“Look, it’s really very simple …” There is a new genre of church growth books with catch phrases like “doing more by doing less” and “keeping the main thing the main thing”. I’ve been reading this genre lately, and thought I would comment on Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning (Zondervan). I think this book reveals the worst and the best of the genre.
The first startling thing about Deliberately Simple is how difficult it is to comprehend. It is filled to the brim with quotations from everybody imaginable, without much context; divided by section titles that are often clever but unrevealing; and punctuated by definitions that aren’t in normal dictionaries. I felt the need to dip the book in boiling water to draw off all the fat so that I could see the bare bones of “simplicity”.
The “bare bones” are six factors, with six objectives, answering six strategic questions: “Minimality” (keep it simple, What); “Intentionality” (keep it missional, Why); “Reality” (keep it real, How); “Multility” (keep it cellular, Where); “Velocity” (keep it moving, When); and “Scalability” (keep it expanding, How Far). Now this is excellent bone structure. Leaders of any organization would do well to reflect on this. The author rightly points out that many church leaders forget or distort this ancient methodology. However, it is not “simple”. Each term is laden with many connotations and possibilities; the tenets of strategic planning are applied differently in many historical and cultural contexts.
I am acquainted with many of the business authors quoted in books of this genre, for example, and aware that they all successfully managed very complicated corporations. Guru-like, they also loved to say “It’s really very simple” to their disciples, who promptly imitated the master and took the corporation into bankruptcy.
Once all the quotations and anecdotes are boiled away, there are some specifically religious “bare bones” at the bottom of the pot. The church is “simply” about three things: worship, small groups, and outreach. No distractions. At first it seems much easier to grasp this simplicity. Jettison all the overhead of property, personnel, and redundant committees. But wait! Although there is little comment in the book, apparently there are still properties and technologies, salaried staff, and governance. Jettison the quest for quality and make “good enough just good enough”. But wait! Apparently there is still training, and if expectations require only 80% effort rather than 100% effort, there surely is a way of measuring that. We just aren’t told what it is. Success depends on how “worship, small groups, and outreach” are designed, implemented, and accountable … in different ways, at different times, for different people.
There is something disingenuous about the current genre of “keep it simple” books about church growth. Deliberately Simple is no exception. Clergy and lay leaders do need more or better training; and they do need to stay focused on ancient methods and spiritual necessities. But they deserve more than bare bones. Since this church has “gone global” it must be “successful”, but inquiring minds want to know more detail.
Fortunately, Dave Browning’s Deliberate Simplicity also reveals the best of the genre. The real significance of the book lies in the word “deliberate” rather than the word “simple”. Reading between the lines, the real secrets of success have to do with rigorous leadership development.
What we really need to know is how mentoring takes place. How are leaders chosen, trained, deployed, evaluated … and, if necessary, fired … to keep the worship deep, the small groups growing, and the outreach effective? How will the organization keep focused on “loving God more”, “loving people more”, and “loving more people” when the pastor retires? Who will decide what, exactly, “loving God more” means in an emerging pagan world; and what “loving people more” means in a world of lifestyle diversity and mobile cultures; and what “loving more people” means in a world chronically at war?
There is something “deliberate” going on at Dave’s church, and this book reveals how important that must be. Being “deliberate” and being “simple”, however, represent a paradox. It is a lot like sailing. On the one hand, it’s all very simple: wind, water, and rudder. On the other hand, seamanship is remarkably complex. Sometimes we get so caught up in the maintenance and management of the ship, that we forget the basics of wind, water, and rudder. But most often what stands between drowning and destination is the complex art of seamanship. That’s the trouble with “keep it simple” books. It ain’t that simple.
Tom Bandy
www.ThrivingChurch.com
This concept of "lean" church is appealing. Are there good books out there on the subject?
Posted by: Ron Benson | Jun 02, 2009 at 10:03 AM