Simple: plain, basic, or uncomplicated in form, nature, or design; without much decoration or ornamentation.
Picture something with me. Are you ready? Don't close your eyes because you won't be able to read on :)
Picture a pure stream coming off of a mountain. It is fed by melted snow and freshly fallen rain.
As it flows down, it picks up...stuff. All kinds of stuff. Dirt. Small pieces of rocks. Leaves. Animal, uh, leftovers.
As it flows down, it seems less clean. Probably something you don't want to drink. You might feel it later if you do drink it.
But, here is the thing, the water is still pure.
You might say "hmmm, Wes, you don't know what ‘pure’ means.” You might be right, but this is what I mean: the water itself is still pure. The H20 is still there, just mixed up with junk that isn't water.
Mixed in with all of the mess is the life-giving, pure water we thirst for.
The Church* is like that water. Two millennia have passed since the Spirit started his movement we call the Church (see Acts 2), the purity of what He is making is often mingled with sin-saturated selfishness. We muddy the waters with our desire for power, money, and prestige...all in Jesus' name. It becomes a muddy, undrinkable mess that many around us don't want to drink.
But, in the midst of the mess is the beauty of the Church Jesus died for. Simple. Pure. Uncomplicated.
My heart's desire is to explore who we (the Church) really are. What is pure, simple, and uncomplicated in Jesus' eyes. A Jesus-shaped, life-giving community that our friends and neighbors thirst for.
*The Church is all of the people who have trusted Jesus over all time, in every place and our church are one, local expression of the group that Jesus has set his heart on.