_Microsites  >  Sheffield Centre  >  encounters  >  Simpler Church

Simpler Church

Simpler church

Keep church simple
Western society is becoming increasingly stressful and busy. People own more than in previous generations, but there is never enough time. In the midst of all the pressure, people are crying out for simplicity in all aspects of their lives. This includes church.

Here George Lings asks: "How can we create ways of being church which are simpler yet keep essentials? What sort of meetings actually enable people to meet and grow as disciples of Christ? Can time for family, work and friends beyond the church circle be protected? How simple is it to keep it this simple?"

Seeking to answer these questions, George, who was out in Australia, met the Explorers Christian Church at Wentworth Falls, an area where many are economically stretched as well as time-poor due to having to commute to work. How could church life be made simpler for them so that it would have a chance of working?

George was impressed with what he discovered, and found it helpful to compare their journey as a church with the story of three explorers who, in 1813, pioneered a way across the Blue Mountains of Australia by travelling along the ridges. Wentworth Falls was named after one of those explorers (Mr William Wentworth) and the Explorers Christian Church shares their sense of pioneering and journeying into the unknown.

To read the story of both the 1813 explorers and the present-day Explorers Christian Church, order "Simpler Church: Where time is at a premium", number 32 in the Encounters of the Edge series.