Christian hospitality is about people and relationships, not just spaces. It goes beyond opening our homes or extending invitations—it’s about cultivating a posture of welcome that reflects God’s presence and generosity wherever we go.
Laura Baghdassarian Murray (DMin, Fuller Seminary) is the director of spiritual engagement and innovation at Fuller Seminary's Center for Spiritual Formation. She is the author of Pray as You Are, serves on the Ministry Collaborative Advisory Board, and previously served at Highland Park Presbyterian Church as the pastor of spiritual formation. Laura is also the founder of the Digital Silent Retreat Ministry, which is rooted in the practice of hospitality to provide brave and courageous spaces for people to connect with God and others.
Dr Laura Murray - Fuller Seminary
Dr Laura Murray - IVPress
Book: Becoming a Person of Welcome
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- Extending the Welcome and Hospitality that We Have Receive from God
- Embodying Hospitality and Being an Example
- Hospitality in Different Context
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Laura Baghdassarian Murray (DMin, Fuller Seminary) is the director of spiritual engagement and innovation at Fuller Seminary's Center for Spiritual Formation. She is the author of Pray as You Are, serves on the Ministry Collaborative Advisory Board, and previously served at Highland Park Presbyterian Church as the pastor of spiritual formation. Laura is also the founder of the Digital Silent Retreat Ministry, which is rooted in the practice of hospitality to provide brave and courageous spaces for people to connect with God and others.
RELATED LINKS:
- Dr Laura Murray - Fuller Seminary
- Dr Laura Murray - IVPress
- Book: Becoming a Person of Welcome
TIMESTAMPED SHOWNOTES:
00:38 - Introducing Dr Laura Murray
04:35 - Book - Becoming a Person of Welcome: The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality
05:11 - Definition of Hospitality
05:32 - ...welcome, internal and external
07:36 - ...external protected space
08:13 - ...internal protected space
08:26 - ...God calls Israel to remember her stranger status
10:56 - Growing Up in a Culture of Hospitality
11:47 - ...fluid in hospitality / expectation of visitors
12:58 - ...generosity / guests receives more
13:15 - ...as a child growing up, hospitality can be difficult
14:31 - Product of Two Cultures
17:34 - Extending the Welcome and Hospitality that We Have Receive from God
19:30 - Feeling Welcome and Belongingness in Church
20:38 - ...feeling seen and wanted
20:57 - ...feeling safety and security
21:18 - ...being connected to other people's stories and be themselves
24:56 - How Church Leadership Can Embody Hospitality and Be an Example
25:31 - ...leadership needs to be secure in their own welcome that God has for them
27:07 - ...remembering stranger status
27:20 - ...protections and holding values of the church
27:41 - ...difference between belonging and fitting in
29:31 - Hospitality in the Digital Space
33:36 - Hospitality in the Workplace, While Running Errands, or With Strangers
34:07 - ...slowing down
34:54 - ...noticing
35:43 - ...being curious about people's stories
36:20 - Doable Steps to Becoming More of a Person of Welcome
37:13 - What did the Holy Spirit tell you?
38:10 - Getting in touch with Dr Laura Murray and Finding her books
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