The simple revolution is here. From the iPod design to Googles uncluttered homepage, simple ideas are changing the world. Multi-awarded #1 national...
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reviews
Jan 23, 2012
Travis
rated it: 
Do we need another stat-filled book offering churches another way to organize themselves in order to maximize their effectiveness, reach more people, heighten fellowship, stir excitement, encourage evangelism, and all the rest? It would be nice if we had no use for such works; but the fact is, we do. Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger have collaborated to bring to us a work that is by no means earth-shattering, yet is somehow hitting a note that many of us miss. I’m not a big fan of the Church Growth
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Aug 08, 2011
Sean Kahlich
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While I appreciate the concept of the book, it is self-defeating in its length. The heart of the message of Simple Church is to clarify, move, align, and focus on what discipleship at your church looks like. This book could have been a pamphlet.
I read the whole first chapter. I skipped a few sentences in the 2nd chapter. I skipped paragraphs in the 3rd. And I only read bold headlines for the rest of the book.
It was dry and exhaustive. Most of the sentences were written (I guess) in a way t More...
I read the whole first chapter. I skipped a few sentences in the 2nd chapter. I skipped paragraphs in the 3rd. And I only read bold headlines for the rest of the book.
It was dry and exhaustive. Most of the sentences were written (I guess) in a way t More...
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Jul 28, 2011
“Does it fall within the domain of prescription for the first-person subject to analyze the relationship of similitude of the second-person object to a period of solar illumination occurring during a season between a solstice and the autumnal equinox?” In the linguistic sense of referential meaning, that sentence is poetry. It asks nothing different in referential meaning than Shakespeare’s line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The second line, however, has a certain elegance and beaut
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May 27, 2010
Jason
rated it: 
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 g More...
The authors have done statistical work to back up their position that a "simple church" is more likely to be a g More...
May 22, 2008
Tracy
rated it: 
This is a great book! It's not all the time that you can read a "churchy" book and find processes and concepts that you start applying to work and home as well! Lots of interesting data and lots of personal stories from two guys who really seem to understand the simple message Jesus brought -
Love God | Love People | Serve the World
Read it and give it to everyone on staff, leadership or ministry in your church... then be patient when it takes a while to make it all
Love God | Love People | Serve the World
Read it and give it to everyone on staff, leadership or ministry in your church... then be patient when it takes a while to make it all
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Jul 27, 2011
Chris
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Rainer and Geiger have conducted research on and put on paper what so many of us in ministry have known to be true for years: Most churches are trying to do far too much and are doing almost none of it well in the process. They advocate for simplicity for 250 pages. Honestly, I picked it up in the first few chapters, and certainly the second half of the book was superfluous in some ways. My biggest criticism of the work is it's repetitiveness. Simple, simple, simple, I get it.
But ther More...
But ther More...
Apr 15, 2011
Dan
rated it: 
This book reaches the right conclusions (mostly) but instead of getting there from a biblical/exegetical basis, they do so on the basis of extensive research. This is interesting as a secondary source but I'd suggest starting with "The Trellis and the Vine" first. Frankly, I didn't really enjoy this. I'd rather be motivated to follow a discipleship pattern from Scripture than research. It feels like this is the evangelical answer to Jim Collins "Good to Great". The probl
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Jan 09, 2010
Danny
rated it:
Enjoyed this look at simplifying the church. Some of my favorite quotes include:
Are the people in his church being transformed? Is his church making real disciples, the kind of disciples Jesus made?
the overprogrammed & busy church is the norm. The simple church is the exception, ... that should not be the case
Like the homes on the television show, many churches need an extreme makeover.
In general, churches that are vibrant and growing are simple. The vibrant churches are much More...
Are the people in his church being transformed? Is his church making real disciples, the kind of disciples Jesus made?
the overprogrammed & busy church is the norm. The simple church is the exception, ... that should not be the case
Like the homes on the television show, many churches need an extreme makeover.
In general, churches that are vibrant and growing are simple. The vibrant churches are much More...
May 17, 2011
Micah
rated it:
Although the book is not exegetically based, it does provide some extremely helpful observations on the success of disciple-making churches today.
The basic premise is that if you want to create a disciple-making culture in your church, then you need to simplify the process. If you do this, there is the potential, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for it to catch like wildfire. Most of the holdup in many churches in America stems from the complexity and isolation of the ministries More...
The basic premise is that if you want to create a disciple-making culture in your church, then you need to simplify the process. If you do this, there is the potential, through the power of the Holy Spirit, for it to catch like wildfire. Most of the holdup in many churches in America stems from the complexity and isolation of the ministries More...
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Oct 23, 2011
Brett
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Programs, programs, programs! So many churches suffer from program overload – programs that often compete with one another for limited resources (money, staff, time, etc.) and that often are not in synch with the church’s mission. Rainer and Greigor’s research indicates that full-service churches (a church with a program for everything) are not nearly as effective as simple churches – churches that can identify a clear discipleship process and only utilize programs that move church members alo
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Jan 11, 2011
Bryan
rated it:
Great read for pastors and staff members. Some have criticized this book as another "how to grow your church" book. That was not my assessment nor do I think this was the author's intention. This book is not meant to take away from Christ building His church. On the contrary, this book promotes Christ's vehicle for His building the Church--namely discipleship. The heart of this book, in my opinion, is to examine and clarify the process of making disciples both in communication and impl
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Jun 22, 2009
David
rated it:
These guys have some good principles from which to work. It is a worthwile read. I borrowed it from one of my three "goodreads" friends because a local church seems to have bought into it and is using it to justify some changes they are making. I wanted to see what it was about.
The authors want us to focus on the process of making disciples, establish a three or four step process, and build everything around that process. They push for everything the church does to be a More...
The authors want us to focus on the process of making disciples, establish a three or four step process, and build everything around that process. They push for everything the church does to be a More...
Apr 29, 2009
Erin
rated it:
I was referred this book by a pastor at a large church I recently visited and really admire--their vibrancy and passion for what they do is inspiring. "Simple Church" is about doing more with less: using a simple design process for ministry that has the four characteristics of clarity, movement, alignment, and focus. All simple churches need these to thrive. Many churches that are stagnant or declining are too complex and all over the place, diluting their message and trying to be t
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Aug 05, 2011
Scott
rated it:
This was a great book and a great concept. It discusses how we have over-complicated church and in turn try to make programs for everything. It makes a strong argument that all this does is keep the few people at are involved...more involved. The argument is that you should push out programs through existing structures...in particular through small groups that are then backed up from the pulpit. This is a decent argument and could and should certainly work. Unfortunately the book seems to h
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Aug 21, 2009
Sally
rated it:
Blech! Yuck! I did NOT like this book. I am reading it because our pastor experienced an epiphany as a result of reading it and has made a lot of changes in our church, running rough-shod over existing structure and programming. This book is one of the current church-as-business genre, where strategies for growth are posited as ways to build the church. But where is God in all of this? If we were really living the way He wants us to, and trusting in Him for results, we'd see far more thing
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Jan 30, 2012
Nat
rated it:
This book was fascinating and a breath of fresh air.
However, I think it goes right down generational lines. Instead of a church with programs and events, it promotes discipleship using the same advancement methodology for all the generations in the church. While it seems logical and sound, I believe the biggest struggle will be getting people on board and actually changing the ministry philosophy of the church.
It's easy to see which ones in society have because they are winn More...
However, I think it goes right down generational lines. Instead of a church with programs and events, it promotes discipleship using the same advancement methodology for all the generations in the church. While it seems logical and sound, I believe the biggest struggle will be getting people on board and actually changing the ministry philosophy of the church.
It's easy to see which ones in society have because they are winn More...
Apr 15, 2009
Bertcrabbe
rated it:
Some really good work here on how churches work and what makes them successful.
Thankfully, authors Rainer and Geiger don't just give us opinions, but back things up with ample statistical data.
The fact is that when it comes to churches, simple is better. Fewer ministries means more focus and more lives reached.
Churches with meetings every night of the week and 64 different ministries competing for money in the budget and space in the bulletin often have tons More...
Thankfully, authors Rainer and Geiger don't just give us opinions, but back things up with ample statistical data.
The fact is that when it comes to churches, simple is better. Fewer ministries means more focus and more lives reached.
Churches with meetings every night of the week and 64 different ministries competing for money in the budget and space in the bulletin often have tons More...
Sep 29, 2011
Brian
rated it:
I'm going to keep most of my opinion to myself on this book's writing and use of stats, because I think he makes some valid arguments.
I think calling this concept a simple church is more marketing and setting the stage for the concept than anything else. In large part what he is arguing for is a consistent unified design in each Church. Getting to and remaining consistent to that design is NOT a simple process in any means. I agree it is something that could and perhaps should be More...
I think calling this concept a simple church is more marketing and setting the stage for the concept than anything else. In large part what he is arguing for is a consistent unified design in each Church. Getting to and remaining consistent to that design is NOT a simple process in any means. I agree it is something that could and perhaps should be More...
Sep 02, 2008
David
rated it:
Pretty good book, a little to typical-Modern for me. Looks to find the golden-thread of "successful churches" (which are those that are growing numerically - yuck).
Basically, it comes down to a more usable version of Living On Purpose (I'd use the phrase Purpose Driven but that's become something other than, well, Purpose Driven!). Have a 'core' vision, make sure EVERYONE is on-board, and then go after this Core and don't do other stuff.
The way the authors present More...
Basically, it comes down to a more usable version of Living On Purpose (I'd use the phrase Purpose Driven but that's become something other than, well, Purpose Driven!). Have a 'core' vision, make sure EVERYONE is on-board, and then go after this Core and don't do other stuff.
The way the authors present More...
Feb 07, 2008
tohuvabohu
rated it:
Great reminder that what church is all about isn't a collection of programs, but growing disciples of Jesus. We all know that, right? But the way we go about doing all our programs in our churches actually keeps us busy and distracted from our discipleship. Church stuff gets in the way of us being real church.
Our church tag line has been:
Meeting Jesus and discovering ...
Real community. Real worship. Real life. Real mission.
What the book showed was that where w More...
Our church tag line has been:
Meeting Jesus and discovering ...
Real community. Real worship. Real life. Real mission.
What the book showed was that where w More...
Oct 12, 2007
Nicholas
rated it:
We read this book as a staff and we used it as a basis for figuring out what we needed to do to become more alligned, clear, focused, and healthy and a church. It really cuts to the chase and talks about how the world offers people SO much information that people are walking around on information overload. Then the church comes along and tries to keep people SO busy that they simply burn out over time. If the church truly wants to be DIFFERENT, or set apart, from the world...we need to strongly
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Sep 05, 2011
Jeremy
rated it:
i really appreciated the whole point of the book, but it probably could have been stated in a much shorter form (as is probably the case with most books). In this day and age, it seems like the best thing for the American church and pastor is simplicity. Consumerism can take us away from what the church and pastors are supposed to do, and the day-to-day pressures on many church leaders can pull them away from why they got into ministry in the first place. This book is a great place to start f
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Feb 12, 2009
John
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Rainer and Geiger conducted a study on church health... this is their book about that study. The sum of the study: less is more when it comes to church programs. There are some good nuggets in here, but the book as a whole is weakened by the lack of theological insight Rainer and Geiger bring to the table. For them health and growth are synonymous. I wouldn't argue growth is a helpful indicator of health, but it's certainly not the only indicator, and all growth isn't good growth.
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Mar 18, 2010
Rob
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Vital information for church leaders: simple churches tend to be better churches. The authors urge church leaders to offer fewer, more streamlined programs at their churches. They point to simplicity as a major factor in the success of Apple and Google products and services and look for analogies in church matters. Sure enough, they have found that simple churches, with basic programs that emphasize spiritual development, fare better than churches with heavy program schedules that focus on the n
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Sep 21, 2011
Sean
rated it:
Rainer & Geiger do a good job of showing how congregations fail to make lasting progress. In turn, they lay out a way to correct this that is practical and very beneficial. Aside from making congregational applications the principles can easily be adopted on a personal level. In short, the book does a great job of showing how to set goals and insure that they can be met.
Jul 21, 2010
Thomas
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Pastors and church leaders can't afford to miss this book. I was deeply challenged to clear off much of the busyness that clutters the church calendar and engage people in a simple plan of discipleship.
I could have lived without all the statistics in each chapter. They would have fit better in an appendix. Other than that, this book was impacting.
I could have lived without all the statistics in each chapter. They would have fit better in an appendix. Other than that, this book was impacting.
Nov 26, 2011
Joey
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Clarity establishes the mission. Movement creates the expectation of growth and progress. Focus allows the mission to take center stage. Alignment pares the program to fit the mission.
With these simple concepts, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger create a super-simple method of bringing disciples closer to Jesus Christ.
With these simple concepts, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger create a super-simple method of bringing disciples closer to Jesus Christ.
Jun 05, 2008
Dion
rated it:
the idea is simple enough, and there wasn't much profound here. But it's one of those books where you're just so glad that someone else is actually saying what you've always kinda thought.
The whole idea is that complex, cluttered churches are less effective (demonstrated through research) than simple churches.
The concept is so alluring, so exciting, that the church can be VERY effective while at the same time being VERY simple... but I found the actual application to be More...
The whole idea is that complex, cluttered churches are less effective (demonstrated through research) than simple churches.
The concept is so alluring, so exciting, that the church can be VERY effective while at the same time being VERY simple... but I found the actual application to be More...
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May 29, 2011
Clayton
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If your a church leader, you need this book. this is not a book to lead a class on for members. this is a book that LEADERS study and implement to the members through it's ideas. Rainer has hit the nail on the head with not only how churches should be measured in terms of success but how we can take our churches to that success.
Jul 27, 2011
Ron
rated it:
Pretty good book for a ministry team to read together. It provides talking points and vocabulary for constuctive discussion. The book on its own was not so inspiring...pointing out the obvious, but verfiying it as well, which is helpful. It was short, I think, on ideas/suggestions for application in a local context.
