simple

by Rob Morgan

For this great book and other Christian resources, visit www.randallhouse.com.

I LIKE SIMPLE. Simple habits are the best ones, and a simple life is the richest one. One writer observed that petting a puppy lowers blood pressure by almost 50 percent. Watching fish swim lowers stress more than most types of meditation. Singing a happy song makes you smile, and getting a few minutes of natural sun elevates the depression-busting endorphin and serotonin levels in your body.

Well, our Almighty Creator-God is the most multifaceted and unfathomable Being in the universe, but He communicates us to in words as simple as: “For God so loved the world….” He calls us to live simple lives, develop simple habits, believe simple truths, and radiate simple joy.

It’s not that we’re simple-minded; we deal with the deepest truths under heaven. But we are simple of heart and habit. And while our beliefs are deep enough to challenge the world’s greatest thinkers, they’re plain enough for children to understand. Success in life comes from sticking with the simple basics of the holy life.

A year or so ago, Steven Pierce, my friend and fellow staff member at our church, asked me to write a little book for us to use with new church members, new Christians, and with anyone wanting a better grasp on the basics of victorious Christian living. I decided instead to prepare a series of sermons on the ABC’s of Christianity. We called that series: “SIMPLE: The Christian Life Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated.” We’ve since turned that series of messages into a SIMPLE book dealing with five basic habits of the spiritual life

• Assurance – How can I know for sure?

• Baptism – Why should I get wet?

• Church – What’s it got to offer?

• Devotions – How can I stay close to God?

• Evangelism – How can I share my faith with others?

This book takes the approach advocated by the fourteenth-century clergyman, William of Occum, whose famous principle of methodical reductionism is now called Occum’s Razor. It states that one should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything. In other words, the simplest answer is usually the best one, and wisdom is found in keeping things as simple as possible.

While our beliefs are deep enough to challenge the world’s greatest thinkers, they’re plain enough for children to understand.

Comedian Steve Martin touched on the same theme when he said, “You just can’t sing a depressing song when you’re playing the banjo.” His point was that simple pleasures and happy tunes bring joy to our lives.

Well, as Christians, we can’t stay depressed or defeated if we’re strumming the five strings of assurance, baptism, church involvement, daily devotions, and evangelism. When we master those SIMPLE habits, and when our churches focus on them, we find ourselves at home, walking with our Lord along the sunlight pathways of Galilee.

It’s our desire that through this new Randall House book, thousands of people will rediscover the SIMPLE truth of Jesus: I have come that you may have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.

Rob Morgan has been pastor of the Donelson FWB Church in Nashville, TN, for 25 years. He is a best-selling and Gold-Medallion winning writer with well over a million books in print. He and his wife Katrina have three daughters and three granddaughters.

To find out more about Simple and other great resources, visit the Randall House website at www.randallhouse.com.