the issue of simplexity
The word simplex has appeared a few times on this blog. Its probably time to try and to eloborate on the idea behind my use of the this term. Well…while I use it is a nuanced way, it is stolen from the realm of biology, the humble naughty virus herpes simplex no less! Nonetheless, I have hacked the term to to try and bring two key ideas together–simplicity and complexity.
I once heard a quote that quite literally changed my life (I am not sure of its source, although M.Scott Peck also uses it, I don’t think it originates with him.) It goes like this:
I wouldn’t give you a dime for simplicity this side of complexity. but I would give you all that I own for simplicity the other side of complexity.
I take this to mean that some statements, while being true, nonetheless somehow fail to take into account the incredible compexities in which we live and with which we have to constantly deal with. C.S. Lewis once said that because the universe is complex, any understanding of the universe ought to take account of that complexity…and he’s right! The world is a complex place and any attempt to deny this actually denies the nature of reality. Fundamentalists do this all the time. They always always have a truth to waive around but it is usually truth understood this side of complexity. They have a truth, but they generally lack any respect for the complexities of the human situation before Infinite God and therefore the truths lack traction and value. Especially for adult forms of faith.
As for the other side of the equation…I would give all that I own for simplicty the other side of complexity I believe this refers to those truths that have somehow honored the complex situation in which we exist and have yet to offer a simple solution/insight that seems to just somehow unlock the meaning of things. Often these ’simplex truths’ recognize paradox and mytery as part of the equation. I think these are the deepest truths of our lives. Years ago I made it my life’s work to collect and articulate these simplex ideas. I have kept a journal of this collection over the years. It is worth spending one’s life in pursuit of these truths. and I think the Scriptures, good theology and philosophy are loaded with them. (This is one of the reasons I like Luther and the Existentialists and disilke some aspects of Calvinist theology–just to be provocative:-) )
In many ways, TFW is a work of this nature. It is an attempt to articulate the phenomenon of apostolic movements by identifying the key elements that come together to catalyze Gospel transformation on a large scale. It actually is a simple system and yet takes into account the remarkbale complexity of movements and the Christian faith. In a word it is a simplex phenomenon.
Whatever, I find this a very helpful way of articulating the simple-yet-profound truths that we sometimes stumble upon. I would value the insights and critique of the TFW gang on this. Go for it!
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Alan,
Simplex ideas are incredibly powerful because they are understandable and ring true to real life. I see the power of simplexity each time I share the story of creation and the fall with people.
The story of creation is quite simple, really. God created everything good, humanity very good. Adam and Eve lived in close community with God and one another, walking and talking together in the garden. They failed to trust God, taking the forbidden fruit, and they were separated from God and one another. The very earth was cursed, and the chaos of storms, tornados, disease, and death were released.
This story rings true because it acknowledges the paradox of life–there is incredible goodness in the world, but also great evil. It explains why there is a good God but a fallen world. I have studied with many unbelievers, and every time this story makes a big imptession, for it explains their world and life.
I have a free downloadable electronic version of my evangelistic Bible study for postmoderns, which tells this powerful story, at http://www.storyofredemption.com
This story is filled with simplex ideas–the simple but complex faith of Abraham, who trusts God but complains bitterly to him, the simple call to discipleship with its complex, profound demands, and of course, the simple idea of going to a cross but the complexity of the atonement.
Alan, I think you are on to something. And you keep stealing all of my ideas!
Good comment James about creation. I never throught of it that way. Mate, I stole it from the herpes virus!
Great post, Alan!
This simplex concept — which I first heard from Peck over 20 years ago — has been very important in the formation of much of my thinking…and may be the reason why I resonate with so much of what you have to say. Embracing mystery and paradox seem to require simplex “glasses”
Thanks for sharing these thoughts. A dear friend commented to me just today that “The power of the Hobbit’s thinking is that it operates BOTH on a simple surface level AND at a deep soul/spirit level at the same time…” No wonder they, of all the peoples of Middle Earth, were best able to resist the evil effects of the One Ring….they were on the other side of its lure.
Jesus is the archetypal “simplex” person… extraordinary wisdom and depth… but the simplicity of heart that obeyed the Father moment by moment, for nothing else really mattered.
When I discover a “simplex” concept, I “just know” it’s true… truth has both an elegant simplicity and an expansive reach about it.
I say that as an intuitive kind of person, not as a philosopher…
I’d have to say… TFW had that kind of “ah ha… I know this is true” feel about it for me.
You’ve hit on something that’s been on my mind as I’ve been meditating on making disciples. Jesus certainly was a master of teaching seemingly simple stories that had infinite depth.
As you’ve touched on, the simplex principle is not only displayed in theology but is translated into our mission and ecclesiology as well. After all, if we are to make disciples of all peoples then our life-changing practices must be simple enough for all people to duplicate in all our various contexts. And, maybe this is the true secret of loving as Jesus does. That we proclaim the good news of His Kingdom across all our social divides in order that we all may become one under His Lordship.
Alan,
You are definitely on to something. I heard Reggie McNeal (Leadership Network) say something very similar to this at a conference a couple of weeks back. McNeal stated that he is seeing this phenomenon show up all over the place (internationally). I think you are surfing a tide that is due to hit Evangelicalism head-on. No more “sunday school answers” or “one-size-fits-all” blanket statements. But instead, profound(simple)truth which proves its universal validity as it is applied in a variety of complex situations. Allowing for mystery, being ok with abiquity, embracing the tension.
When I read “Shaping” (still haven’t gotten to TFW yet….I feel so ashamed:) you(& Frost)were saying many things that I knew (through the Spirit of God) to be true, but had never been able to express. I am confident that God is moving, and you (and others who “get it”) are out in front of the curve on all of this (in relation to broader Evangelcalism). McNeal alluded to this recently saying, “the people of God are always trailing behind God and His current work on earth.” If this is the case, then you are a little more in danger of stepping on the back of God’s heals than many of the rest of us.
God Bless you brother,
Duke Revard
As Janet and Duke have indicated, TFW rings true because of its simplexity. Alan has formulated in this book what so many in the missional movement have been thinking and sensing intuitively for some time. This is what I meant in my joke about him stealing my (our) ideas. As Alan told me once, the sense that these ideas have been percolating in our minds is the highest compliment, for he takes this as a sign that he has really tapped into a God thing.
I would also state that simplexity rings true because it is reflective of God himself, who is three persons but one God. A very simple but complex idea, which has always led me to believe in its truth. Anything too simple would not be God. But if it were too complex, it would deny the incarnation.
Same here, the Shaping has really helped me organize what I already knew was true (and tomorrow, this time in Norway, I will talk with my pastor about it).
I am not sure if it’s simplex, but something I find sweet about faith (= trust in God) is the capability to bypass complexity and rest, knowing God has the control when I don’t.
Three cheers for Luther and another one for Kiekegaard. I can relate to this “simplex” post.
Lance, let’s take it a step further. As we think about making disciples who also make disciples it will require simplicity, but, we have made it hard.
When we look at the Great Commission (Our CO-Mission with God) we see something there that is often missed. The Holy Spirit!
We need a Holy Spirit filled and empowered DNA. Only as we are transformed by His Spirit and empowered so much so that people see the Holy Spirit all over us will we ever be able to make disciples.
The Holy Spirit will be all over us in this -but sadly, we forget the promise and focus on what we can do to make disciples. In the end, we have a profession of faith but deny the power so freely offered.
We need the infilling empowerment of the Holy Spirit. He has always been the answer. It is so simple and yet so overlooked.
Is it mDNA or hsDNA or??
Hey Sivin, and many cheers for Helmut Theilicke, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Hein, etc.
Hullo-o-o,
my reflections on simplexity are that the simplicity of infinite truth in God’s terms has a complexity when we seek to engage with it in human terms. God moves in the realm of the Spirit and His movement is simple in His terms, when we seek to engage our thinking in the process of discerning the spiritual reality it becomes complex! When God’s simple spiritual principles are articulated they “ring true,” there is an agreement in the human spirit, because we are created in God’s image… the challenge is in the articulation.
We articulate truth in our historical context. The first half of the last century, saw a movement that sought to restore an understanding of the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world. It began from a place of experience and continues to develop in the context of experience and theology. In a sense, one consequence of a reappraisal of the person of the Holy Spirit, led to one of the greatest contributions, of the great theologians of the latter half of the last century, which has been a rediscovery of the centrality of “Trinity.”
When Alan places “Jesus is Lord” at the centre, as a consequence of trinitarian theology, we are able to apprehend that as a trinitarian statement; what is at the root of the statement “Jesus is Lord” is the continual presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Alan terms this “christocentric monotheism” (p93) it is centred on inclusion in relationship in the Triune Godhead, through the inclusive relationship of the second person of the Godhead. (Alan points to N.T. Wright’s exploration of monotheism and Christianity in “Paul: Fresh Perspectives.”) The danger is that we limit the concept of “Jesus is Lord” to an apprehension of the second person alone, rather than holistically appreciating the trinitarian depth of reference to the Godhead per se. I appreciate James’ reminder “that simplexity rings true because it is reflective of God himself, who is three persons but one God.”
The great co-mission engages we mere humans, with the all-encompassing splendour of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the missional heart of the Father, operating in the missional activity of the Son, whose work is empowered in humanity by the ongoing missional impetus of the Holy Spirit. In the words of the three musketeers (who were actually four) “all for one and one for all,” or in the more mundane language of my wife, who is never one to pass up a bargain, “we get three for the price of one!”
So when James notes “This story rings true,” and Janet suggests, “When I discover a “simplex” concept, I “just know” it’s true…” what we sense is a lining up of our thinking with the truth of God’s word and God’s world… I see this as the process Paul identifies at the beginning of Romans 12
. This is the function of ongoing repentance in true biblical terms - we continually “change our minds” to line our thinking up with God’s spiritual reality, rather than be conformed to our experience of the material realm. We are led by the Spirit rather than by our minds, and consequently apply our thinking to understand the reality of what has transpired in our spirits. So… rather than the old evangelical cherry, that “the furthest distance to travel is the distance from a person’s head to their heart” - the reality is that change takes place in the heart first - it is first a simple spiritual principle implanted by God - and then the mind seeks to understand it - which is where complexity sets in!
What the missional movement seeks to do is “change the mind” of the church, for us to engage wth the spiritual reality that already exists. We do this by incarnation - what already exists emerges to become flesh; we, as spiritual beings with flesh on, put flesh on God’s pre-existing mission and become co-missioners with Him. It’s simplex really…
Slainte
A Celtic Son
How can simple people live well in a universe of complexity? The answer is “simplexity.” However, because simplexity comes from the other side of complexity, it cannot be immediately understood or valued. Simplexity is truly simple, but it is also truly complex in that it contains within itself the essence of the complex whole. Therefore, the truth of simplexity must be explained, it must often be revealed from without. Good examples for Christians are the parables of Jesus. Even the disciples had to be taught the meaning of these stories.
The ultimate example of simplexity is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is God who has taken on human form. He is fully human (finite, simple), yet fully God (infinite, mysterious - complex beyond human comprehension). Jesus is master of the complex. Yet, because even our simplicity has been marred by sin, the only way for us to live a life of simplexity is to repent of our sins, and believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Then we can live in Christ — that is in union/communion with the simplexity that is ours in Christ.
Inherent in the simplexity of living in Christ is to imitate Christ by also putting aside our “glory,” going to others who are dead in their sins, and incarnating the simplexity of Jesus Christ, incarnating the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
“Who is like you, O Lord among the gods? [God is beyond any simplexity we can construct (idols); God is beyond any simplexity we can conceive of (gods)]
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Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders.” (Exodus 15:11
In the Old Testament we encounter God the Creator of the universe, who is yet One, the great I AM. Can’t get more complex than everything we can only begin to conceive of plus mystery - infinitely more that we cannot even begin to conceive of. Can’t get more simple than one.