“Many of our churches have become cluttered. So cluttered that people have a difficult time encountering the simple and powerful message of Christ. So cluttered that many people are busy doing church instead of being the church.”
When I read “Simple Church” it was both a breath of fresh air and a heavy blow at the same time.
It was a breath of fresh air because it represented all the things that I and my colleagues in ministry have been discussing for the past 5-10 years. We just were not able to “simply” put into words what we were feeling. “Simple Church” described the problem we were feeling – but went a step further and offered practical principles that could be applied in the context of a local church – no matter where they are.
It was a heavy blow at the same time because I know that as a pastor, I have been part of the “problem” as well. Not that I intentionally wanted to make being the church more complicated than it should, but by asking people to “do church” at the expense of their ability to “be the church” – I became part of the problem. What is that problem?
“Simple Church” addresses these – in my own opinion – pretty well.
I can’t give justice to the breadth of work this book contains, but here are a couple of quotes from the book that I am still “chewing on”. Whether you agree or not, they are points to be considered and wrestled with if you believe that the local church is still God’s plan for bringing hope to world. In no particular order, here they are:
- Perhaps our church people do not know lost people because out churches have kept people at the church building, thereby nullifying their opportunities to deeply engage in relationships with lost people.
- New programs and special events were constantly implemented to remedy the problem, but the busier the church became, the more the problem was amplified. Problems are always bigger when everyone is tired.
- It is hard to be excellent when you are focused on so much.
- Simple churches pay attention to the handoffs. They have grasped the truth that assimilation effectiveness is more important than programmatic effectiveness.
- New members are told at the new member’s call that they should not join the church if they do not plan on serving.
- Focus does not make church leaders popular.
- In many churches the original tools for life change have created too much clutter. Instead of uniting, they divide focus. The Programs have become ends in themselves
- Every program must facilitate movement through a simple process. Anything that facilitates movement is a “yes.” Anything that does not is a “no.”
- Define. Illustrate. Measure. Discuss. All these factors lead to understanding.
- (Regarding staff and leaders) They must be committed not only to ministry but also to how your church does ministry.
- Simple church leaders seek to meet the need through an existing program while complex church leaders add another program.
- (From a university of Florida study) hypothesized that churches that offered more programs would grow more than churches that offered fewer programs. [The] research proved the opposite.