Gospel Hospitality

Will Randolph ('22)

As the sun crept down behind a fog covered tree line on a mid-October evening, I realized I had truly ended up in the middle of nowhere. I was sitting in a half-bent plastic chair, carefully placed in a row inside a wooden cabin with creaky floors and a boarded up fireplace, along with one hundred other exhausted college students. We had all arrived the night before at Camp Loucon, an isolated church camp in Grayson County that would serve as our home for the weekend. We had all gathered in this remote place for Sojourn College’s, the campus ministry for Sojourn Church, annual Fall Retreat. Our arrival at the campground was preceded by weeks of excitement and fanfare from upperclassmen who had made the trip before. As a freshman, I was eager to experience the respite and spiritual fulfillment that I had heard so much about. 

Shortly after our arrival, Our congregation sat and patiently waited for the band to start playing. After the music put us all in the mood for some divine inspiration we listened to the the evening's message. Justin Karl, one of Sojourn Church’s pastors, delivered the sermon titled Gospel hospitality. I wasn’t convinced that I needed a lesson in how to treat people (I am from Kentucky after all), but I listened to what he had to say. I regained my humility fairly quickly, as I realized that Justin had a much to say that I needed to hear. There were four main points that Justin Karl gave us that evening, and while I can’t do his words justice I feel compelled to share what I learned in that old wooden cabin at Camp Loucon. 

The first of those points was to be unassuming. In summary, “don’t flatter yourself with attention that you don’t deserve.” The analogy that Justin used, and the same one Jesus used, was to never seat yourself in the position of high honor at a dinner table. Chances are someone with a little more prestige will come along and you’ll be asked to move down. However, if you place yourself in a seat of low honor, you may find yourself being praised and moved on up to a seat of greater respect. I found this point of advice to be particularly valuable in a culture where attention is frequently sought. People constantly try to make themselves seem more important than they are, myself included. Our lives, and our world, would probably be a bit better if we all didn’t seek attention so often.

The second point of gospel hospitality is to accept any honor that is given to you. In other words, accept compliments when people offer them your way. This point may seem contradictory to the first, but taking compliments is different than flattering yourself. When someone is offering you a compliment, they are giving something valuable to you, and to deny that gift is to deny the giver the very joy that comes along with giving! I have found this especially hard to do, as I often see myself as undeserving of compliments. However, people typically find joy in complimenting others. If someone offers a compliment to you, they see something deserving in you and your actions. Looking at compliments in this way, instead of as a simple pleasantry to shrug off makes it much more rewarding to accept those honors. 

The third point might very well be the most important lesson of gospel hospitality, and its one that we have all heard plenty of times: practice humility. This dictum has been drilled into everyone’s head for so long that it can make it easy to ignore, but to do so would be irresponsible. Humility is a lifelong lesson. The way Justin Karl put it, humility means not looking down on others or thinking you are any better than somebody else. This does not mean you should deprecate yourself, but instead recognize that everyone is a human being worthy of respect. However, Humility is not shyness. Rather, it is the ability to listen well to others. I had never considered the listening aspect of humility, but it makes sense. By listening to what others have to say instead of self-embellishing, you place their need to be heard over you own selfish desire to speak; and a concern for others above yourself is really what humility is about. 

The final point of gospel hospitality is to never expect repayment for kindness that you do for others. This point has been the hardest for myself to practice, because when I give to another person I feel like they should give in return. This shouldn’t be surprising because we live in a transaction-based society- a favor given is a favor owed. But this outlook on life is selfish. Life is not about you, it is about what you can do for others, so do and give for others and never expect anything in return. I bet you will find yourself feeling rewarded and fulfilled. 

I left Sojourn’s Fall Retreat feeling refreshed and emboldened by the insight of gospel hospitality, and with a conviction that if I can embrace these four points, I can truly make a difference in my interactions with others. I hope that you, dear reader, will share with me in that conviction

Will Randolph of Franklin, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2022. He studies political science at the University of Louisville.