A Simple Church is defined, by the book of the same name, as “a congregation designed around a straight-forward and strategic process that moves people through the stages of spiritual growth.” The book defines it as a process that moves people. People are attracted to Christ and the church and then are moved to points of attachment. The process moves people through the stages of spiritual growth. [soap box: the Holy Spirit moves people through the stages of spiritual growth not a process]
I read Ken Hemphill’s Revitatilizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur” a couple years ago. In it he says that the church growth must first occur in the horizontal before the vertical to provide stability. His point is that people should first find attachment previous to attraction. I have posted my complete reaction paper to Revitalizing The Sunday Morning Dinosaur by Ken Hemphill here.
Hemphill stated that people should be coming in the back door of the church and not the front. He related the front door as the personality of the pastor or the worship style. The back door was based on relationships. I share a concern with Dr. Hemphill that we have many in the church today who are there to be entertained. They are grading the performance.
Well back to Simple Church. I do like the concept that Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger discuss in maintaining a simple process of discipleship. Their research showed that the four elements of Clarity, Movement, Alignment, and Focus provided for the flow of the Simple Church. Here are definitions of each of these elements.
- “Clarity is the ability of the process to be communicated and understood by the people.”
- “Movement is the sequential steps in the process that cause people to move to greater areas of commitment.”
- “Alignment is the arrangement of all ministries and staff around the same simple process.”
- “Focus is the commitment to abandon everything that falls outside of the simple ministry process.”
In chapter three, they discuss the theology of gates based on Matthew 16:18. The authors comment that gates are never offensive. They are always defensive. Then they connect this with Hell and state that it is always on defense. I am confused somewhat here. Maybe Hell is always on the defense but Satan sure isn’t. Uncle Screwtape has some great offensive by getting man to work against himself.
They say that the movement of the church is never on the defensive. ”There are no defenders on the squad.” Psalms talks a lot about the Lord being a shield in which we can run into for shelter. Yes, we are called to always move forward. Yet, we do have to seek shelter from the storm at times. The physical body goes into shock upon damage or even hearing tragic news. This is a defensive process of allowing the body to prepare and react to this condition (physically and mentally).
Case Studies
I appreciate the process of movement that Christ Church in Miami uses. I have experienced the difficulty of movement involved in getting people from the worship service to small groups. This is a critical step in the mega-church. With a sanctuary that seats 7,000, people need to get “plugged in” to the smaller groups for personal connections.
The authors describe an aspect of Christ Church’s movement process this way: “To facilitate movement to small groups, small groups are promoted in the worship services. The church also frequently offers six-week small group series based on the worship service series. People are encouraged to join or start a group for the duration of the short-term series.” I really like the short-term component that allows people to try out the small group. My wife and I are currently visiting small groups to see where God would have us. I guess the importance is that we not look at the short-term trial aspect as a non-commitment.
I was in agreement when I read that the extra programs were considered to be nonvalue-added because they could impede people from getting involved in small groups. These extra programs were competing for their time and, in turn, hindering discipleship.
I want to make sure it is not misunderstood that I think children’s ministry is non-value. The children’s ministry is critical to glorify God through the teaching of His Word. This is an area where I have experienced that we must coordinate in the process. There is never enough help in the children’s divisions. This doesn’t require, but almost always does draw people out of the young married adult small groups to assist with children’s ministry. How do we fill the leadership needs of our critical children’s ministry without hindering the natural process?
I liked reading about Northpoint Community Church’s added opportunity between the worship service (foyer step) and the small groups (kitchen step). Andy Stanley and his team have added GroupLink (the living room step). GroupLink doesn’t meet every week. Its purpose is to get people acquainted with one another. GroupLink is used to move people to the small groups.
Clarity
If you want your process to be clear, you must define it, illustrate it, discuss it, and measure it.
- Define- without definition the people are uncertain how the church is making disciples.
- Illustrate – use a visual illustration to show the vision for discipleship.
The visual aspect of God’s teaching.
- Hosea
- Marry an adulteress woman.
- Gomer represented spiritual adultery of God’s people.
- Hosea brought Gomer back.
- God brings the sinner back into relationship with Him.
- Marry an adulteress woman.
- Jesus claimed to be the bread of life – then He fed bread to 5,000 men
- Jesus claimed to be the light of the world – then He healed a blind man
- Jesus said He was the resurrection – then He brought Lazarus back from the grave
- Living water in John 4 at a well
- Lord’s Supper – Baptism
Measure – for people to take your ministry seriously, it has to be measured. [Soap box – all ministry is for the Lord and to glorify God. People always say that practically we must still show the numbers to the people for approval – what about the great detail work done at the top of the temple were no man could see? ]
“What gets evaluated gets done.” I do agree with this statement and feel that follow-up on projects is a matter of excellence before and to God – not a measure of statistics for man. The authors narrow down the focus of measurement in this section to include measuring people moving through the process of discipleship. This is critical in my opinion and is different than the broader statement of measuring ministry in general. You need to have some form of measurement to determine if people are moving through the process as designed or if adjustments should be made.
Movement
People are not supposed to remain the same. There is supposed to be progression and movement.
When Moses would go before the Lord on Mount Sinai he would return with a glowing face. People could see a difference in him; they could tell he had been before the Lord. Can people see that same difference in us? He even had to wear a veil. The authors say, “Once Moses left the presence of God, the glory would fade.”
The authors say that we never leave the mountain because it is within us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. I think that it does fade in us. When we became filled with the world (we fill ourselves with the world) and not with Christ; it fades. I think then that when we are at the top of that mountain the view is incredible. We get out our binoculars looking all around. Sometimes the glory moves from the Lord to creation; from creation to us. It fades. Sometimes it is the valley that provides the most glowing in our face; makes the greatest difference. We experience God’s hand in lifting us / carrying us through it We are reminded that the Creator is in control.
I pray that I would need a veil because His presence would be so prominent in me.
“Simple church leaders are designers. They design opportunities for people to be transformed. Complex church leaders are programmers. Programmers focus on one program at a time. Designers focus on the movement between programs.”
People move through the simple process because somebody brings them through it. They don’t move through it because of what they hear from the pulpit or see on bulletins. This is more inline with what I was discussing earlier about Dr. Hemphill’s writing. The authors seem to be describing the details of the process a little different than the way I understood the original overlay.
Alignment
“People follow leadership, and if leadership is not moving in the same direction, then people are scattered.”
“Churches need leaders who are deeply committed to a core belief system.”
“While people long for feedback and direction from their leadership, most church leaders are reluctant to offer it.” We are trying to minister in compassion and it seems like those times when guidance and feedback would best grow the person, it seems taken as criticism.
Focus
“There is an epidemic of fast-food spirituality among believers today.”
“Many churches have become like fast-food establishments. A new idea emerges, and the menu is expanded. … People assume the more that can be squeezed into the menu, the better. … Unfortunately, the big and expanding menus are not producing vibrant churches. … in fact, the large and fast menu approach to ministry is killing our churches.”
Focus means saying “No” to a lot.
- Psalm 27:4
- Philippians 3:13-14
- 1 Timothy 4:7-8
- Hebrews 12:1,2
The authors stress that there is a difference being adding new options and adding new programs. Their concern is that new programs only make the church more complex. However, new options are often needed. How can you easily tell the difference? If you are asking your people to come to additional events, it is a program. If you add another worship service but you don’t expect the people already attending a worship service to also attend, it is an option.
The book gives three suggestions to consider instead of holding special events to address spiritual needs in people’s lives. The first suggestion is to funnel the event in to an existing program. The comment they make here is that providing a special event is easier than walking with people through a situation. We are called to walk with the people. The second option is to combine the special events with an existing program. The final option is to hold the special event, but to do it very strategically.
The authors write:
“The church, as a whole, is doing more and more. And the church, as a whole, is making less and less of a difference. … In many churches, there has been too much talk. New statements mask the same behavior and the same paradigms. New strategies cover up the complexity…. The kingdom is not about chatter. It is about action.”
The church is making a difference because God makes a difference. His control of this world is not dissipating. Is the church being as efficient as it could be? No! The authors do state the church, as a whole, in their statement. However, I believe the church to be the body of believers and not the brick and mortar structure. The difference in the world made by the body of believers is still there. I wonder if it is not as visible because we aren’t looking for it as hard. We must continue to meet people individually were they are and not as a corporate setting.
