Carl Medearis, author and international expert in the field of Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations, joins Justin Rossow to talk about the risks and adventure of extending and receiving hospitality in this episode of the Next Step Podcast. This whole season is dedicated to the resource Come, Holy Spirit daily discipleship travel log for Easter to Pentecostfrom Next Step Press.

Following a brief introduction, Carl and Justin will talk about experiencing hospitality in the Middle East and in America, and about how Jesus both expressed and went beyond first-century, Middle Eastern hospitality. In the course of the conversation, Carl brings up Conrad Gempf's book Mealtime Habits of the Messiah.Carl's encouragement is that you take a small risk and extend or accept an invitation for getting together for food and conversation; Jesus doesn't need us to be in charge of extending his Kingdom, but we also are invited to experience that Kingdom at work through us.

Carl has published several influential books you might find helpful in training your thinking for taking a small next step in the area of hospitality, including

• Adventures in Saying Yes: A Journey from Fear to Faith;
• 42 Seconds: The Jesus Model for Everyday Interactions; and my personal favorite,
• Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism.

(Using the paid links above supports the mission of Next Step Press).

Next Step Press author and founder Justin Rossow prepared sermon and Bible study notes for Carl's 42 Seconds book. These resources are available for free download through the Next Step Press Patreon page.

For an in-depth study of the conceptual metaphors in Speaking of Jesus, see the three-blog series that begins with "Outreach and Warfare," or for a perspective from the pulpit, see "How Speaking of Jesus Changed My Preaching."

If you enjoyed Car's story about accepting hospitality from a Hezbollah leader, you will probably want to check out this video from a Michigan District pastors conference.

Hospitality hinges on the boundary of IN vs OUT, so this video from Justin Rossow on "Jesus at the Leading Edge" from the same Michigan District pastors conference also fits our theme well.

This episode was supported in part by the generosity of Next Step Patrons, a fun and easy way to support the mission and ministry of Next Step Press. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep, or email justin@findmynextstep.org to make a one-time gift. Patrons make it possible.

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