In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, enslaved and free, but Christ is all and in all! - Colossians 3:11

I was recently having a conversation with someone who was trying to plan an event for a large group of people. She was listing off the different foods, activities, and other efforts that were being organized. “You have to have something for everyone, you know!” she exclaimed.

Anyone who’s ever planned an event, whether it’s a birthday party, a wedding reception, a church picnic, or a high school reunion, knows the pressure of trying to find something for everyone. The State Fair is a great example of this. Artsy people can check out the 4-H displays or the cultural center, even if they aren’t interested in the horse barn. Outdoorsy people can visit the DNR building, but they might skip the museum. Thrill seekers might spend all their money on the rides and wisely skip filling up on corndogs between lines. There’s something for everyone– but nothing is for everyone.

That’s the often unspoken corollary to “something for everyone.” Even if an event or organization manages to find something for everyone, no single one of those things will be of interest to every single person participating. It’s true at the fair, on family vacations, and even at church.

Really, though. I don’t expect every person to find every sermon relevant. I don’t expect every person to experience every song as meaningful. Every service project, every learning experience, every fellowship opportunity: there should be something for everyone, but nothing should try to be for every single person. When we try to make everything for everyone, we end up either being so broad and vague that we become meaningless or else forcing everyone to conform to an overly-narrow set of interests and behaviors. (That’s where another cliche comes in: “you can’t make everyone happy.”) Different people can do different things and connect in different ways at church, and that’s one of the beautiful things about the family of God. There’s something for everyone, but nothing is for everyone.

Well, actually, now that I say that, I do have one pretty big caveat to make. There is one thing that is for everyone, and it’s the promise from God that in Jesus Christ we are children of mercy, love, grace, peace, forgiveness, and hope through the Holy Spirit. That one thing is for everyone.

What the church can do, should do, must do, even as we do all the different things in our “something for everyone” work is keep the one thing that is for everyone right at the center. Our worship, service, community, learning, and all the rest stand firm on one foundation: Jesus Christ is all and in all.