09/03/2026
Churches are good at responding to human problems by creating programs.
Marriages are struggling. Start a marriage ministry.
Parents are exhausted. Start a parenting class.
People are lonely. Start another small group.
Teenagers are overwhelmed. Add another student event.
Families are drowning in obligations, so we give them another night to be somewhere.
At some point we should ask whether more Christian activity is always the same thing as more Christian formation.
Jesus did not say, “Come to me, and I will make your calendar fuller.”
He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
That does not mean discipleship is effortless. Jesus calls us to take up a cross.
But the cross and chronic religious busyness are not the same thing.
Some churches unintentionally measure faithfulness by how frequently people enter the building.
The New Testament measures maturity by whether people are becoming like Christ.
Maybe the exhausted mother does not need another ministry opportunity.
Maybe she needs someone to bring dinner.
Maybe the couple barely seeing one another does not need another meeting at church.
Maybe they need an older couple to watch their children and tell them to go eat together.
Maybe the widower does not need another event.
Maybe he needs somebody at his kitchen table.
Programs can support ministry.
They can never replace Christians actually loving one another.