One segment of God’s family that needs to experience hospitality most acutely is that rarified group called pastors! They and their families might well be the loneliest people in our congregations. Preachers’ kids are often ostracized as “too holy” by association; pastors’ wives get exhausted running two households, God’s and their own; perhaps we assume the preacher gets quite enough of us all on Sundays.


Reluctance about getting close to the pastor’s family might rise from fear that our homes, our children’s behavior, or the effort to relax and be real just isn’t good enough. We dread offending or tarnishing the image we’ve crafted for ourselves.


Those who minister full-time desperately need fellowship. They love coming into our homes for dinner, interacting with our families. They thrive on our encouragement and welcome our feedback. They sometimes need a safe place to share their hearts, their hurts and their concerns. Most of all, they need a friend they can be genuine with. Might you be that friend?