"The Rabbit and the Elephant"

The Rabbit and the Elephant gets its title from a comparison of the reproductive speeds of rabbits and elephants. While rabbits multiply very quickly, elephants require a great deal of time to reproduce. The authors (Tony and Felicity Dale with George Barna) convincingly make the point that while simple churches are like rabbits, traditional/legacy churches are similar to elephants.

When I purchased this book, I assumed from the title that it would focus mostly on the multiplication of simple churches. While multiplication was part of the focus of the book, the authors also spent significant time speaking about the simple church in general. I found this to be helpful because they ended up writing about simple church reproduction within the broader context of simple church.

The authors focus on a great number of issues related to simple church life. They begin with the basics of what simple church is and how it functions, and then branch out into various other topics such as prayer, teaching, leadership, giving, missions, etc. Within this discussion multiplication is described and encouraged.

A significant bonus is the vast experience the Dales have in simple church. They add numerous practical examples to illustrate the concepts they discuss. These illustrations help make their ideas come to life.

This is a nice book for anyone to read regardless of background. The reason is that the authors both cover the basics of simple church and at the same time provide many helpful specifics for church multiplication. I found that while I had previously thought through some of what they discussed, I was also challenged with some new ideas.

I recommend it to all readers.