Real quick, before we dive in, if you've enjoyed these little newsies about hospitality, I would be humbled and stoked if you sent it along to a friend or colleague. If someone sent this to you…click here to subscribe to join Ministry of Welcome.
Hey Beloved,
I spent some time rereading Making Room by Christine Pohl this weekend.
And one line stopped me:
“Practicing hospitality always involves risk and the possibility of failure, but there is greater risk and loss in neglecting hospitality.”
I felt conflicted.
And inspired.
Maybe because I have been living this for the past 15-plus months.
Being inventive with hospitality at sporting events, hosting retreats, and Unreasonable Hospitality Workshops.
Quietly pursuing a riverside lodge.
Believing in what it could become.
Getting close.
Watching it fall apart.
Wondering if I had failed.
And then, somehow, watching the opportunity find its way back again.
We are not there yet.
There is still risk.
There are still plenty of ways this whole thing may not work.
But even now, I can say this:
The pursuit has been worth it.
Because hospitality is risky.
Of course, the industry is risky.
Opening a restaurant.
Buying a lodge.
Building something new.
The margins can be thin.
The hours can be long.
And there are no guarantees it will work.
But I do not think Pohl is only talking about the hospitality industry.
She is talking about the posture.
The practice.
The pursuit.
Making room means opening something
A door.
A table.
A business.
A calendar.
A heart.
And whenever we open something, we give up a little control over what happens next.
Maybe nobody comes.
Maybe the invitation is not welcomed.
Maybe the care is not reciprocated.
Maybe the dream does not work.
Maybe the people we welcome make a mess of the room we prepared.
Hospitality can leave us hanging.
Because genuine hospitality is an offering.
Not a transaction.
There is no guarantee we will receive anything in return.
That is the risk.
But neglect has a cost too
We could protect ourselves.
Keep the door closed.
Make fewer invitations.
Dream smaller dreams.
Stop moving toward people.
And maybe we would experience less disappointment.
But we would also miss the redemptive and transformative work that happens when someone is welcomed with care, creativity, and intention.
We would miss the person who needed a seat at the table.
The guest who needed somewhere to rest.
The employee who needed to be noticed.
The neighbor who needed an invitation.
The friend who needed to be reminded they were not alone.
Hospitality risks the possibility that our welcome will not work.
Neglect guarantees there will be no welcome at all.
The pursuit is worth it
I do not know exactly where this lodge journey will lead.
But I know what the pursuit has already done in me.
It has required patience.
Hope.
Creativity.
Perseverance.
And a willingness to keep believing in what a place could become for the people who might one day enter it.
That is the thing about hospitality.
Before anyone walks through the door, someone has to believe the room is worth preparing.
The messiness is worth it.
The uncertainty is worth it.
Even the possibility of failure is worth it.
Because creating space for people who need to be reminded that they are beloved is important work.
Honorable work.
Noble work.
Not every invitation will be accepted.
Not every dream will succeed.
Not every act of care will be understood.
But neglect is not neutral.
Neglect is its own decision.
And often, the more costly one.
So, if you are opening a restaurant…
Pursuing a lodge…
Leading a team…
Setting a table…
Inviting a neighbor…
Or simply trying to move toward the person in front of you…
Thank you.
Thank you for taking the risk.
Thank you for making room.
Thank you for refusing to neglect hospitality in the places where you live, work, and play.
Keep opening the door.
The welcome is worth the risk.
With you in the pursuit,
Nathan 🧂
P.S. Hospitality can be risky, but it is worth it.
Having a little bit of a system and a toolkit to help you show up in the lives of those you serve, whether in your business or your neighborhood, is a worthy pursuit too.
Registration is live for our September 10 Hospitality OS workshop in Eugene.
