 |
 |
Why did you write this book?
I initially wrote it as an orientation for leaders in the Christ the King network. I soon found that other church leaders--particularly those who are looking for a less complicated way of going about the church's mission--were benefitting from the concepts.
Which concepts?
In the deliberately simple church the rules are: "Less is More, and More is Better." Success within these lines boils down to six factors: minimality--keep it simple; intentionality--keep it missional; reality--keep it real; multility--keep it cellular; velocity--keep it moving; scalability--keep it expanding. The first three factors (minimality, intentionality, reality) explain how "less is more." The last three (multility, velocity, scalability) expand on how "more is better." |
Tell us an example of how Christ the King effectively became "more" with "less"
One area in which this principle has served our movement well is in the area of music. Hundreds of musicians lead worship across the Christ the King network. Their musicianship ranges from average to extraordinary. Yet worship is consistently considered a strong suit for us. By keeping the expectations reasonable, we have been able to engage a large number of musicians, and keep the awe and wonder where it belongs, on Christ.
What are one or two lessons you've learned along the way?
We are not in the church business, the church planting business, or the multi-site business. We are in the leader business. This is all really about identifying, deploying, training and supporting leaders. To do that, it's important to realize that relationships are the key. Since relationships cost you nothing but time, and they yield the greatest return on investment, taper programmatic ministry activities to accommodate more time in relationship building.
Where did your ideas come from?
The Christ the King story has been a journey for me and many others. We've done things differently and over the years we have accumulated language and stories to describe what we're doing.
We are applying classic small group theory to not only the cell, but the congregation. That is, when the group grows beyond its optimal size, it will multiply and start a new group with a new leader. This is often done at the small group level, but we have also done so with the larger body.
When did you start making the shift from complexity to simplicity?
Early pastorates in complicated traditional and megachurch contexts put me back in touch with childhood dreams of a church that met "house to house and in the temple courts." I was also on staff at a church (of a few hundred) that clustered in five services on two campuses, then consolidated on one larger campus as a megachurch (of thousands). It created a vivid "before and after" picture of the trade-offs that come with increased scale. The experience inspired me to explore ways to propagate clusters, instead of moving de facto toward the broadcast paradigm.
How are church leaders responding to your ideas?
Most say that simplicity resonates with them. Many leaders are feeling overwhelmed and burned out by the bigger-is-better attractional model. The book articulates what many leaders are already feeling but haven't put into words.
Dave Browning is the founding pastor of Christ the King Community Church, International, a nondenominational multisite church with locations in 12 states and seven countries. Raised in what he describes as a very conservative, legalistic denomination, Dave has pastored in traditional and megachurch contexts. Dave lives in Burlington, WA, with his wife and three children.
|
|
 |
|
