Objectifying people …

“I hope we can reach [fill in the blank with a given grouping of people]!” With that kind of statement comes a variety of churches “targeting” a given group. Over the past years we have witnessed “biker” churches, “cowboy” churches, and a host of “brand” churches.

What about reaching people – all people. I know the arguments. They won’t come to this church or that church. But, if you hold church in a rodeo arena or a bar you may get some to come. I have little problem with church being held in an arena or a bar (I am sure I will be called on to explain this one). The problem is with the idea of “targeting” groups rather than reaching people. And then I sometimes wonder if we don’t negate the persons in out attempts to reach people.

We exit, hopefully, an era in which we expressed a greater love for noses than for people. When we label a group we “objectify” them. We categorize them with the hopes we can find what they like, don’t like, listen to, don’t listen to and then forumlate a strategy to “go get ’em.” In the process we miss their story. We miss who they are and from where they’ve come and their dreams of where they may go. We fail to consider the full impact of the crises they have endured and the victories that may be theirs. We may miss an incredible part of God’s story in the process.

I know, we do prop them up by asking them to share their story in a setting where we hope others will make the same connections with God they did. In the end, is this not the same thing? Aren’t we commoditizing their story for our benefit? Haven’t we objectified their story and in some way taken them out of their own story? Does this not reduce them from people to tools?

The solution may lie in a shift in our understanding of mission. We tend to objectify missions as though they are projects. Would it be better to view the church as mission and therefore those of us in the church living out missional lives. The difference may be expressed as we would not only take “mission trips”, but we would live “mission”; lives compellingly connected to the Kingdom of God. Lives expressing how the grace of God captivates us completely – heart, soul and strength.

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

3 comments on “Objectifying people …

  1. Anonymous says:

    Ok, this is one good post. “Targeting” a group is very SBC but not much Christian. We need to move to embracing groups, hearing their stories and helping dialogue themselves to the Father. If we can talk them into something, someone else can talk them right back out again.

    Thanks for this insight.

    I sent some pix on a DVD. Did they get there?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Got them and will post them soon.

  3. says:

    You describe a very interesting and challenging outreach perspective. One of the reasons why I believe such targeted outreaches are so popular is the understanding that people no longer are drawn to the church (as in times past).

    Prof. Fish at SWBTS said that such old thinking was called the “Fortress” mentality meaning that people automoatically went to church and the church didn’t need to reach out as much. As some church-growth analsysts point out, those days are gone primarily because fewer people neither a) trust or respect the church and its leaders, and b) people tend to think for themselves in areas of faith and spirituality.

    I think church growth folks think (and I know you know more about this than I) by targeting certain groups, there is a greater “return on investment” than going after everyone.

    I am with you though- I think we lose something mighty powerful when we do not go after all sorts of people. One of the reasons I love the UCC is because our congregations tend to include a cornecopia (You describe a very interesting and challenging outreach perspective. One of the reasons why I believe such targeted outreaches are so popular is the understanding that people no longer are drawn to the church (as in times past).

    Prof. Fish at SWBTS said that such old thinking was called the “Fortress” mentality meaning that people automoatically went to church and the church didn’t need to reach out as much. As some church-growth analsysts point out, those days are gone primarily because fewer people neither a) trust or respect the church and its leaders, and b) people tend to think for themselves in areas of faith and spirituality.

    I think church growth folks think (and I know you know more about this than I) by targeting certain groups, there is a greater “return on investment” than going after everyone.

    I am with you though- I think we lose something mighty powerful when we do not go after all sorts of people. One of the reasons I love the UCC is because our congregations tend to include a cornecopia (

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.