K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid

Have you heard of the K.I.S.S. Method? It’s and acronym for Keep it Simple Stupid. In my last column, I wrote about the simple truth and how sometimes I think we overcomplicate the Word of God. Part of that post was inspired by a book. I never got around to talking about the book. Let’s change that today. 

Thanks Jon Acuff

I was listening to Jon Acuff’s Podcast, All It Takes Is a Goal. He was talking about how he accomplishes the goal of reading 100 books in a year. In a good year I can get half of that and I have no real desire to do more, but I do love how he approaches goals. At the end of the podcast he recommended a book called Obvious Adams. He spoke of it as a business book that is written in parable form. I love parable books—books that use a story to make their point. This one was written in the early 1900s but it was amazingly relevant to life today. It only took about two hours to read. (No wonder Mr. Acuff can read 100 books in a year, but I digress.) I have to admit this really was a good book.

Obvious Adams

The book started as an article in the Saturday Evening Post in 1916 by Robert R. Updegraff. It  chronicles a fictitious ad executive nicknamed “Obvious” Adams. He got the name because of his unique ability to state the obvious in compelling ways. Today we might call him Captain Obvious, a derogatory term to some, but perhaps that should not be the case. In the book Adams goes to various clients and at first they are not impressed by his simplistic ideas. They are looking to be wowed creatively, dazzled by brilliance, and instead he gave them things that the client felt were general knowledge. The thing is they are obvious to an expert in a category, but they are not known to the general public. Adams then reminded these clients that they were not selling to the experts. Their audience was the general public. 

Could It Be That Simple?

The question reverberated in my mind. “Could it really be that simple?” I think it can. Why is our tendency, especially in matters of faith, to lead off with the complex. It’s the equivalent of feeding a baby a nice T-bone. It’s a worthy meal, but they can’t eat it. There is a time for plumbing the deep mysteries of the faith and that can be a wonderful thing, but you can’t really skip steps. You need to start with the basics and build from there. You need to lead off with the simple truth.

Give Them a Picture

I sometime look at my ministry and wonder if it is over complicated. Most ministers and speakers show up with a lap top or a tablet and a Bible. To get my things from place to place, I need a minivan full of art supplies. Sometimes I struggle with whether or not it’s necessary, but then I think about it. I’m not here to simplify my life, I am here to simplify God’s truth, and the way God has given me to do that is to give them a picture. The picture draws them in and helps them to see and get this, remember the truth. I first witnessed the power of this when my wife and I planted a church. 

Worth a Thousand Words

We met in a small rented facility. We were not allowed to do much in the way of decoration, but we could hang pictures. So I would do a live painting every week. The painting always went with my message and at the end of the service, I would hang the painting on the wall. The room looked like a gallery of my speedily painted creations, but that wasn’t what it was about. At first, it may have been a way to decorate, but what I quickly found was visitors were drawn to the paintings and the congregation could point to the painting and tell them what I preached about, weeks, months and sometimes even years after the fact. It was a simple thing to do and it bore fruit. People were retaining the simple truth. 

It Makes Sense if You Think About It

When small children are in the church, we don’t give them pages full of text. They won’t understand that. We give them illustrated materials that are designed to help them to understand what is going on. What is the cut off age for that? I’m of the belief that there really isn’t one. Pictures are a great way to communicate the truth and they are memorable. Beside that, literacy not withstanding, the hope is that there would always be people in the church for whom this is new information. If we don’t have those people, the church is not on a good trajectory. Before we can get to the spiritual “meat,” we need to bring people up to speed on the simple truth. I’m convinced that there should always be elements of that in every service. 

Keep It Simple, Communication Must Lead to Understanding

If it doesn’t, especially in the church, something isn’t working. I remember reading a book for a ministry class, in which there was a sentence that included five words I needed to look up. Ironically, that sentence dealt with making the Gospel understandable. We, as the church, are here to communicate the truth that sets men free, and while some of that can be very deep and scholarly, it all starts with a simple truth. I think when we communicate God’s truth, it would be wise to filter our communication through the K.I.S.S. method. Maybe we need to ask ourselves, “Will everyone understand what is being said, and if not, what can I do to make it more clear?”

Jesus Is Our Example

Think about those parables of Jesus. For the open hearted, and the people that were seeking truth and there to learn, the parables were a tool. They were simple stories Jesus told, often with elements from the audience’s every day lives, that were designed to help them understand complicated things. Think about baptism, which represents death and resurrection. Or communion, where two of the staples of their diets were used to represent Jesus body and blood. What was the instruction that went with communion? “Do this in remembrance of me.” These things were given to help people to understand and remember. Jesus was giving them a simple truth. 

Keep It Simple   

When in doubt, simplify. If questions arise, answer them. Be as clear and concise as you can. Use whatever gifts you have received to help people to receive God’s ultimate gift—eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. It may seem obvious, but it’s right. You don’t have to dazzle them with brilliance, you just have work with the Holy Spirit to help them to understand and receive. That’s the simple truth.