author: Edward L. Smither
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781725257337, 9781725257313, 1725257319, 9781725257320, 1725257327, 1725257335
• Resource ID: LLS:9781725257337
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-22T09:05:00Z

About Edward L. Smither

Edward L. Smither (PhD, University of Wales-Trinity Saint David; PhD, University of Pretoria) is professor and dean of intercultural studies at Columbia International University. He spent 14 years in intercultural ministry in North Africa, France, and the USA. His previous books include Missionary Monks, Mission in the Early Church, and Augustine as Mentor.