Why a Simple Church?

Simple. Defined by Merriam-Webster as an adjective

           : not hard to understand or do

           : having few parts; not complex or fancy

           : not special or unusual

Sounds easy enough. Yet we live in a society where bigger is usually considered better, where you “get what you pay for” and there are always upgrades available. And yet God, in His infinite wisdom, has often chosen the simple to confound the wise. From Ten Commandments, the Pharisees extrapolated 248 additional commandments and 365 prohibitions. From meeting in houses in the early days of the church, we went on to build some of the most beautiful structures ever seen.  Oh, we can make things complex, can’t we? But bigger is not always better and sometimes, more expensive just means it costs more.

Ileen and I have been called to a path less travelled. We hear Father directing us towards simple church. Also referred to as house church and organic church, the idea is to distill the church experience down to the basics. While I am of the opinion that there are some fundamental issues with today’s church in America, please, please don’t misunderstand me; I am not making a case for the simple church at the expense of the institutional church.  I just happen to think that perhaps going back to the beginning, as best we can, may result in the church life that I read of in the New Testament. Of course, since a lot of Paul’s writings were directed towards churches with issues, I may need to be careful what I wish for.

So, what are we wishing for? First and foremost, God.  Engaging with Him and being discipled like never before. Community. Being engaged with believers in loving community like never before. Obedience. Carrying out the primary commands to love God and love others like never before.

Sounds great, right? But why simple church? Can’t we do all those things in an institutional church setting? Certainly, the answer has to be yes, it can be done…but is it the best way? Maybe “yes” for some and “not so much” for others.

I grew up a skinny kid…Six feet five inches tall before my sophomore year of high school was complete. I could eat anything I wanted and not put on weight. And did I eat! My poor parents…literally! I did my best to eat them out of the house. But then around 26 or 27 years old, my metabolism changed and I joined the ranks of the dieters and I’ve been a member ever since. Now that I’ve been dieting off and on for 25+ years, I know a few things about how to succeed at dieting. Things like keeping junk food out of the house, like committing to meet someone at the gym…you get the idea…little hacks that keep you accountable and committed.  But that’s just me. I have some friend’s that won’t waver a bit even if there’s ice cream in the house (Mmm, ice cream…but I digress) and would never miss a workout, no matter the weather.

So, what’s my point? For Ileen and I, the point is to position ourselves in the best possible place to hear “well done”.  Simple church seems to be that place. There is no preacher or Sunday school teacher to do our studying for us. There is no women’s ministry to handle benevolence. There is no financial committee to determine where the giving should go or how much. Instead, there’s just a small gathering of believers that desire to engage with Father, fellow believers and our community. And kind of like dieting, We want to remove any options that allow for inertia or the option to be part of the “80” in the “80/20” rule.  Simple church, at its very core, offers reliance on Father, demands accountability to each other, provides opportunity to truly know and love your brothers and sisters in Christ as well as exchange some of the time spent serving in the institutional church with getting to know those that you come in contact with in your daily life.

Certainly, there will be bumps in the road and maybe even some detours...but we are excited to know that Father has a purpose and a plan and is revealing it to us even now. So pray for us...that we won't run ahead of Him, that we'll follow closely behind, that we won't take our eyes off of our incomparable Jesus (I love describing Jesus as incomparable! Don't know why that is...but I do).

Your Brother and Sister in Christ, Jeff and Ileen