Someone today asked me a question.

One of the mantras that I love to use when taking pot shots at church leadership, is that God’s heartbeat is for PEOPLE. In other words, when people are asked to serve in ANY capacity in ministry – even if it is dedicated towards the noblest of causes – when it burns people out, it is a BAD thing. And so one of my primary beef is always that when church leadership is asking people to serve, the primary motivation for ever approaching someone is to plug a gap. Of course, being in the God business long enough teaches you to throw in some sweeteners.

“Serving God helps you grow, it challenges you to use the talents that God has given you.”

“You’re not responding to me, nor serving me. You’re responding to God, and serving Him.” (Implicitly suggesting that if you reject the appeal to plug that gap, you’re actually committing the heinous sin of having betrayed God in an act of abject disobedience.)

“I strongly believe that if you take the step of faith to give to God, you will see how He rewards your obedience and sacrifice.”

Now, all statements such as these are not wrong. And when a pastor or a lay leader of the ministry uses it on you, there will be a certain degree of truth to it. The problem is – I truly believe that at the CORE of their beings, the instinctive preoccupation in their minds when challenging others to serve – their primary concern is still with plugging gaps.

Don’t believe me? List out now the top 5 things we look out for when we’re asking people to serve in any ministry. Some of the criterias will include a disciplined spiritual life, having the right gifts to serve in the ministry (e.g., worship, teaching… etc), leadership qualities, personal character and integrity… etc.

How often does the issue of “how will that person be able to grow in the ministry” come up? I’ll bet that it hardly ever does. Sure, we assume the same statements as those above, that God rewards the obedient and the faithful. But we don’t really apply any due diligence towards ensuring the well-being of our sheep. We simply are happy enough when someone says yes to helping plug the gaps, presumptuously throwing the full burden of the person’s growth in the hands of God.

Of course, the other Great Tendency is to “manage” the sheep as if the church were a corporation. People are “deployed”, and treated as abstract entities where their issues are discussed and resolved. The administrative approach to ministry is one of the greatest get-out-of-jail free card that the church has even invented for itself.

And so we sit back and scratch our heads 18 months down the road when people leave the ministry burnt out and bitter, wondering what went wrong. And even then, what we tend to see are the ruins of the sparkling dreams we had for our ministry, instead of the trail of shattered lives we leave behind.

And my point is that I believe it is this cavalier attitude we have towards people that ranks amongst the top of God’s list for what breaks His heart. God’s heart is for people, and He made it so abundantly clear throughout scripture.

He says when we serve the least of them, we serve Him. The greatest commandment is to love God, and love our neighbor. It is better for us to tie a millstone round our necks and throw ourselves into the sea, than to cause someone to stumble (if we ever practiced this, the church would have no leadership left. Everyone would be out at sea).

God’s Heart Is for People.

Period.

So getting back to the question I was asked today. Someone asked me “So if I really am not a people person, then how?” In other words, if by nature you are not a person who is quick to show compassion and love for people, where does that leave you?

My take? I think it’s a no-brainer question. God also calls us to be holy. Who goes around asking “So if I really am not a holy person, then how?” Of course the answer is that you need to change, and develop what is lacking. I’m not making this about the person who asked this question, but I know many who hide behind the excuse that “I’m not like that”, and think they can get away with abusing that which God holds most dear.

Whether it be the authoritarian who is always very quick to tear down more than to build up, to the nonchalant leader who is a parable of the missing dad (doesn’t see the sheep as being worth their time, and so feeds them only the spare scraps of time dished out), people hide behind the excuse “I’m not like that” and think they are therefore exonerated from blame for failing to treat people as people.

It also means that you cannot hide behind the excuse that by nature you prefer be alone, and that you're not good with people.

To those out there who ask such questions – if you’re not a people person, you have no other option than to force yourself to be one, making each day a learnig exercise until you master the art of being one whose heart beats with God’s.

In other words, fake it till you make it.