A Shift in our church thinking: SIMPLE

Comments

8 responses to “A Shift in our church thinking: SIMPLE”

1. 

   one24worship

   March 6, 2008

   Hi Joel,

   I haven’t read the book yet but it’s definitely back on my “need-to-read” list.

   When I first came across the book, I was really intrigued by the four ideas that Thom & Eric suggested – “Clarity, movement, alignment and focus.”

   Thanks for the reminder about this book. Because of your post, it’ll probably be moving closer to the top of the list.

   Have a great day.

   David Guion

   http://www.one24worship.com/

   BTW – Thanks for posting your pillars and slogan.

   The “Statement of Calling” at our church (the Alamo City Christian Fellowship, San Antonio, Texas) goes like this:

   “JESUS. Our calling is to passionately pursue His Presence, His Likeness, His Work and His Will in everything, among all peoples, by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

2. 

   klampert

   March 6, 2008

   David: thanks for stopping by
   that statement is great..i love it

3. 

   Matthew

   March 6, 2008

   Joel-

   Our staff read this book together and took about 8 weeks to clarify our vision, unfortunately the alignment never took place. I plan on keeping this book in my bag of ministry tricks for the rest of my life. It was an awesome read full of examples of practical application. I recommend it to every pastor I meet.

   mjd

4. 

   drewjpowell

   March 6, 2008

   it’s a great read. i love it…

5. 

   Russ

   March 6, 2008

   Very nice. I haven’t read this one yet, but looks intriguing.

   We’ve gone through Andy Stanley’s Seven Principles for Effective Ministry and this philosophy is covered in one of his principles: Less is More.

   Same idea. Do a few things great, not a bunch of things mediocre. Especially when it comes to the “core” values of THE CHURCH at large.

6. 

   Steve

   March 6, 2008

   Jiggaman, I’m reading this book right now. This book is PERFECT for us right now and helping me develop the new blueprint in the youth minsitry. AWESOME!

7. 

   Billy Chia

   March 7, 2008

   Joel,
   Yeah – Simple Church was a really affirming read for me. One of my favorite books.

8. 

   Nathan

   March 16, 2008

   Okay, I must admit, I had high expectations for this book. Since I went to Southern and knew the quality work that Rainer has done in the past, I expected no less than the best. Maybe I overshot myself just a tad, because the book wasn’t all that great to me.

   Sure, the premise is absolutely true. Too many committees, too many programs, too many annual events bogg a church down and cause them to lose their gospel focus. But MY reason for simplifying things is different than that of the book.

   For the book, it is simply a matter of pragmatism. Do what you do best often and keep that your focus and your church will grow.

   For me, I do it because the Bible calls legalism a sin. And most churches treat their committees, events, music, programs, etc as being on par with Scripture and refuse to let them go. That is legalism and that is a sin.

   Getting off a gospel focus is not just what keeps your church from growing, it is a SIN issue. It is often what causes church discipline problems, church splits, hurt families, etc. That would be my reasoning for reevaluating the church and cutting off some of the cancerous cells. Having it grow my church is just icing on the cake.

   And this is my main problem with Rainer’s book. He avoids the obvious theological evidence why simple churches seem to grow and instead goes the pragmatic route as evidence why it works.

   Another, less important issue I have is their fixation on the corporate world. Almost every chapter has a story about a corporation that simplified and refocused their goals. Why? Who cares if it works for them? The church is not a corporation. In fact, here are the Bible’s words for the church:

   Bride
   Body of Christ
   Sheep
   Gathering
   Army

   Corporation? Not in the Bible. So why use businesses as examples? All the evidence you ever need is already in the Bible itself. This is called the sufficiency of scripture. I like the examples of the churches that have implemented these principles, but the other examples I could care less about.

   You want a model of church simplification that has a theology behind it and takes seriously the sufficiency of scripture? Read Mark Dever’s books: 9 Marks of a Healthy Church and The Deliberate Church.