The not so Simple Life of the Church

The problem with the church is that too often the church is not simple. Too much of the life of the church is stuffed with clutter and noise. For instance you look at a church bulletin any given Sunday and there are dozens and dozens of things to get involved in. So much to choose from, so many things to get involved with.

"Churches are so cluttered that many people are busy doing church instead of being the church."

That is the thrust of Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger's new book called the Simple Church.

Many churches have become over-programmed. We often don't have any focus and we are not clear on what we are ultimately trying to accomplish in our churches. Too often much of the effort of the church and it's leaders is simply to self-perpetuate programs and activities. Pastors and staff are paid to keep the machine going and functioning. But to what end?

Those are the issues that Simple Church attempts to address. The authors want the church to be successful in not just doing church, but to see disciples made and developed. They want the church to recapture the vision of seeing men and women grow into mature followers of Jesus Christ and to reach out and transform the community.

Ultimately this comes down to a leadership issue. "To have a simple church, leaders must ensure that everything their church does fits together to produce life change."

What is necessary to accomplish this is, A Simple Church. And by definition...

A simple church is designed around a straightforward and strategic process that moves people through the stages of spiritual growth. the leadership and the church are clear about the process (clarity) and are committed to executing it. the process flows logically (movement) and is implemented in each area of the church (alignment). The church abandons everything that is not in the process (focus). pp. 67-68

Clarity, Movement, Alignment and Focus.

Over the several several posts I will unpack these further.