Everywhere I go these days, big is in. My combo meal is super-sized (I mean try to open your mouth big enough to get a Steer Burger or Big Mac in there), my 4×4 double cab is third row, and the TV of my dreams is 62-inch plasma. We all are big eaters, big spenders, and big wasters.

Even our churches are into big, owning big malls and even bigger coliseums in order to accommodate big crowds and enable big growth. Like the population at large, we Christians seem to have a growing acceptance of the bigger is better credo.

But all this growth might be creating some big problems.

Our society and systems seem unable of handling the never-ceasing expansion of want and need. Our souls are groaning and the planet is buckling beneath the damage of growth. Landfills are full, the air is thick, and we cannot drink from many of our streams.

In light of our growing problems, maybe the church should give small a chance. I propose that ministry leaders are just the ones to help Christ followers exchange big for small. After all, leaders are supposed to help usher others toward something better (not just something bigger), so maybe we should start ushering folks toward living lives that are less hectic, less cluttered, less selfish and less toxic. And maybe instead of a big ad campaign advertising “LESS!” we should start living with less ourselves. Instead of the pulpit, maybe some personal choices would help slow down the growth, bring some sanity to our lives and make the world more livable.

Touchy subject I know …..but ever though on simplification. So what does living and leading with less look vir you? Kids sometimes know best – I always look what they draw and it always seem so simplistic …. maybe we can learn from them …… and those in Africa which we serve.