This summer, the teachers read a book entitled Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More than They Expect. We discussed it during inservice at our retreat, and it led to some fruitful conversation.
Hospitality affords us the opportunity to honor the image of God in other people. For instance, God expects for church leaders to be hospitable because people are important…inherently. Author Will Guidara argues that gift givers act out of a sort of selfishness, as it’s actually really fun to bless (my word, not his) others. As Christians, we recognize that this is owning to the inherent value that humans possess, as well as the way that God has wired the universe.
The book resonated with our teaching team because we already believed that people were important, and Guidara’s articulation of the notion as well as the success that he and his team enjoyed at Eleven Madison Park were a testament to how God blesses those who behave consistently with biblical principles.
While not everything transfers from the restaurant industry to our context of classical and Christian education, a lot of the principles do transfer. These were some takeaways for me.
- Hospitality is about connecting with people, and people are valuable inherently as bearers of God’s image.
- Hospitality does not need to be expensive, but it does require attention. The most impactful gestures are bespoke.
- When you’re at the point that others can count on your hospitality so much that they may either take it for granted, or even take advantage of it, then you’re getting closer to the sort of hospitality that God expects.
- As a school, a spirit of hospitality should touch everything, from receiving guests to parent communication, to the appropriate honor we show to each student.
This all means that while we have a lot to be encouraged about, we still have a lot of work to do.
This is not about marketing the school; it’s about honoring our people. That is both obedient and fun. And where you have suggestions as to how we can exercise greater hospitality, please don’t hesitate to let us know. And maybe check out the book, too.
The U.H.
Jonathan Sarr