Love People. Use Things. (A Reprise)

Congregations flourish when we love people and use things.

Congregations die when we use people and love things.

I wrote those words in 2016 in this post and as I leave for sabbatical, I’m mindful that the Church I love often confuses what we are suppose to love and what we are suppose to use. People are created in the image of God. Things are created as tools for ministry. Jesus died for people. Jesus didn’t die for things.

[Note: I thought I made up that quote about loving people but using things but actually lots of folks from Drake (the rapper) to Spencer Kimball (the LDS leader) to these people said it too.]

Ministry is exhausting when we love things more than people, and I’d love to tell you that This Never Happens In Faithful Churches. However, I’ve known too many congregations who loved their cemeteries, windows, steeples, pews, church playgrounds, communion sets, rose gardens, fencing, front doors, pulpits, choir robes, parlor furniture, and history more than they’ve loved people.

Please believe me when I tell you that thriving congregations are the ones who love the people. All. The. People. The broken ones. The pale ones. The brown and black ones. The poor ones. The ones who don’t smell good. The ones with addictions. The ones with dementia. The ones with cancer. The ones with crooked teeth. The ones with no teeth. The ones with perfect hair. The ones who get around in wheelchairs. The ones who drool. The ones who don’t speak our language. The ones who snore in worship. The ones who swear. The ones who are terminally cranky. The ones we hate.

Some of us are confused. We use people instead of love them.

• We use the one or two people of color in our white congregation to show that we are diverse.
• We use the wealthy members who bail us out when there’s a financial shortfall.
• We use the young families who are burdened with “our survival.”
• We use the church staff to do the things we’re all supposed to do (e.g. pray, visit the sick, study the Bible.)
• We use nice people to perpetuate our bullying behavior. (They’re too nice to stand up to us.)
• We use weak people to maintain our control. (See above.)

I’m profoundly grateful for the privilege of taking a sabbatical this summer and I hope to return with a fresh soul. In the throes of summer, I hope we’ll find our love for God’s people fills our souls. Because loving things more than people leaves us empty and exhausted – especially in church.