Why “Love God, Love People” Isn’t Enough

The feel-good phrase that might be holding your faith back.

You’ve heard it. You’ve probably said it.

“I just try to love God and love people.” It sounds humble. It sounds Holy. Like you’ve distilled Christianity down to its purest essence. All the theology stripped away…leaving just the core. And maybe you have.

But here’s something that might sting a little: Sometimes that phrase… well-meaning as it sounds… isn’t a summary of faith. It’s an escape hatch from it.

I’ve been there too.

Several years ago, I was pastoring a church where uncomfortable questions started bubbling up. Questions about race and systemic injustice. About women in leadership. About how we treat LGBTQ+ people. People were waking up to the gap between what they’d been taught and what they were starting to sense God might actually be like. It was messy. It was uncomfortable. And frankly, it was beautiful.

Then one Sunday, after a sermon I pre…