Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
169th out of 187 books
—
59 voters
Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition
Although hospitality was central to Christian identity and practice in earlier centuries, our generation knows little about its life-giving character. Over the past three hundred years, understandings of hospitality have shrunk to entertainment at home and to the hospitality industry's provision of service through hotels and restaurants. But for most of the history of the...more
Paperback, 218 pages
Published
August 3rd 1999
by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
472)
Several months ago, my friend Katie mentioned in passing the book Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition. Somehow, despite the dry name and dated cover, I was intrigued, committing the title to memory.
After all, I’ve recently been contemplating covenant relationships. In Christian circles, I've often heard the term used to describe marriage: Unlike a contract that can be broken, marriage—like God’s relationship with us—is an unconditional promise, something that lasts even...more
After all, I’ve recently been contemplating covenant relationships. In Christian circles, I've often heard the term used to describe marriage: Unlike a contract that can be broken, marriage—like God’s relationship with us—is an unconditional promise, something that lasts even...more
so far so good. this is is being read by our entire community as we explore how to practice hospitality to our neighbors in a way that pleases God, blesses others, and is sustainable. it's a challenging and exciting set of questions to wrestle with... even more so when put into practice!
A great book on hospitality in the Christian tradition, spoiled only by the subtle flavors of a trendy leftism. Other than that, the book stays on course well. The four main thinkers Pohl appeals to for hospitality are John Chrysostom, John Calvin, John Owen, and John Wesley, which was surprising, but refreshing. It seems to me she was a little too enthusiastic about the Catholic Worker/ascetic/monastic tradition for her own good. There's not really anything wrong with what she quotes them as sa...more
Very good help here. Nicely written. Wisely qualified. The author has actual experience, too, with serious hospitality work. The book is full of interesting tidbits along the way. Here's one:
"Chrysostom himself had an important role in developing these differentiated institutions of care. In Homily 66 on Matthew, he described the work of the church at Antioch. Though not wealthy, the church cared for three thousand widows and virgins daily, and, in addition, cared for those in prison, sick, and...more
"Chrysostom himself had an important role in developing these differentiated institutions of care. In Homily 66 on Matthew, he described the work of the church at Antioch. Though not wealthy, the church cared for three thousand widows and virgins daily, and, in addition, cared for those in prison, sick, and...more
Before I read this book last year, I thought that "hospitality" meant treating people nice when they came over to visit. Pohl opened my mind to the history of true Christian hospitality and its centrality in both Scripture and the early Christian church. She also details why the practice and even the definition of the word have gotten confused over church history. In the process of examining what historical and current Christian movements have done to recover the practice of hospitality, she beg...more
This book is not a page-turner, but is relatively easy to digest and offers a compelling exploration of and argument for hospitality as a Christian tradition. In many ways, I was not surprised to read and learn about hospitality in terms of providing welcome and care for the stranger, and yet I so often think of hospitality as inviting friends over for dinner. Pohl makes clear that entertaining friends is not outside the realm of hospitality, but that the Christian tradition of hospitality is so...more
This is a book for the EXTREME PRACTITIONER. This is not for the casual reader. This doesn't mean it is packed with heavy theology...actually quite the opposite. But there is no point to read this book unless you recognize that God calls us to a life of servant hospitality. I challenge you to read it....you will be stretched.
This book is a thought-provoking journey into the history of Christian hospitality--how it has gone from being an integral part of Christian faith and pratice to where it is now alien to many Christians--at least those in modern societies. Read it and you too will long for the recovery of historic Christian hospitality.
High quality work from one of my favorite professors! Dr. Pohl's mission in this book is to help recover the idea and language of hospitality in the Church today. She reveals that hospitality is less about entertaining people and more about "making room" in ourselves for others. It is "simply love in action." She begins by laying the Biblical and historical foundations for her argument before moving on to her own considerations, filled with examples from her own experience, conversations with o...more
This book is informative, insightful, and balanced. Pohl confronts the fears and very real dangers associated with practicing "biblical hospitality" in present-day culture, but she also offers a glimpse of the myriad ways this practice is being reclaimed within various communities, and offers ideas about how to nurture hospitality in the reader's home, church and/or community.
Great, challenging and thorough. Hospitality as not just having your friends round, but reaching out, especially to those on the fringes, those who are outsides and who need it most
Wonderful overview of Christian hospitality as practiced through the centuries which is based love for the hurting not entertainment for the privileged.
Reads like someone's research paper that gives principles for modern day hospitality. Probably the beat part was the historic overview of hospitality in the church and how it changed over time. A few good tips were set but sadly it feels virtually impossible to recover this once ancient practice. People are just too isolated. Hence it seems to argue we should recover using church facilities to extend temporary lodging to people. A noble suggestion but many church buildings function for administr...more
Aug 02, 2011
Tyler Hartford
added it
Working on a series of sermons on Hospitality - good read to help center the discussion
very encouraging! Need to have more people over to our house!
Focused more on communal living, experimental communities. Good info on hospitality as part of liturgy historically, but not what I was hoping for as far as how it might look in my environment.
This book makes some valuable points about how hospitality has become depersonalized and tends to reinforce existing definitions of who's in and who's out, even among Christians. But when it comes to application, the author has little to direction to offer, apart from a dim consciousness that Christian hospitality should be politically subversive. The book also suffers from vague and laborious writing, which seems driven by undeclared leftist sensibilities as much as by specific theology.
Nov 14, 2010
Byron Harrison
marked it as to-read
From Emma
We have always practiced hospitality but the Holy Spirit is using this book to help guide us in broadening that circle of welcome to strangers. I'm still not sure exactly how to do that, even after reading the book, but my heart is totally there. Very excited about what God has been changing in our lives and how this book will help us grow even more.
Although somewhat repetitive, this book was still a very important read. I definitely needed to read about many of the things she had to say, because there is much to be learned about shaping your heart in a way that will open yourselves to others and be used to share Jesus with others as well as experience Him at your door. Wonderful words in here.
loved, loved this book. Not about making cookies and having a clean home (nothing wrong with cookies, btw) but about making room in your life for the marginalized and stranger. Doesn't offer too many practical solutions but by reviewing the historical precedents of hospitality in the church, challenges our current notions of private space, etc.
Odd that this was required reading for my capstone course as a youth ministry major at Simpson, but I loved it. It is SO IMPORTANT to know and practice the principles as Christians and human beings in the world today. Christine Pohl also includes a remarkable history of the practice of Hospitality.
An outstanding look at both the practice and theology of hospitality as a core if not essential Christian practice. It is challenging in its mandate but permission-giving as well in its acknowledgment that we need healthy boundaries to maintain our identity.
I gave up in the second chapter. I just could not get into it. Maybe I'm not scholarly enough or the wrong audience, but I am looking for for a basic history and a practical how to. Not this book.
I used this book to write a paper on hospitality and mission. This is the Book That Everyone Else Quotes From. It's a thorough introduction to the Christian practice of hospitality.
One of the better reads on hospitality- it's not about tea parties, it's about loving people.
Killing me slowly. This book could have been about a chapter long.
1 like · like · see review
May 19, 2013
Kim
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Katie Shultz
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Christine D. Pohl is Associate Provost and Professor of Church and Society/Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, where she has taught since 1989. She received a B.S. in Special Education at Syracuse University, 1972; a M.A. in Theological Studies, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1986; and a Ph.D. in Ethics and Society at Emory University, 1993. She is best known...more
More about Christine D. Pohl...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/episode/20...
Nov 21, 2010 11:35am