The Hospitality of God: Discovering and Living Kingdom Hospitality

By Caleb Camp

Hospitality has been practiced by the people of God dating back through the entire Old Testament (Consider Abraham and Lot). Today, many of those practices are still in place throughout much of the Middle East. God, however, has called the whole church to participate in Kingdom hospitality. In fact, it is an integral part of the culture of the Kingdom of God.

Kingdom hospitality encompasses much more than simply hosting people out of the kindness of our hearts. This book is a journey into the heart, attitude and mindset of the hospitality of God and the beginning of a life of Kingdom hospitality.

Through an exploration of Scripture, culture and calling, you'll discover the beauty of Kingdom hospitality and its importance in the expression of our Christian faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512785050

Caleb Camp

About Caleb Camp After bumping into Jesus through an amazing hospitality encounter, Caleb Camp has enjoyed a variety of life experiences (church ministry, university teaching and cross-cultural living) that have continued to teach him about Kingdom hospitality. Since 2010, Caleb and his family have lived in Turkey where God continues to bless and teach them how central hospitality is to the Christian faith.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 CALEB CAMP.

Cover design credit – Ain Vares

www.ainvaresart.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-8504-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8506-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8505-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017906825

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/09/2017

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

My Story

Section 1 Kingdom Hospitality

Chapter 1 What Is Hospitality?

Chapter 2 The Father’s Hospitality

Chapter 3 Our Call To Hospitality

Chapter 4 Biblical Examples Of Hospitality

Section 2 Integrating Hospitality

Chapter 5 The Good Samaritan

Chapter 6 Paradigm Shifts

Section 3 The Fruit Of Hospitality

Chapter 7 Hospitality: What Does It Look Like?

Chapter 8 What Now?

Endnotes

ENDORSEMENTS

From crime to drug dealers, to Turkey, to life in Christ—Caleb Camp does an awesome job detailing what the body of Christ can be. As the family of God, we have an exciting call to express the hospitality of God and be the family that millions of lonely people are looking for. I have a sense that this book will become the training manual that churches everywhere will want their small groups to use.

—Jason Peebles

President, World Outreach Ministries, Inc.

Don’t read books that make you feel good about casually living for Christ. Read books that bring you into the painful conviction that you need to get a bigger heart and a bigger life if you’re going to run with Jesus. Caleb Camp’s book is just such a read: it shows the power of practicing divine hospitality. As a writing theologian, teaching professor, and preaching pastor, I have to read to lead. This book has been a good read, and I will recommend it to any who come within the realm of my influence.

—Dr. Rodrick Durst

Author of Reordering the Trinity

Professor of Theology at Gateway Seminary

In an insightful and humbly self-revealing way, Caleb Camp shines fresh light on the richer dimensions of hospitality. In sin, we are lost and wounded strangers, but the hospitality of God takes us in, kindly comforts us, and generously heals us. Camp helps us capture this profound equation between Kingdom hospitality and divine grace and inspires us to practice it. Read this book, view hospitality through Caleb Camp’s lens, and let your kindness to strangers be enriched and energized.

—Bob Lawler

Pastor and Teacher, Mission Catalyst for the Redwood Empire Baptist Association

As the perception of the Christian faith is increasingly one of irrelevance, Caleb Camp points us to a practice that is perhaps the most powerful strategy for sharing the gospel in a hostile culture: hospitality! He points out that this is not a new strategy; it was the primary strategy of new believers in the Book of Acts. As he takes us through the pages of scripture, he also expands our definitions in striking and challenging ways. In a country where the automatic garage door has largely snuffed out the dying embers of hospitality, this is a powerful and timely call to rethink our lives and respond to Jesus’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

—Jonathan Markham, MDIV

Pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship, Pacifica, CA

"I am ashamed to say that I have been a Christian for over thirty years, and I have never read a book or heard a message on biblical hospitality. The Hospitality of God rocked me to my spiritual core. After reading the book and hearing Caleb Camp speak, I was under heavy conviction to reexamine my own life and evaluate how I assumed I was supposed to look and act as a Christian. This is a must-read for all Christians who desire to go deeper in their walk with Christ and who desire to live out their faith and not simply be satisfied with being a plastic Christian. We are living in a day and age where the church is hiding from the culture. We must get bold and not allow the culture to influence us; the church must rise up and transform and restore it! One of the tools we can use to accomplish this is utilizing the gift of hospitality. The message of hospitality is strong but biblically sound. Caleb Camp is a gifted communicator, and his passion for reaching the lost and the hurting flows through the pages of his manuscript."

—Dr. Jay McCurry

Author of Lead like a King

Superintendent, Liberty Christian School

"In a world that is becoming increasingly more entitled and self-absorbed, Caleb Camp’s The Hospitality of God is the church’s call to answer the question, Who is my neighbor? Caleb causes us to rethink the impact that Kingdom hospitality has on a world that is searching for something real and relational. If you want to begin changing the world, read this book and then make what you read in these pages a lifestyle."

—Mark Moore

Church Planter

Pastor, the New Covenant Church of Ephesus

The books that influence me the most are a balanced blend of a fresh perspective on a body of knowledge given credibility by a lifestyle that models the information discussed. Hospitable relationships are a foundation of ministry, especially cross-cultural ministry, and I have observed Caleb Camp and his family living daily the truths discussed in this book. This book is a fresh look at a subject that we all need to be reminded is mixed with the fruit of the Spirit to give our lives meaningful and successful ministries.

—Dr. Allan Karr

Author of Church Inside Out and

The Wholehearted Church Planter

Professor of Church Planting at Gateway Seminary

"Caleb Camp has written a unique and much-needed book on the hospitality of God as not something He does, but something that is part of His nature. To my knowledge, I know of no other book that adequately addresses an important subject within the theological corpus on the nature of God as does The Hospitality of God."

—Keith J. Miller, DMin

Pastor of Missio Dei Fellowship, Westminster, CO

Caleb and his wife, Lydia, have given their everything to follow Christ. It is only fitting that he would write a book on a topic that would require just that. Expect this book to challenge you, but even better, to amaze you by the reminder that God is the most gracious host of all.

—Robert Krumrey

Church Planter

Lead Pastor, MERCYhouse, Amherst, MA

This book is dedicated to the motley crew of believers that welcomed me into their group in Stillwater, Oklahoma, back in 1999. Without their hospitality, I’m not sure where I’d be today. I’m eternally grateful for you all and the impact you let Christ have through you!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my appreciation to several groups and individuals for making this book possible.

First, I thank my Papa God for showing me such incredible hospitality that I couldn’t resist His great love for me; without it, I’m certain that I wouldn’t be here today. His love is full of grace and mercy, which is what I have always needed to face life. Thank you for being a good Father.

Next, I want to thank my wife for her love and support—not just for the writing of this book, but for choosing to walk through this life with me no matter what. Her passion and pursuit of God constantly challenge and encourage me in the right direction. She is a true gift and another great expression of Papa God’s hospitality toward me.

I want to thank Ain Vares for his incredible generosity in not only letting me use some of his artwork for the cover of my book, but also taking it a step further and designing the whole thing! His work is beautiful and amazing, and it communicates the heart of God.

To those who read through early manuscripts and offered your feedback, thank you! Pastor Mark Wilson, Dr. Jay McCurry, Dr. Tom Westbrook, Dr. Keith Miller, Dr. Allan Karr, Dr. Rick Durst, Jason Peebles and Pastor Carl Reimer—your feedback was both helpful and useful. Also, my initial editors, Lynnette Brent and Darrell Cocup, offered insight and direction to make the text more concise and easier to read.

There have also been many individuals and churches that have invested greatly in my life, some through prayer, some through encouragement, and many quite literally through finances. Much of what we do in our life is directly dependent on your friendship, partnership, and prayer. Thank you for believing in God in me and fleshing out for me what it means to be connected to the body of Christ.

Finally, I want to thank my Turkish friends for challenging my concepts of hospitality just by