During the days before Christmas I read a business book that absolutely captivated me. Danny Meyer's book, Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business is the most inspiring and challenging book for my thinking about leadership and the church since I read Jim Collins' Good to Great.
What was so inspiring? That Meyer, a restaurant owner, was speaking my language. Hospitality is the language of the true Christian community. And building and leading Christian Communities as place of welcome and witness to the presence of God's Kingdom as been my life work.
What was so challenging? That Danny Meyer explains the nuts and bolts, the competency and conviction, the power and the indeed, the PROFIT of hospitality better than I ever have. As I read the book, I kept thinking. "Oh man, he has figured out how to make money offering people the experience of what the church is supposed to give for free!"
So, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that one of my next blog series would be on the "Transforming Power of Hospitality". I wanted to take the lessons so articulated from Meyer and apply them to the place where we welcome people in the name of God to the feast for all of creation.
Then after reading, thinking, even doing some training of my staff on the concept, I got the chance to experience some good old fashioned "old world" hospitality last weekend when I traveled to Danzante Eco Resort in Baja, California. Not only was the place beautiful, remote, restful and restorative, but the owners Mike and Lauren Farley are calm, attentive and a caring hosts. 
They enjoyed us as guests, told great stories (Mike worked for Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins) and encouraged each guest to truly make the most of their stay. They epitomized everything that I had been reading and thinking about.
Danzante Eco Resort is a wonderful, magical place nestled in a simple fishing village on a beautiful bay (See "Baja" photo album at right). Mike and Lauren are Americans whose lives are given over to enjoying and enhancing the lives of their friends and neighbors.
In the days ahead I am going to share some reflection on the "principles" that I have been re-learning from Meyer's book and experienced first hand from two new American friends and a village of Mexican people. My prayer is that some day, the church (starting with my own) would recover the simple, divinely-inspired vocation that is the 'transforming power of hospitality'.
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