Discipleship – Simplicity and Complexity

As I skimmed through a lot of the great discussion happening on Brian Hofmeister’s posts on discipleship, I felt it important to make at least some brief response to one major theme that is at play in the discussion about discipleship.

I DO think that we need to be committed to overall simplicity in our approach to discipleship, but not be fooled by the truth that in all apparent simplicity that really works there is a tremendous amount of complexity.

I am tired of the discussions about “organic” church that overemphasizes simplicity. Not that Neil Cole does this, but some advocates of such moves are actually simplistic. Any fool should recognize that there is a tremendous complexity within all organisms (i.e., organic movement or material). For there to be true biological development and growth, internal systems are highly developed for continued and effective growth. Photosynthesis is apparently simple (light + water = growth) while being so complicated that few of us realize the minute pieces of that process.

I think that the same should be true of discipleship and spiritual formation in the church. We need to take the necessary hard work as leaders and facilitators of the process or processes of discipleship and spiritual formation to develop complex systems of development and growth that are apparently simple.

Thus the joy we feel when we enter a church and can fairly easily and with little work navigate and enter the process of spiritual formation. If that process is truly organic and developmentally healthy, it will necessarily be complicated but should not appear to be to the superficial glance.