Simple Life: Time, Relationships, Money, God

by Thom S. Rainer, Art Rainer

New

Genres: Christian, Church, Theology, Spirituality, Christian Living

344 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers and Executive Director of Revitalize Network. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama where he received his degree in business administration. He received both the master of divinity and the Ph.D. degrees from Southern Seminary.

Dr. Rainer has served as pastor of four churches. He is the former president of Rainer
Group consulting. He served for twelve years as dean at Southern Seminary and for thirteen years as the president and CEO of LifeWay Çhristian Resources.

Dr. Rainer has authored or co-authored 33 books. Among his greatest joys are his family: his wife Nellie Jo; three sons, Sam, Art, and Jess; and eleven grandchildren.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book, and I think the authors have good intentions in attempting to remind readers of what’s important in life and why we have to simplify. But I had a couple of problems with it that prevented me from being able to finish.

1. This is one of those books that could have been a blog.
There’s a lot of repeated information that feels as though it’s been stretched to provide enough chapters to create a book, but a lot of it really isn’t that substantial.

2. There is conflicting advice.
Authors call for readers to focus on what’s important, and commit to cutting out overtime, volunteer work, and minimize distractions and time-consuming activities that prevent individuals from spending quality time with their friends and family. That’s great. The problem lies in the fact that biblical characters are cited as sources of inspiration. At one point several characters are referenced. The tone of the section is, it’s okay if people judge you for cutting out volunteer work because you’re trying to create a balanced life, and look at these characters from the Bible who were seen as unbalanced but were doing the right thing. The thing is, these characters were doing radical things, not trying to simplify, not trying to focus, but giving every ounce of their energy to serving God. It felt like a contradiction to the reader.

I support moving towards a place in our lives where we are not consumed with work and obligations, especially sporting events for kids, birthday parties, etc. We should absolutely reclaim some of that time to rest. For many people, removing unnecessary spending, being committed to spending your time in intentional ways, and focusing on what’s important can make a hug me difference, but again, we shouldn’t need a book to reiterate how to do that over and over in order for us to know it. Secondly, some people don’t have the luxury of cutting back on hours spent at work, and they’ve already cut out everything they can and are still feeling overwhelmed, because that’s the world we live in. For them, this book may feel unaccessible, the advice of someone privileged enough to have some control over their day-to-day. What then does one do?

[Jordan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read! The authors tend to repeat themselves a lot but in different topics. What I mean by that is the same concepts are carried throughout the book but they are used within different topics. The four main groups are clarity, movement, alignment, and focus. Each of these are their own chapter with four topics of God, relationships, money and time! I loved their ability to be relatable and give real life examples. Yes, as I said they repeat themselves but it is ultimately to make sense of each topic area which is very helpful. The amount of examples in the book helped me to think of myself and how I might put these same things into practice. Definitely recommend this book!

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend - great tie-in with scripture and real life.
I'm on a simplifying life period and this book was just one of the books I have been reading.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read.

[lawanda bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple Life by Thom and Art Rainer is the book you've been looking for to help you get your life under control. The authors are father and son who previously wrote the popular Simple Church. They focus on four major areas where readers need to simplify their lives: time, relationships, money, and God. Then they break down those goals into four areas: clarity, movement, alignment, and focus. Through several surveys and studies they determined where people are feeling the crunch of being stretched too thin without having quality relationships in their lives. Using these studies and Christian principles, they offer the opportunity for hope for real change. There are a lot of books that promise to fulfill just one of the goals of Simple Life; the Rainers do it better and all in one book.

[IrenesBookReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

So how busy is your life! Reading this book will help you get it all back into the right perspective.

The authors divide our life into four categories, time, relationships, money and God. They then go on to explain how in each area we can prioritize better. They show how God, in the Bible, has given us guidelines to make our life about Him and not all the other clutter we seem to gravitate towards.

There are helpful questions at the end of chapters to help you apply the principles they are writing about. The best lesson to take from this well written book is, everything in moderation will make for a balanced life.

I was given this book by christianreviewofbooks.com to review.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to rate this a 3.5. It is well-written, timely, and very readable. Many of the same theses are found in "Simple Church". I did not appreciate "Simple Life" as much as I would have if I had not already read "Simple Church". Regardless, I recommend "Simple Life" for those persons interested in focusing on what really matters in life. The book is motivational and challenging and very practical.

[Rich Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on balance and what matters most.

[Christie Burdick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book at all. I read in several different places that it is a better read if you've read Simole Church first, which I have not.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Book w/ clear, practical steps to help you think through the hard tasks of cutting out good things in order to focus on the best things. Worth reading.

[Michael Locklear · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disaapointed with this book... so much so that I closed it out early.