Simple Church by Rainer & Geiger

Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you are reading or looking to read this book, you are either part of a church leadership team, part of a congregation where some of the strategies posited by the authors are being implemented or you are in seminary. I know that is somewhat narrow and not entirely accurate, but the focus of this book leads to those types of audiences being interested in the material.
The authors have done statistical work to back up their position that a "simple church" is more likely to be a growing church. They have constructed a 4 part plan that helps churches become simple (Clarity, Movement, Alignment, Focus) and give great examples as to why this approach seems to resonate with people and help many churches with attracting and making disciples.
So, while I enjoyed the book and think that this team has some interesting data and points, I do struggle with this mantra that suggests that if all churches were like this they would be more likely to grow. (I know that they are only showing a statistical relationship and they even address this specifically in the FAQ section in the back....BUT, that is where the book leads us.)
There are many ways to "do church" and some that haven't even been thought of yet. While this is great information and probably will help many congregations that have had issues with having too many programs and resources spread too thin, I hope that it will not limit or stifle creativity or cause people to stifle the Holy Spirit leading them in a direction that they may think conflicts with the "simple" approach.
May each and every person who does read this book help the church become what God intended it to be and may each of them help bring more people to know God's love for us.

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