Wait a minute. That sounds a little too familiar!
Let’s be honest. There are plenty of people in our world today who seem to believe hospitality doesn’t work, or at least that it isn’t worth the effort. We see the evidence in the rude world we encounter every day. People are too busy, too distracted, or too wrapped up in their own lives to notice the people around them. Somewhere along the way, we seem to have forgotten that a little kindness can make a big difference.
That absence of hospitality in our culture is the very reason I created The Interruption. Something has to change. Our culture needs to change. And I believe hospitality is the change our culture needs in a rude world.
I have documented more than 30 real-life examples of hospitality in action, each one demonstrating how a simple act of kindness can change the space people occupy in this world. These aren’t just nice stories about nice people doing nice things. They are reminders that hospitality works!
And I’m not just talking about how it has changed the lives of others. Hospitality has changed my life, too.
Maybe I’m that slightly nerdy guy standing in the worship center at church, greeting every person who walks through the door with a smile and a hello. You know the guy. The one who acts like he’s running for mayor and needs every vote in the room! But here’s what I have discovered. When I intentionally change the space I occupy by making people feel seen, welcomed, and valued, something wonderful happens. That little space around me becomes a better place for everyone in it.
Sometimes I get to witness the difference immediately. Other times, I may never know what that smile, handshake, or kind word meant to someone. But I keep doing it because I believe it matters.
And sometimes, hospitality comes right back around and surprises you!
A Familiar Face in an Unfamiliar Place
Several years ago, my wife and I attended a worship service at a church where I was being considered for a full-time ministry position. We had never attended this church before, and we didn’t know anyone there.
Now, if you’ve ever walked into a church for the first time, you know the feeling. You’re trying to figure out where to go, where to sit, and whether you accidentally took somebody’s favorite pew. You smile at a few people, find a seat, and hope you don’t look too much like the new kids in school.
We found a couple of seats about halfway back in the worship center, right along the main aisle. As we waited for the service to begin, a gentleman was walking up the aisle, greeting people and welcoming them to church.
As he approached us, he extended his hand and said something like, “Thanks for being here today!” We shook hands, looked at each other, and suddenly both of us froze.
There was that familiar look. You know the one. Your brain is searching through about 25 years of stored memories, trying to figure out why this person looks so familiar! Then, almost simultaneously, we called each other by name.
“Gary?”
“Rick?”
Well, would you look at that!
We had not seen each other in more than 25 years! Back in the early 1990s, Gary and I had attended the same church. Now, after all those years, here we were, standing in the aisle of a church my wife and I had never visited before. What are the odds?
We spent a few minutes catching up, remembering old times, and enjoying the unexpected reunion. It was one of those wonderful moments when the years seem to disappear, and an old friendship picks right back up where it left off.
But the best part of the story was still to come.
Then Came the Interruption!
Gary could have shaken our hands, smiled, and said, “It sure is good to see you again!” Then he could have continued greeting people before returning to his seat. That would have been perfectly fine. We would have enjoyed seeing an old friend, and our morning would have been a little brighter.
But Gary did something more. He invited us to come sit with him and his wife, Carla.
Now, that may not sound like a life-changing invitation, but to two people sitting in an unfamiliar church, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, it meant a great deal. Suddenly, we weren’t strangers anymore. We had friends! We had someone to sit with, someone to worship with, and someone who made us feel like we belonged.
What a relief! We weren’t going to have to navigate this new experience all by ourselves.
We joined Gary and Carla, enjoyed the worship service together, and spent more time visiting afterward. What began as a Sunday morning visit to an unfamiliar church turned into a wonderful reunion with old friends. A few weeks later, I accepted the position and joined the church staff as a full-time minister.
I still remember that first visit and the difference Gary and Carla made in our experience. He wasn’t the pastor. He wasn’t a staff member assigned to welcome prospective ministers. He was simply a regular guy who was greeting people before church and happened to recognize an old friend.
So, When Does Hospitality Not Work?
When we keep it to ourselves.
When we notice someone who could use a little kindness but decide we’re too busy.
When we have an opportunity to make someone feel welcomed and valued but walk right past them.
That’s when hospitality never gets the chance to make a difference.
Gary had no idea that his simple interruption would become a story about hospitality more than 25 years later. He was just being Gary, showing kindness to a couple of old friends who happened to walk into his church that Sunday morning.
But his love in action made our day better. It changed the space we occupied, and it reminded us that we mattered.
That is the power of hospitality.
So, the next time you see someone standing alone, sitting by themselves, or walking into an unfamiliar place, remember Gary. Maybe all that person needs is a smile, a friendly hello, or an invitation to come sit with you.
You don’t need a title, a special assignment, or a hospitality training manual to make a difference.
You just need to be available, notice the opportunity, and be willing to interrupt your routine long enough to show someone that they matter.
Hospitality works. But first, somebody has to do it!
And that somebody might just be you.
The Interruption — Changing the space we occupy, one act of hospitality at a time.
