“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

— Matthew 11:18-19

What can you do to make people like you? If you know the answer, I’d really like to hear it.

Being the recovering people pleaser that I am, I’d love to know how to be in my office finishing every project my congregation needs, while also making every hospital visit, checking on every homebound member, researching deep and meaningful sermons, answering every email, attending every community meeting, and still spending enough time with my family. I’d like to know how to say no to the right things and yes to all the right things.

I know. I just slipped into the Barbie movie monologue. But I suspect I’m not alone.

Many of us entered ministry hoping, at least a little, to become super pastors. We want to do it all, be it all, serve it all, give it all, and somehow still have something left at the end of the day.

The truth is, the church doesn’t need super pastors. It needs you.

One of the most freeing realizations I’ve had is that Jesus never tried to be everything to everyone. He withdrew from the crowds to pray. He left villages where there were still people who wanted him to stay. He ate and drank with friends. He disappointed expectations. He had critics. He even had followers who walked away. Faithfulness is not the same thing as pleasing everyone.

Beloved, please find grace in knowing that Jesus had critics too. If perfect love could not satisfy every expectation, neither will we.

The church doesn’t need exhausted heroes. It needs faithful disciples. It needs you, just as you are, and it needs the gifts of the whole body of Christ. Together, we bear one another’s burdens. Together, we proclaim the gospel. Together, by God’s grace, we become the kind of community where the work is shared, the love is multiplied, and no one has to carry the kingdom alone.