Here is an excerpt from Angie Ward in Leadership Journal about the Simple Church.
"Simple Church is a great, easy-to-understand concept that many churches need to hear. But the process of implementing it is not all that simple. My fear is that the difficulty of the process will get lost on readers who are looking for a quick fix for their ministry."
(ht: Christianity Today)
I have been blogging about the Simple Church for some time now and I agree with Angie's critique. She is right to say that the principles in the book are helpful in enabling the local church to accomplish it's mission and purpose. Overall, there are no concerns with the content of the book. For Angie, and I would agree, the problem is the implementation. The concern is that the book will be seen as another quick fix to the church's problems.
I have been in ministry for over 20 years, most of that time in college based para-church ministry. New ideas and ministry paradigms come down the pike every year or so. It is so tempting to just jump on the bandwagon to every new idea and believe that it is going to be the deliverance of the problems that plague the church. Not only is there a tendency to jump quickly on the bandwagon, but also the tendency is for the bandwagon to quickly solve the problems. Working out problems in ministry aren't as simple as implementing a formula. It is often not a step 1,2, and 3 solution. Ministry is messy. Ministry is complex. Therefore, agreeing with Angie Ward, don't let the title the Simple Church fool you. Implementing the principles from the book Simple Church is anything but "Simple"
If we forget that, then you and I will get quickly frustrated with the Simple Church, toss it and then move on to the next thing that comes down the road.
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