Your Church is more complicated than LOST
Tonight marks the Beginning of the End of LOST. I can’t even begin to tell you how DEEP I am into this show and it’s endless mythology and storytelling. (If I told you that I owned not 1 but 2 Lost T-Shirts…would you still love me?)
However, I’ve noticed that for every 1 FAN of Lost there are 784,593 people who are not into it. Several friends this week have told me that they would love to watch, but it’s just too complicated, too confusing, or they missed too many episodes. They reiterate the fact that there is no such thing as a Casual Lost Fan.
I think the same could be said of our Churches. Without even realizing it, we’ve created Churches that are more complicated than Lost. There’s too much Insider Language. Too many Complicated and Confusing Linear Strategies. Too many Detours that make it difficult if not impossible for an “outsider” to get it. While there is no such thing as a Casual Lost Fan, there are 100,000’s Causal Church Goers in your community.
The question is – How are you making it SIMPLE for people to Get It, Get Started, and actually Grow.
Here’s Four Ideas for how you can make your church Simpler
1) Change Your Language. Listen to what you’re saying. Listen for what you’re not saying. From Worship Leaders, to Teachers, to Printed Materials. Think first of the First Time Person who hasn’t been here as long as you and don’t have a clue what things like Connexxus or Axiom are or even mean.
2) Change Your Website. This is your Virtual Front Door and if someone has to walk around the house two or three times before they can find the front door, they’re not coming back. I love the simplicity of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley. Clear and to the point.
3) Have a SIMPLE Strategy and stick to it. I know that you’re a Linchpin and you love changing, tweaking, and tinkering, but you have to remember – They Are Not. They weren’t here when you used to call it Area Home Groups. They weren’t here when you used to do it Tuesday Nights. They don’t care. They need to be able to get within the first 2 minutes WHAT you about and WHERE they can START.
4) Go to another Church. Learn from their simplicity. Learn from their complexity. Listen to their Language. Better yet, go to the Apple Store (which you probably have in the last 7 days). Within 60 seconds you can find what you need and figure out what to do with it. And in the case that you can’t – there’s always an Apple Cult Member Employee within 5 feet to help.
Following Jesus is hard. Finding him shouldn’t be. Let’s fight for Simplicity!
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(btw – if you know what the picture is at the top of this post…than you truly are as much of a nerd as me. I’m praying for us now.)
- This post was written by Jarrett Stevens
- Co-Leader of Soul City Church,
- who believes that Nikki and Paulo are the key to it all!
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Soul (simpli)City Sundays
- Sometimes it’s the Simplest Things…
This past Sunday our Soul City Sunday Agenda was fairly simple:
- Connect
- Make Pizza
- Connect
- Eat Pizza
- Connect
- Pray
- Play Monopoly (Jeanne won, but almost lost her faith and friends in the process!)
In the midst of all the Dreaming, Praying, Planning, Team Building, Fund Raising, Location Scouting, and Blogging, we figured that the best thing we could to do together was…EAT. This simple idea is more than merely a human impulse, it is something Divine.
Again and again, throughout the pages of scripture we see FOOD. From the Feasts of the Old Testament, to the Feeding of the 5000, to the Last Supper, to the Shared Meals of the first church, to the Great Wedding Banquet – food plays a prevalent role in the pages of scripture and has a profound affect in the story of our lives.
Sometimes, it’s the simplest things, like good food shared together that can help us experience life as rich and full as God intended it. We experienced this first hand (and mouth) this past week at Soul City Sunday. And if I have anything to do with it…we’ll be experiencing it again Very Soon!
//What are some of the ways you’ve shared Intentional Meals with others? Was it a “Church” thing, friend thing, or a neighborhood thing? Why don’t we do this more?//
Soul (simpli)City Sundays
Over the past couple of weeks we have been gathering in our home with friends on Sunday nights for a little thing we called Soul City Sundays. They have been such a beautiful reminder of the SIMPLICITY that became so contagious and transformational in the First Church.
Last night was simply amazing. And amazingly Simple. First off, there were almost as many kids as adults – scampering around the house laughing, playing, and occasionally working through their “Do I really have to share” issues. All of us, kids included, shared an amazing meal together – compliments of Heather Wittaker.
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After all nine kids were tucked into their beds (we can fit a pack and play almost anywhere!) we went around the circle and each read aloud, slowly and deliberately the Sermon on the Mount – all 3 chapters of it. We shared how God was speaking to us personally through it and how He was speaking into the reality of Soul City Church. And then we worshipped.
The sound of our 13 voices was pure, strong, and sincere. I (Jeanne) fought off goose bumps the entire time as the spirit of God continually affirmed His vision of this church. After we worshipped people went around the circle and shared where they needed prayer and then another member of the circle committed to carrying that need with them throughout the coming week. We spent some time praying together and once we were done we lingered around for another hour or so laughing, connecting, and enjoying our friendships.
It was a powerful night. Powerfully Simple. There is always plenty of room for things like Production, Design, Structure, and even Complexity. We appreciate and engage regularly with each of those things. But there are times to just keep it Simple. To let the things that God has used for 1000’s of years be used again in a new and fresh and transformational way.
We’d love to hear about some of the “Simple” things you or your church are doing or have recently done. What did you do? What did you NOT do to do it. What did God do through it?
