Several years ago, while serving on staff at a church, our pastor issued a challenge to the entire staff. For the next four Sundays, we were to invite someone to lunch after church. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, there was a catch. We couldn’t just invite our friends or someone we already knew. We had to invite someone we didn’t know, preferably a guest visiting our church that morning.
The instructions were simple. Throughout the morning, we were to be watching and looking for someone to invite. My wife and I took the challenge seriously. As we walked through the church hallways, we found ourselves quietly asking each other, “What about that couple?” or “Do you think they’re visiting?” Suddenly, we weren’t just walking through the church trying to get where we needed to go. We were actually looking for people we didn’t know!
Then Came the Interruption
About midway through the morning, my wife and I were walking toward the worship center when she spotted a couple she recognized from the Guest Center. She knew they were visiting, and before they could disappear into the crowd, we caught up with them.
After introducing ourselves and exchanging a few pleasantries, we invited them to lunch. To our delight, they accepted! Their names were Larry and Bobbie, and little did we know that this simple invitation would become the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
Lunch started much like you might expect when four people who don’t know each other sit down together. There were the usual questions about where everyone lived, family, church, and other bits of small talk. Nothing terribly exciting, just four people trying to get acquainted without running out of things to say.
Then, somewhere in the middle of our conversation, Larry mentioned that he had served in the Navy when he was just 19 years old. He began telling us a story about the aircraft carrier he served on and how his ship had once responded to help another carrier following a devastating explosion and fire.
That ship in distress was the USS Forrestal.
The moment Larry mentioned the name, my ears perked up. I knew that ship! One of my closest friends, someone I had served alongside on a church staff for nine years, had been aboard the USS Forrestal during that terrible disaster. Over the years, he had shared his experiences and memories of that event with me many times.
I couldn’t believe the connection. I began telling Larry about my friend and his experience aboard the Forrestal. Suddenly, the small talk was over. We had discovered a connection neither of us could have imagined when we first sat down for lunch.
The entire conversation changed. What began as an awkward lunch with strangers turned into a wonderful time of sharing stories, experiences, and memories. It was as though we had known each other for years.
And it all started with a simple invitation to lunch.
Hospitality Is Love in Action
I’ve thought about that Sunday many times since then. Larry and Bobbie had decided to visit our church because they had family members attending there. Other than their family, they really didn’t know anyone. Imagine what their morning must have been like. They drove onto an unfamiliar campus, parked their car, walked into a building filled with strangers, and wondered what to expect.
They probably hoped someone would smile, shake their hands, or make them feel welcome.
For whatever reason, my wife noticed them that morning. Maybe it was a friendly smile they shared as they walked down the hallway. Maybe it was simply because we were intentionally looking for someone who needed a little extra hospitality. Whatever the reason, four strangers ended up sitting around a lunch table getting to know one another.
Think about how easily we could have missed that opportunity. We could have walked right past them, offered a friendly hello, and continued on our way.
But hospitality often begins when we set aside our convenience long enough to notice someone else.
That Sunday, hospitality went beyond a smile and a handshake. It became love in action. We didn’t do anything extravagant. We didn’t spend a fortune, organize a special event, or develop some elaborate plan to make our guests feel welcome. We simply invited two people to share a meal with us.
And something wonderful happened.
Following that lunch, we invited Larry and Bobbie to join our Life Group at church. Over time, they became dear friends. What started as a challenge from our pastor grew into a relationship that meant far more than we could have imagined.
The Power of One Simple Action
I often talk about hospitality being the change our culture needs in a rude world. We live in a time when people can walk through crowded places surrounded by hundreds of others and still feel completely alone. They may be noticed, but are they really seen? They may be greeted, but do they feel valued?
That’s where hospitality has the opportunity to make a difference.
Being friendly is important. Smiling matters. Saying hello matters. But sometimes the greatest impact comes when we take that next step. Invite someone to lunch. Ask a new neighbor over for coffee. Make room at your table for someone who might otherwise eat alone. Include someone who doesn’t seem to have anyone to talk to.
It simply requires us to notice people and be willing to interrupt our own routines long enough to extend hospitality.
I can’t help but wonder how many friendships never begin because someone didn’t take that simple first step. How many people walk away from our churches, neighborhoods, workplaces, or social gatherings wishing someone had made a little extra effort to include them?
A simple invitation brought four strangers together and turned them into friends. That’s the power of hospitality.
So here’s my challenge to you. The next time you see someone you don’t know, don’t stop at just a friendly smile or hello. Consider taking one more step. It doesn’t have to be lunch. It could be something as simple as inviting them to sit with you, introducing them to a friend, or taking a few extra minutes to get to know them.
You never know what connection might be waiting on the other side of that simple action.
And you never know whose life might be changed because you chose to interrupt your day with a little hospitality.
That’s what The Interruption is all about.
