Not Always About Efficiency

In marketing, our thought process is always geared towards making things better; improving systems, automating what we can, and increasing efficiency. And unknowingly, I have often carried this thinking into ministry.

Recently, I wanted to start a Bible group study for women. My automatic thinking went straight into efficiency. If I were to teach for an hour, it would be best if it’s a small group of women coming together – best use of time and energy.

But I felt the Lord telling me to go back to basics: one-on-one Bible study.

He reminded me that Kingdom value is not always about efficiency.

If God’s Kingdom is driven by efficiency, the cross would never make sense.

The cross is, by every human measure, deeply “inefficient.” Thirty years of hidden life for a public ministry of only three. A slow journey toward suffering, betrayal, humiliation, and death. No apparent productivity model that makes sense to human systems thinking.

But the cross is not inefficient—it is necessary.

Because redemption is about sacrifice. It is love satisfying justice. It is about God Himself entering human brokenness to heal it from within.

“Efficient salvation” would have been impossible, because sin is not a systems problem. It is a heart problem. And it requires not a process, but a Person. Not optimization, but incarnation. Not delegation, but self-giving.

We had our first one-on-one session, and it was nothing short of amazing. Simple. Two women sharing life, reading the Word, and letting the Spirit lead.

I’m excited to be reminded that the Kingdom is not built on efficiency. It is built on love that is willing to go the long way, the costly way, the cross-shaped way.