Simple Church: For those you who have YET to read it! Shame on You!

I read this book when it first came out two years ago and it has revolutionized how I look at church. I have blogged about it, dreamed about, and think about it EVERY SINGLE DAY! Two years later people are still blogging about it and so thrilled about how great it is! I have taken our staff through it and now I am taking our deacons through the book. If you have not read it...YOU SHOULD! Here are some of the quotes from the book.

"Churches with a simple process for reaching and maturing people are expanding the kingdom."

• "Many of our churches have become cluttered. So cluttered that people have a difficult time encountering the simple and powerful message of Christ."
• "Great amounts of activity do not produce life change. It only gives the impression that things are happening, that there is life."
• "If the purpose is hazy, the process for making the purpose happen has not entered the picture."
• "If the goal is to keep certain things going, the church is in trouble. The end result must always be about people. Programs should only be tools."
• "The goal is to partner with God to move people through the stages of spiritual growth. Changed lives are the bottom line, the intended end result. Christ formed in people is the goal."
• "The first group consisted of growing and healthy churches. These churches had grown 5 percent a year for three consecutive years. Few churches do that. Sadly, less than 2 percent of all churches in America experience that type of consistent growth."
• "Some churches are not clear on a ministry process because they do not have one."
• "Focus does not make church leaders popular."
• "To be simple you have to eliminate the unnecessary. Most of the things you eliminate will be good things. They were started with a passionate leader and a perceived or real need."
• "People will not live out something they cannot remember."
• "When you are tired of talking about it, people will just be in the first stages of understanding."
• "Sadly, in many churches people are stuck in the same place spiritually. And there is no intentional process to move them."
• "You must begin with the process, not the programs... If the programs do not fit into your process, you need to eliminate them."
• "Choose one program for each phase of your process... Multiple programs for each phase of the process divide attention and energy."
• "Church leaders must avoid the two extremes of micromanagement and neglect. Micromanagement stifles creativity and hampers shared leadership. Neglect fosters complacency and leads to a fragmented team."
• "One would think that the more programs and the more special events that are offered, the great the impact. Our research has confirmed that the opposite is true."
• "The churches that experienced the highest percentages of growth were the churches that offered fewer programs."
• "The majority of churches choose not to change. They would rather die. Tragically, in most churches, the pain of change is greater than the pain of ineffectiveness."

Focus on The Simple Things

What should a church focus on?

Essential
1. Worship
2. Small Groups
3. Missions
4. Emphasizing Spiritual Disciplines

These next two are essential once the church is doing the previous four well or excellent
5. Children Ministry
6. Youth Ministry

The problem is that too many churches are going in 50 different directions with no goal in mind. We see in Acts 2 the founding of the early church and the early church was united in purpose and united in the process, which were the first four. Loving God through Worship, Loving people through vibrant relationships in small groups and ministering and sharing each other burdens, and witnessing to those around as they sought to save the world.

As you look at verses 44-47 in Acts 2, you see the people worshipping in large groups in the temple, enjoying fellowship and studying together in small groups (they met in homes which were 2 to 3 room buildings and were very small) and they grew in number because they showed that they loved one another.

Churches need to get back to the basics and see the big picture.

"True" Church Discipleship

Most Christians are only going to give three hours a week to the church! How are churches maximizing those three house to make disciples? What should they be doing?

Here is my idea.

If a person will only give 3 hours than those 3 hours should be as the following:

Give

• 1 hour to actively participate in worship
• 1 hour to actively participate in a small group Bible study fellowship
• 1 hour a week actively participating in missions

There needs to be a process in place that progresses people in their spiritual walk. Thom Rainer in his book Simple Church he nails the problem! Churches have become too complex and many have no process in which to disciple people.

At Bethel we use the idea in Simple Church, which is "Loving God, Loving People, & Saving the World!", Loving God is worship, Loving people is a small group Bible Study Fellowship, and Saving the World! is the mission program.

Simple. If people are only going to give me 3 hours a week than I believe this where I want them spending their time.

Simple. It has progression. It makes disciples!

What is your idea? Share with my your opinion and ideas on how to better facilitate discipleship and growth in our churches.