Last week Dave Browning made the rounds on a blog tour for his new book Deliberate Simplicity. "Less is more and more is better." You KNOW that topic is right up my alley, but I was still challenged. I found myself on both ends of the continuum; agreeing and disagreeing -- engaged the entire read with practical questions throughout.
I figured Dave was tired from his travels. After all, he hit Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, California, Michigan, Minnesota and more in one day. I asked to stop by Indiana (that's me) for a blog tour after party to answer some questions. Enjoy.
Kem: You grew up in Alaska. Did you go to school with Sarah Palin?
Dave: I graduated the same year as Sarah Palin, but from different schools. I do have a faint connection with her in that a friend of our family is her pastor.
Kem: Your book is about a topic that so many people seem to have a hard time grasping. The human condition goes against ‘deliberate simplicity’. We seem to think we’re not doing enough and can’t find the clarity to see we’re doing too much. What is your two sentence definition of deliberate simplicity in the context of church?
Dave: Keep the main thing the main thing. It's about relationships.
Kem: If somebody "gets it" and is ready to get started. Where do they begin?
Dave: Craft a mission statement that answers what precisely you are going to be doing and how precisely you're going to be doing it (remember: better to do a few things well, than many things poorly). Then look at everything through that lens. Be courageous enough to not say yes to everything.
Thanks for posting this interview, Kem!
Posted by: Andrew Rogers | Mar 23, 2009 at 08:10 AM