82 - Hospitality, Loneliness, & Inviting People In (feat. Leslie Verner)

Are we living in especially lonely times? What does ‘hospitality’ mean? How could extending invitations change the way we live? We’re joined by Leslie Verner, author of Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness to talk about all of this and more. In the intro, Robert and Holly talk about their own experiences with hospitality, their favorite ice cream flavors, and why hospitality has a special place in Robert’s family.

Things we mention in this episode/other resources:
- Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo & William Patrick
- Lonely at the Top: The High Cost of Men's Success by Thomas Joiner
- CXMH episode 63 - Uncluttering Our Spaces, Our Schedules, & Our Lives (feat. Courtney Ellis)
- more about the Individualism Index

Connect with Leslie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or on her website. Buy Invited on Amazon.

Quotes:
- “What would it look like if we, in Western society, were to start practicing hospitality the way I’ve seen it practiced in other cultures?” (tweet)
- “The Greek word for ‘hospitality’ [in the Bible] means ‘love of strangers.’” (tweet)
- “We often don’t realize we have a culture until we’re out of our culture.” (tweet)
- “Our churches often do reflect our culture more than they reflect the way that the Bible intended our communal life together to look.” (tweet)
- “Other people are lonely too, and they mostly just want to be invited.” (tweet)

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Connect with Holly on her website or Twitter.

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Intro/Outro music for this episode is ‘Fall Down’ by Rivers & Robots.