I believe that the church must be a place where people can experience close community, but should there be hugging in church? I’ll be bold enough to say, Yes, but obviously using wisdom about who you hug and how you do it! Regardless of your view on this issue, this article by Richard Mouw called, “Toward a Theology of Hugging” is pretty intriguing.
(HT: Z)
Life Together 
September 6, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Thanks for the link to this article; you’re right…it was intriguing. I agree that “maybe” church could be a place for hugging IF there are appropriate ground rules, but I’m not so sure that the breakdown of the American family is the primary reason why there are fewer family hugs. Nor do I feel entirely comfortable about “church family” hugs. In fact, the more I think about it, the less I like the idea. It’d be sort of like going to a family reunion and getting a smothering hug from someone obnoxious except that at church where everyone is supposed to “love one another,” you might not feel right about keeping your distance.
It’ll be interesting to see how this progresses.