There are times when the need for specific details within scripture makes perfect sense to us. For instance, Abraham received them and offered hospitality to three strangers who were passing by. Cool, but so what. Well, they turned out to be messengers from God bringing he and Sarah the blessing of family and the birth of Israel. Or that some strange priest in Midian had seven daughters. It means nothing until Moses, who is on the run from Egypt, saves their lives and their herds at a well which results in him being received by their father the priest, getting a wife, a safe place to hide out and his father-in-law's herd which eventually wondered off to a mountain on which Moses saw a burning bush and got a mission from God that changed everything! Then there are the times that the need for specific detail within scripture jump up and grab us right from the "get go". Take the strange Samaritan women that Jesus encounters at Jacob's well. Not only was she a stranger, she was the wrong kind of folk from the wrong kind of people, but it was by Christ receiving her and at her invitation to receive others that her whole town came to know Jesus as Lord. And then there was the stranger Paul, known by the disciples only by his acts of cruelty and hate for Christians. This stranger, this vicious enemy was received by the disciples, commissioned by them and became the world's greatest voice for Christ!
Christian hospitality, as given to us in the Bible, is the sacred process of receiving outsiders and changing them from strangers to guests. Around BUMC we do that in many different ways, but the most obvious and intentional way we do that is through the Andrew Ministry. The Andrew Ministry, People Making Connections, is all about receiving those who feel like outsiders and helping them move from strangers to guests. It is a ministry of true biblical hospitality that seeks to remove any barrier, real or perceived, that a visitor might encounter that could potentially stand in the way of them having a meaningful experience with God through Christ at BUMC. There is a place waiting for you in this great ministry. Call or contact me at jwilson@bumc.net or 373-3663. Blessings, Jeff Pastor of Connectional Ministries