Abstract:
This study explores the way that ancient Near Eastern hospitality, as revealed in the
Bible, can inform and impact contemporary ecclesial welcome and inclusiveness, with specific
attention to inviting LGBTQQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning,
Intersex, and Asexual/Aromantic/Agender) persons into the life of local missional congregations.
The study was carried out through practical biblical analysis and empirical, qualitative research.
The study falls within the field of congregational studies specifically within Congregational
Development, i.e., “Gemeindeaufbau.” The thesis describes the biblical and cultural background
undergirding the ancient custom of Near Eastern hospitality and the way it was instituted among
the nomads and later codified among the Bedouins. These customs are then applied to a
contemporary, postmodern, context advocating for the hospitable welcome and inclusion of all
people in the life of local missional churches.
The question is “how can congregations that exhibit prejudice toward LGBTQQIA+ persons
overcome bias and discriminatory practices and become missionally holistic, hospitably welcoming and
inclusive?” The research problem is that numerous missional congregations fail to be hospitably
welcoming and inclusive, especially concerning persons of LGBTQQIA+ orientation. The reason for this
lack of inclusivity, stems from a lack of understanding of hospitality as a major biblical and theological
theme.
The answer to how congregations that exhibit prejudice toward LGBTQQIA+ persons
can overcome bias and discriminatory practices to become missionally holistic and inclusive,
may be found in an alternative biblical hermeneutic that creates a better understanding of the
principle of radical hospitality as a theological premise inherent within the Judeo-Christian
scriptures. Accomplishing this degree of reformational transformative change demands
intentionality by church leadership, specifically clergy who implement transformational change
within the congregational system.
A church can be authentically hospitable only if it engages in processes toward
discernment, achieving clarity about its identity, an absolute necessity in determining the
missional ethos of a local congregation. This study offers a paradigm from which congregations
can engage LGBTQQIA+ persons from an alternative biblical hermeneutical perspective. An
exegesis of specific biblical references reveals the various ways that biblical peoples, tribes, and
clans related to one another. Described as a detailed event in Genesis 18, hospitality then
emerges as a pervasive theological theme throughout the biblical narrative.
