I’ve been giving lots of thought to the state of the church these days…it’s effectiveness in living out the mission it’s been given and the impact of that mission on the state of the world.

From my vantage point, I confess, that we haven’t been too effective in living out the mission and that mission has not drastically impacted the world. In other words the state of the world is getting worse instead of better. And the church has become a social club and/or service agency and not the living body of Jesus on mission to bring God’s kingdom into reality in the here and now.

And for a while now, I’ve been aware that one of the many challenges we face is that the church has become too complex. And in that complexity has become a club that you join where membership has priveledges. We are very busy in our churches. There is worship, small group, Sunday school, fellowship activities, fund-raisers, mission trips, game nights, classes, conferences, bible-studies, etc… you get the point. And all of this comes at a time in history when most of us are burning the candle at both ends and from the side too! Our busyness is part of a complexity that seems to be keeping us from fruitful mission in the world and may even hinder our personal spiritual growth. Which I think contributes to the “label” mentality that is present in USAmerica’s christian churches…ie., we are “Christian” by description, but not by way of life!

Recently, a parishoner returned from a library conference and handed me a book by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, called “Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples”. In the book they push us to return to Jesus’ conversation with the lawyer concerning eternal life and Jesus’s response about the greatest commands being loving God and loving others and then saying that “all of the law and prophets hang on these two.” Simple isn’t it?!

Then they put forth the following definition of a simple church: “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 and are committed to executing it. The process flows logically and is implemented in each area of the church. The church abandons everything that is not in the process.”

I like that concept and want to work at becoming a simple church! A simple church where disciplemaking is the central mission and the fruit of that simplicity is seen in transformed lives that love God and love others and in so doing transforms the character of the community and world. But I realize that the process of becoming a simple church will not be easy and it will require CONSTANT course adjustments.

What are your thoughts?