Customer Reviews

The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small Is the New Big for Today's Church

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The book opens with a story about the Rabbit being able to reproduce at a quicker rate than the Elephant. This phenomenon is then likened to the monolithic nature of the mega church in comparison to 'simple church'. The book had my attention straight away.
The Rabbit and the Elephant is a book that is in good company with other writers taking an organic approach Christianity. Characteristically scripture is read through the lens of a house or small church perspective. Larger gatherings in the temples are viewed as the exception rather than the norm. Other 'organic' authors include Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole and Frank Viola, and all are mentioned in this book.
The following aspects of the book were salient for me. Firstly, the telling of stories. The authors relayed great stories of a range of "simple churches". What stood out to me was the willingness to give things a go. Being organic does not mean that initial vision necessarily is played out in how a group develops. Importantly, not all of the simple churches had happy endings. There was an element of reality in this.
The Role of women
I remember a story about the debate concerning the ordination of women in the Anglican Church Melbourne. A person asked Melbourne theologian Leon Morris for his opinion, and his reply was that there were women who led house churches in the bible. The Rabbit and the Elephant reinforces this position for me. There is a role for women in leading Church - ''simple house church'' or larger. If all are made equal this includes our potential for leadership.
Leadership
Leadership is presented as flat, and functional rather than positional. I liked the idea that if anything Leadership functions as more of a 'spiritual fathering mothering' role. The authors commented on the impact of finance on leadership - "whether we like it or not, it recreates the clergy/laity distinction". I would also add that it becomes "just a job" instead of a calling.
Finances
It is interesting that finances become far freeing for simple churches. The ability to bless others increases amazingly. I was surprised by the quote that it costs $1.5 million per baptism in the US. This suggests that from an economical standpoint churches are not being good stewards. The dominant model of western churches is not economically viable.
There were some issues mentioned in the book that I would have liked the authors to explore further. The issue of "Nothing for the kids"(p.182) was raised. I appreciate that there will be things that children can do with adults. But there will be discussion which will not be suitable for children.
Checks and Balances.
I'm not sure that this was covered. Authority was and I really like the point that authority is based on relationship not position. Yet I'm not sure how to safe guard others were mentioned, this is where I do think you need some checks and balances.
Conclusion
I think this is an excellent book. This book could be dangerous. It gives power back where it belongs. Not to those with a paid position or seminary badge. The book promotes a mindset that empowers anyone who wants to fulfill the great commission without being stuck in the prevailing narrow perceptions of church.

..."Why Small Is the New Big for Today's Church"

Tony and Felicity Dale start their book with this signature story from its title -- the difference between rabbits and elephants. I don't want to spoil the story for you, so suffice it to say, in their words, "Something that is large and complex is hard to reproduce. Something that is small and simple multiplies easily."

The whole rest of their book is filled with the same kind of refreshingly simple and sound wisdom, astute observation and sensitivity to what God is doing among the church today.

The real movement of simple church didn't actually begin with us in the west. Many of us know it started in the east, in China, spread to Korea and is also growing south of us in Southern America. Simple churches are springing up in Greece, in Africa, in eastern Europe (where newly built churches buildings are being torn down under all kinds of pretexts), and even in some Muslim countries. How can God multiply the church in countries that are actively, and increasingly, hostile to Christianity?

And just as importantly, in our own country, where sentiment towards traditional Christianity is changing from warm acceptance to open and active dislike, how can God revive His church here?

By bringing the center of attention onto His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has managed to keep a good reputation among nonbelievers.

By bypassing the institution of church, which has lost its reputation with the general public.

By putting the gospel, worship, fellowship, and mission back into the hands of the people.

There are many excellent themes running through this book, including:
* The vital importance of Ephesians 4 unity among all believers,
* The beauty of simplicity,
* The importance of following God's lead,
* The critical necessity of prayer first and last,
* The supremacy of God's word, living and active,
* And trusting in what God is doing

Here's what's going to happen, though.

For one thing, non-charismatics may curl up into defense position because the Dales are clearly charismatic. I can tell you as someone who has never operated in any of the "sign gifts," and who could not be properly termed a charismatic, I found the Dales' approach to be completely scriptural, solid and seasoned with salt. In fact, they several times, throughout the book, reassured the reader that you do not have to be charismatic to be involved with what God is doing in the "micro-church movement."

In fact, I had to agree with them when they said, on page 82, "In our experience, God seems to be blurring the distinctions more and more between charismatic and non charismatic believers." That would describe me and all the believers I know - and I know hundreds and hundreds of believers.

For another, those who have made orthodoxy (read "my church's catechism") of supreme importance may not like the Dales' methods. In fact, the authors have made a conscious decision to allow people to discover what the scriptures mean by applying God's word first to their lives, rather than to be taught what a particular catechism would say.

Personally I see this as an endorsement! But watch out for cranky naysayers who will shrill "heresy!"

The Dales also clearly support women's involvement in every aspect of church life, which may greatly bother those who feel women have been given only a limited role in Scripture.

Finally, those who are deeply invested in traditional church -- referred to as "legacy churches" in "The Rabbit," with gracious respect -- may find this book threatening, even though the authors repeatedly express their thanks and honor for what God has done through the institution of church. Those who prefer to remain in their traditional church can still start a simple church that meets at another time than their church service (as my husband and I are now doing).

In fact, the Dales' particular ministry, House2House is being actively supported by two mega churches, which they mention on page 194, and several more churches are described in "The Rabbit" which either support and encourage house churches among their members, or have transitioned into a network of house churches.

One aspect of "The Rabbit" which I particularly appreciated was the realistic approach. What God is doing right now is breath-taking. Thousands of churches worldwide are being started every year. Hundreds of thousands of people are becoming born again, and entering into an active living by faith. This is not merely lip service to the idea of salvation. This is the real thing! Still, in real life, there is also hard work, troubles, sometimes even death.

The Dales' do not hold back on cautionary tales and words of gentle warning. There will be those who go back to traditional church because simple church won't feel "right" after a while. There will be churches that blossom, grow, then die away ("We would rather have a church without the presence of the Holy Spirit be decently buried than maintained on life support indefinitely." I wish all of us had such practical and humble wisdom concerning dead churches). There will be churches that change from simple to traditional as a charismatic leader takes the glory and the control.

You will find in this book everything you need to start a simple church.

The methods "The Rabbit" explains come straight out of Luke 10, four simple steps. The format for the Bible study is so simple it's mind-blowing. Along with warm encouragement, engaging illustrations, and statistics provided by the Barna Group, "The Rabbit" offers an exciting tale that really, you would do yourself a favor by reading.

Many Christians affirm that Scripture is their "authoritative guide for faith and practice". However, when it comes to the "practice" of church there is a problem.

For instance, think about the picture that comes to mind when you say the word "church". How does that compare with the picture of "church" (or ekklesia)in the mind of Jesus and His disciples? The picture portrayed in the NT is that of a small, intimate, family-like group of people living life together. In many cases, this is not at all what is "practiced" in todays churches.

In "The Rabbit and the Elephant", the Dales take us back to the model of Church described in the Bible that we say we believe in. Turns out that there is solid Biblical basis for a rabbit (small) model of church. In addition, it turns out that this way of doing church is most effective for both deep personal transformation and for rapid multiplication.

So, this book is dangerous for clergy-centered, building-based (think $) churches that meet for an hour on Sunday mornings. And, if that kind of church is working for you, don't waste your time on this book. On the other hand, if you are one of the one million people (according to George Barna) who will leave the traditional church this year, then "The Rabbit and the Elephant" is exactly what you need.

I absolutely loved The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small Is the New Big for Today's Church by Tony & Felicity Dale and George Barna. This quick-reading book expresses so well in words what it is we are seeing first hand in our midst. I guess we aren't as crazy as people keep trying to make us!

So much within its pages resonates with our own experience. Tony, Felicity, and George have truly blessed us with a vivid, practical, and encouraging guide from church-as-we-know-it to church-as-God-wants-it (as W. Simson so aptly expresses it!) They have pulled this off without offending or speaking negatively against the Church at large.

Many today sense that there is a huge shift taking place globally. The Spirit of God seems to be "downsizing" the church in order to prepare her for the next (final?) stage of an unprecedented worldwide Kingdom harvest. Small is, indeed, the new big!

I like the way the Dales and Barna lead us through the elements of simple church by sharing their own pilgrimage. One gets the sense that what is shared has been personally lived, and not just some scholarly dissertation arguing the virtues and values of simple church.

In essence, the "revolution" we are living today is summed up on page 23-24 of the book:

The 16th Century Reformation was the result of a grassroots change in theology produced by ordinary people having access to the Scriptures in their own language. That Reformation is coming full circle in our day, only this time it is the church being put back into the hands of ordinary people, instead of the Bible.

"The objections [today] are similar as well: how can untrained and unqualified people run churches? Shouldn't that be reserved for the professional clergy? People who have jobs don't have the time to prepare a sermon, let alone get trained in hermeneutics. How are they going to prevent heresy? On what basis do they claim the authority to act as the church? Are they accountable to any higher church authorities? Can ordinary people administer the sacraments?"

The rest of the book deals with the practical matters of this already happening in tsunami proportions--a global reformation of the Church every bit as big as the theological reformation of the 16th century!

My own copy of the book is totally marked and highlighted with the practical suggestions shared in this "return of the church to the people." For example, on page 71, Acts 2:42 is used as a simple framework for this New-Old church order: 1) they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, 2) fellowship with one another, 3) the breaking of bread together, and 4) to prayer. These four parameters offer a definition of what the Holy Spirit intends to happen when believers then, and now, gather.

While much of the book was an encouragement to me personally, what really got me thinking in this book is something that has long troubled me about the whole simple/house/organic church movement. While hard to put in words, it might best be described as LIQUID CHURCH vs SOLID CHURCH. Is the church intended to be a solid structure? Or a flowing, ever moving stream of living water?

Throughout the book, I found this concept intriguing. What has always bothered me is the short "shelf life" of the simple/house churches we have been associated with. Very few seem to survive more than a few years at best before "melting" back into water again. Coming from a "solid church" upbringing, if something planted (eg. a church) does not remain fixed and continue to grow, I tend to view it as a failure. What the Dales/Barna so masterfully show, though, is that these "church melts" are precisely the way the Spirit of God continues to permeate and impact society with the Gospel!

Flowing, living water was never intended to stagnate--or freeze!--into solid structures requiring huge amounts of maintenance to keep things going. We are meant to continually be on the move! Water--liquid church--is able to permeate into every crack and crevice of society. We reach our neighbors, co-workers--hey, the world!--not by asking them to come to our church, but by bringing the Kingdom of God right into their living rooms and work places!

I cannot conclude this review without at least mentioning the last three chapters of the book: Chapter 21: "Pitfalls to Avoid"; Chapter 22: "No Empire Building, No Control, and No Glory"; and Chapter 23: "The Art of Rabbiteering." As the authors so aptly put it, there is real danger in brilliant substitutes for what God is doing, fashionable fads, movements without momentum, people without passion, leaders without a limp (as in Jacob), and reformation without revival. The Devil is always out there trying to divert church planting movements initiated by God's Spirit. Empire building, attempting to take control of what we see God doing, and wanting to share in the glory are real temptations to all of us observing this movement of the Holy Spirit.

It is for these final three chapters, and the spirit of humility in which this book has been written, that I give "The Rabbit and the Elephant" my highest recommendation. Even though I finished the book a couple of weeks ago, my head is still spinning with excitement at the implications of getting on board with the "rabbit" revolution of what God is doing. I want to be part of what Jesus is doing in giving birth to thousands of small, mobile churches that will impact the entire planet and usher in the Kingdom of God as intended from the beginning.

Go out and get hold of a copy of this book today!

Tony and Felicity have given us yet another readable, inspiring book on simple church. I read this on my plane ride from San Francisco to Nairobi as I was preparing to train Kenyans and Ethiopians on the principles of church planting movements. I'm glad I read it when I did as it gave me some great stories and data to include into the training. I was also pleasantly surprised to see two stories of two friends in their book as well. And this, I believe, is the strength of their books. Tony and Felicity are practitioners who are well-connected to practitioners, so the stories they share are valuable, inspiring and born out of real life! Every story is so well-chosen and has tremendous teaching value (check out their Army of Ordinary People as one of the best primers on simple church in my humble opinion).

I also want to take a moment to respond to some of the vicious and uncharitable accusations made on some reviews here. Every person is entitled to his or her opinion. But potential buyers, let me suggest that you discard anything that lacks the fruit of the Spirit in the spirit of its writing (especially self-control or kindness). The witness of the spirit in your discernment will guide you.

Having said that, let me assure you: there is no heresy or dangerous, unbiblical teaching in this book. There is some hard-to-hear teaching that will challenge those of us who have been steeped in tradition more than Scripture. But Jesus and all God's prophets had that same effect on people who clung more to what they believed than what was revealed. In fact, I would recommend that a book may be all the more worth reading if there are some alarmist responses. It indicates to me, as a student of history and movements, that something revolutionary is in the making if it causes such a rattle. Nearly all true reformers also experienced such kick-back and vague charges of heresy. Did they not?

In addition, there are no character issues or personal agendas driving this book. Everyone who knows the Dales know they are people of immense character, humility and integrity who have sacrificed much to follow Jesus. My wife and I have prayed with them all over the world for things that others will never see, know about or thank them for. I can assure you that there is no guile and scheming in them. And in fact, they are some of the most ecumenical and charitable-spirited people I am aware of in the simple church movement as they are reaching across the aisle to work with mega churches in reaching the lost. They want to reach the lost -- not build a personal empire or be part of something"big" and "populist." They have a long testimony of faithfulness, fruitfulness, and cooperativeness by which you can recognize their true natures.

Hopefully, you will have a chance to meet them in person or through their books to see this for yourself.

Mike, a current doctoral candidate and former teaching fellow at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School who has caught the vision for church multiplication,
and Leslie, a former research assistant and teaching fellow for N.T. scholars, Murray Harris and D. A. Carson.

Book Review: The Rabbit and the Elephant, Why Small Is the New Big for Today's Church by Tony & Felicity Dale, George Barna.

First, may I say this is the best house-church book I have read, and I have read a dozen or so! I've highlighted half this book! I love the author's excitement and the stories were overwhelmingly encouraging. The spiritual gift of exhortation from the authors was in full affect while reading this book. I appreciate the honesty of the authors as they told their struggles to help bring this biblical movement to America. Whether you agree or disagree this is just a great book and I was fascinated by every page.

A little about the authors: Tony and Felicity Dale were trained as physicians at Barts Hospital in London, where they pioneered simple church concepts while in medical school and later in the East End of London. Now living in the United States, they are actively engaged in church planting. They founded House2House magazine and have authored several books, including Renewing the Mind, Simply Church, and the Getting Started manual on planting house churches. They live in Austin, Texas. George Barna was born in New York City and later worked in the Massachusetts state legislature and as a pollster and a campaign manager. Introduced to Jesus Christ during his grad school years, he moved to California where he worked in media research and then as an executive in an advertising agency. George and his wife, Nancy, founded the Barna Research Group in 1984. To date, Barna has written more than 35 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health.
Let me share with you a little from this gem of a book. The title of the book and how they start it out is the story of the elephant and the rabbit being locked in a room for 22 months and how many offspring would come out after is amazing. Of course we would have only 3 elephants (mom, dad, and baby) but we would have millions of rabbits!! That was in the introduction of the book as analogy of simple church.

The first chapter goes into the story of how they struggled spiritually moving from a growing house church revival in England to coming to Texas and waiting 9 years before God began to work. They called it "God's wilderness training school". I personally can relate to this story and I think millions of pastors and church leaders can relate to that time of silence where you feel like "God has abandoned us" pg 5. I recognize their explaining the premise of the New Testament Church as not an event to attend or a place to go to on Sunday morning but a "vibrant community of Jesus followers, a 24-7 Kingdom lifestyle." Pg 6. They further explain it as "simple, vibrant communities of believers who are meeting in homes, offices, campuses, or wherever God is leading them." The authors give it another analogy as being like a liquid church "a type of church, that, like water, is seeping into every crack and crevice of our culture." Pg. 37 They write of a re-forming church from "an event-based institution to life- and relationship-based" pg. 30.

In chapter 6 "a radical church life". They speak about legalism and grace. "The grace and love of Jesus operating inside us causes us to want to do what legalism or shame-based religions says we ought to do." I would like to be honest, for me there were a few concerns with the charismatic flavor of the book. I would disagree with their interpretation of how the Spirit works individually and collectively in community. I feel that any cessationist or noncharismatic should read this book to understand this movement. I am in favor of this phenomenon and am personally transitioning our traditional church into an informal book of Acts missional community. If you are wanting to transition, I would put this book at the top of your list!

Chapter 13 was my favorite!!! I will be using this and teaching the "Luke 10 principle" to our church family. Getting this biblical principle down is priceless and well worth the price of the book! Please read this book...you will leave encouraged and excited about what God is doing in our country!!!

Jason Rigby
[...]

If we hope to make new disciples for Christ, Felicity and Tony Dale say, we must put aside the traditional ideas of church most of us grew up in. Instead we must return to the way church is described in Acts, chapters 2 and 4. And they explain how prayer, simple leadership, and the patronage of the Holy Spirit can make this possible.

If you're anything like me, your Sunday School teacher told you that evangelism consists of long monologues about Christ with the goal of getting people into church. The Dales say evangelism is building relationships with people, so the Spirit can come to them right where they are. And rather than hoping for the earthly glory of megachurch splendor, we should set our sights on the small, the simple, and the personal.

Aided by researcher George Barna, the Dales tell stories of their successful career planting simple churches in people's homes, baptizing them into the body of Christ and discipling them for Kingdom journeys. Their mix of storytelling bonhomie and carefully calibrated statistics reminds me of a science-minded Garrison Keillor. And just as that implies, you want to trust them, because they seem so human, and so dedicated.

I get the willies with the Dales' charismatic trust in Spirit-led worship with untrained leaders. Maybe I'm too old-line Protestant, but I can't quite accept that every urging in simple worship is necessarily from the Spirit. Conventional Protestants need to tailor the Dales' message for their own theology. But it's hard to argue with their community-based, hands on evangelism and prayer.

If we want to follow the Great Commission, the Dales say, we must stop trying to make new disciples come to us, and we need to stop pitching tents big enough to house millions. Instead we need to think small, local, and personal. After reading this book, I'm inspired to go start my own Prayer Walk. If you are a Christian with Christ's urging to reach the nations, you probably will be, too.

There are a series of things I really enjoy about this book.

First, it is consistent. It has a consistent philosophy of ministry and every story, even the way they treat the use of scripture is consistent with this philosophy of ministry. What is that philosophy: Jesus is Lord and he should lead everything. This is not about techniques, it is about a real Jesus who knows what to do and how to do it thorough us.
Second, this is simple yet not simplistic. Simple is easy to reproduce; complex isn't. If we want to see the gospel spread like a virus, we need to learn to be simple; to allow Jesus to do simple reproducible things through us.
Third, it is gracious. The Dales are not slamming more traditional churches, which they graciously call legacy churches in honor of their spiritual legacy in their own lives and in the lives of the pioneers of the simple church movement. There are no angry words about institutionalism. This is a gracious holding out of an olive branch. Let's see how others respond. Yet, they are able in this same gracious tone to highlight why simple and small is better and biblical. There is encouragement for big churches and little churches to work together under the lordship of Christ.
Fourth, it is practical. No pie in the sky theory. As a serious practitioner of organic/simple/house church planting I can tell you that this is the way it really is. Chapter 23, The Art of Rabbiteering as well as the Appendix are worth the price of the book. This is the gracious voice of experience. These are practical principles that are real, with all the warts. This is what it is like to allow Jesus to lead us into a real organic harvest. Sometimes there is failure, yet all things work together for good.
Will some people be upset by what is said here? Sure. But we need to see how they use Scripture to "combat" what is being said in this book. Are they really handling the Bible with consistency or are they reading their traditions back into Scripture. Is their tone as gracious and peaceful as the Dale's tone? Are they holding out an olive branch to work together under the Lordship of Christ, or are they upset because it doesn't fit what they've always known or are comfortable with.
I highly recommend this book if you want to learn how live this life of organic/simple/ missional faith under the lordship of Jesus himself.

As a pastor who has always lived with the idea that I would pastor a church in a building, with a traditional congregation with all the trimmings, the whole discussion of "house churches" can SEEM scary, but don't let it. Reading through this book, these "simple churches" are just a vibrant small group ministry with no parent church supporting them. I think the principle of simple churches can thrive and help grow a traditional "legacy church" even more than they do without it.

On the flip-side of the argument, I have seen poor small groups. Home bible studies can be just as self-centered and inward focused as churches with buildings and there are plenty of churches with buildings who are highly evangelical and missional. So I don't know that the argument is "let's get rid of the paid staff and building" I think the argument should be, how can ANY church be more outward focused with a heart for evangelism.

I think this book is a great tool for revamping how your church does small groups [or even your youth group]. I think we think of small groups as a way of connecting WITHIN the body of Christ, with each other. But this approach would use your small groups for outreach.

The book is an easy read with good stories and examples. I would read this in conjunction with Barna's book "Revolution."

Anyone familar with the revolution taking place in the local church scene is aware that George Barna has been writing and researching this phenomenon for the past several years. In addition to his own independent writing and research, Barna has been partnering with various proponents and leaders within the organic and simple church community to jointly write books on related themes.

In this joint effort with Tony and Felicity Dale, transplanted simple church planters from England now in the United States, Barna works with them to present a book that is both reinforcing of some of his past work and observations and yet also presents a more practical view of how simple churches are planted and grow.

Much of this book is a simple recounting of the Dale's experiences in planting small home based churches over the past 20 years in the US since their arrival in 1987. Prior to that, they recount the events surrounding similar churches in London connected within the medical community that they moved within at the time.

Parallels are drawn from Church history to reinforce many of the points made and the Dale's more charismatic evangelical perspective come through strongly too. From this is drawn one of the major premises of the book, namely that "A shift with the potential impact of the Reformation is happening in the Western church today. And this time it is occuring as the church - instead of the Bible - is being put back in the hands of ordinary people." (p. 23). Add to this an analysis of western culture which has traditionally valued program based large organizations as opposed to the smaller family like congregations of the growing simple/organic church movement and the introductory chapters of the book quickly move to a more practical recounting of what this movement looks like from the practical and demonstrable experience of the Dales.

A full scope of topics then ensues addressing issues such as leadership, discipleship, fellowship, finances, diversity, the absence of hierarchy and many of the other questions that would normally arise both from skeptics and those not familiar with the model presented.

All in all, this reviewer found the book to be very practical and a nice contrast and follow-up to some of the other works of Barna which have been more technical and statistics based or tied more into an ecclesiastical deconstruction of today's institutional churches.

Make no mistake however, many reading this book will be shaken to their core as they ask the fundamental questions about things that until recently have gone unquestioned by many. If any more evidence of the power of this message and model is needed, one need only be reminded that over 1,000,000 people will leave institutional churches this year. Many may well find themselves in the small, quickly spreading simple and organic type churches that this book outlines.

5 stars. A very timely and powerful book.

Bart Breen