What Happens When We Give People What They Don’t Need?

I recently read about a group of church ladies who have weekly “crafternoons” (cute) when they create original wreaths for front doors. Flower wreaths for the spring. Evergreen wreaths for the winter.

What threw me was that this is a mission for unhoused neighbors. To be clear: they are making front door wreaths for people who don’t have front doors.

Q: What happens when we give people what they don’t need?

A: Lots of things, including people leaving organizations in which they once participated regularly.

Church would be one of those organizations. HH and I will be looking for a new church in the coming months and our hope is that we will connect with a church that gives us the spiritual nurture we need so that we (and the rest of the congregation) can offer what our neighbors need.

What we will not need:

• Homiletical explanations on why Jesus could have been crucified on a Thursday instead of a Friday. (We don’t care.)
• Social justice conversation groups that make us smarter but don’t change things that need to be changed.
• Bible studies without any practical spiritual inspiration.
• People who bicker, especially about things Jesus didn’t die for.
• Of course: Congregations that don’t address what breaks God’s heart in the neighborhood.

We love all kinds of music, all kinds of people, all kinds of architecture. We hope to find people with whom we can be messy and imperfect. We particularly love people who are easy to laugh and cry with.

I share this not as a request for identifying potential congregations in Our Nation’s Capital (where we are moving in a few days) but to remind so many congregations I love that nobody needs what many of our churches are offering.

• Nobody needs a congregation of people who gossip or slam each other behind their backs.
• Nobody needs a Bible study that never challenges what we have always believed/teaches us anything new.
• Nobody needs a gorgeous sanctuary with beautiful people who are ashamed to share their real lives with each other.
• Nobody needs another bake sale or car wash to “help the needy” when we won’t even offer a ride to a neighbor who needs a lift to the hospital.
• Nobody needs a wreath when they have no door, especially when we have the opportunity to help them find a home with a door.

Just as we regularly evaluate our church staffs (preferably both paid and volunteer) it’s helpful – also – to evaluate the impact of our congregations in terms of the congregation and community’s spiritual health. Is our congregation offering what anybody needs? Things like authentic community, security, inspiration, moments of awe, opportunities for life-changing service? In this wild and often infuriating world, this is what people need – whether we admit it or not. One day most of us will look for these things.