Beware of Toxic Affection: Not Every Hug is an Expression of Love

  The church I grew up in had a strange habit: Whenever a prospective new convert was introduced, members would virtually smother that person with affection. They would say repeatedly how much they love the person and would shower him or her with gifts, favors, and other tokens of affection that most of us reserve for people we know well. All of this was done to make the new person feel welcomed and part of the family…and it continued unabated as long as the prospective convert showed interest