Simplicity

In a world of ever increasing complexity, perhaps the church should stand out and offer a return to simplicity. As we look at the world around us, it becomes clear that our world is complicated and places many demands on our resources. Cell phones and e-mail, both wonderful tools I enjoy using, have made us available to others nearly 24 hours a day. The pressure to be active in community events, extra-curricular activities, job responsibilities and our own interest have us stretched in so many directions that sometimes are deepest desire is to have some time to just do nothing. Add to this the adding complexity of children’s schedules and ever having a moment to just “be still” becomes nearly impossible. If you watch and listen to commercials, many advertising agencies are trying to capitalize on this reality. Ads today are filled with phrases like, “simplify you life” and the word “relax”. Apple Co., in particular, has based the entire iPhone campaign around the idea of simplifying your life. The next time one of these commercials is on, watch and listen for phrases about simplifying life. Based on the success of the iPhone thus far, perhaps they have found a way to connect their product with people on a deeper level. There is of course some irony in the fact that the iPhone makes one available via all forms of communication (phone, e-mail, instant messenger and even through the internet). Interesting that as with so many things in life, the iPhone seems to promise one thing but actually delivers the entire opposite. Regardless, there is a desire in our society to try and find some simple things in life.

What if a church was able to offer something simple? What if the church were to stand up and cry out, “God wants you to rest!” Perhaps God was not just calling His people to rest, but also to simplicity when He established the Sabbath day. Yes, the life of faith is filled with mystery and intrigue, but in many cases the chains of legalism and the bonds of complexity have stolen away the simple truth of God’s message of hope for our lives. In contrast, the church should be a stronghold of simplicity. Simple worship. Simple doctrine. Simple teaching. Simple ministry. Everything a church does should convey simplicity. For many churches, I wonder if we’ve poured so much time and energy into making everything look right, feel warm and inviting and making sure everything we say is worded just right, that we create an organism that is overly complicated and ultimately uninviting.

Martin Luther as an advocate of the people desired simplicity in the church. One of the major objections he had with the Catholic Church (as it existed in Europe at the time) was that the church’s doctrine suggested that only clergy could really understand the deep truths of God. Consequently, he felt the church discourage personal reading of the Bible and generally conducted mass in Latin, a language few commoners understood. To Luther, this seemed to be the opposite of what God’s invitation implied; that all people, from all nations, would gather together to become the church. He also seemed to advocate that the Bible, and the pursuit of God, is not a complicated thing. Certainly it is not an easy endeavor, but the challenge of a walk of faith should not stem from someone being stymied by confusing and complicated church doctrine. This called to simply would seem to be one that ought to be sounded again in the modern church.

Perhaps one of the reasons the church is seemingly struggling to reach new people is because we have made the church so complex and complicated. Have all of our efforts to become “seeker friendly” really just turned into a scheme to make ourselves feel better about the color of the walls in our building? Has our doctrinal stance on social issues served merely to pat ourselves on the back and reminds ourselves that we have always been right? Could it be that we have become such legalists in our pursuit of being right, that we have neglected the true purpose(s) of the church?

I for one am ready for something different. I am ready to be part of a church that seeks and brings simplicity to a walk of faith. I am ready to join with other believers in the pursuit of hope. I am ready to become part of faith community that seeks to truly make a difference in the world we live in. I am ready to move beyond talking about “us” and instead start carrying a simple message of hope to those who feel wounded, broken and alone. This is the church Christ died for. This is the church God is raising up.