What is simple church? This is a simple question that doesn t have a simple answer.
Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity is an attempt to shed light on the above question and provide some answers. The twenty-four contributors all hope this book will help people, both inside and outside the church, better understand what simple church life is all about.
Far too often discussions about the church descend into arguments that accomplish little. We have no desire to take part in that. Rather, each person who has written a chapter for this book desires that it will lead to increased communication, understanding, and ultimately unity within the body of Christ.
Twenty-four writers means twenty-four somewhat different perspectives. We certainly do not agree on everything. You will see that as you read through the book. What we do agree upon is that simple practices often lead to great opportunities for edification and service both inside and outside the church. We want to share these ideas with other followers of Christ and explain what it is all about. If you would like to know more about simple church from a positive perspective, then this is the book for you!
Written simply and coherently it makes good reading. Unfortunately it is too simplistic when it comes to the question of unity of the Church. The writers are obviously local good folk who write well and innocently. Their dealings with differences in the many and varied denominations is honest but naive. So many factors unfortunately very worldly and materialistic gave rise to the phenomenal split of churches though the message is one. Cultural, regional and egotistical craving for power are some of the factors preventing the message of Christianity from being a shared experience but rather a dissonant collection of churches divided by human factors of the worst kind rather than joined the love of Jesus and by common worship. Where doctrine rules God is abandoned.
Somehow both challenging and obvious at the same time.
This volume says much about how church can be, and often is not. It is provocative and attractive at the same time. It has left me understanding much more clearly some of my personal dissatisfaction with church, and the challenge of change.
The editor Eric Carpenter was offering this book to anyone that would send him an email so I did, I had planned on purchasing it but had not done it yet. Eric chose me and so I received this copy in the mail from him. This book is refreshing, enlighting and diverse in thought. Every chapter is a different author so the book is interesting with every chapter. Each chapter / author brings their experience, wisdom in a positive narrative. I found each chapter as an exhortation to get back to simple church, simple practices that stimulate you to great opportunities for edification and for service without the politics of a church. The Chapters are laid out in a way that seems to build on the last and the last two chapters clarify and challenge you to Share the Gospel and to live it out as ambassadors for Christ. If you want simplicity and encourage for your life and how to live in light of the Gospel. This book does a great job to encourage that.