Day: 12 August 2015

Two challenges for fresh expressions (Mark Russell)

Mark Russell poses two challenges for fresh expressions.

Mark Russell and Desmond TutuI hope this post will be an interesting thought from my perspective as CEO of a church organisation. Church Army is at the forefront of the fresh expressions agenda and our people all over the UK and Ireland are establishing fresh expressions of church, seeking to connect the transforming good news of Christ with those who would otherwise never enter a church. You can view some short films of them doing this. I love seeing how God is releasing his people to pioneer new things to help people to come to faith through creative new Christian communities.

I am a huge supporter of the fresh expressions agenda, both personally and as the CEO of Church Army, but (yes, you've guessed it, there is a 'but' … two, in fact!) I have two worries that niggle me. Nothing I can prove, but I wonder if this is what you think as well?

  1. Many stories of fresh expressions of church seem only to be about Christians who are disaffected with church. OK, so all of us know people who dislike church, but my fear is that sometimes fresh expressions are set up by these people just to satisfy their own needs and the needs of people like them. The great purpose of church, though, is mission, not congregation, and I wonder if fresh expressions are at their best when they reach out to new people outside our church walls.

  2. Many fresh expressions are for middle class, educated white people. I am hardly one to talk – most of those in my church are white and middle class. But I recognise the major need for the whole church, not just fresh expressions, to be more respresentative of our communities. Running through Church Army's DNA is the call to reach those on the margins of society. Our founder said: 'Go for the worst' – those on the edges.

Fresh expressions are at their best when they reach out to new people outside our church walls

I passionately believe fresh expressions are the best way to engage the poor, those on the edges, those in marginalised groups. Colleagues working on estates in London, Sheffield and Belfast are discovering that fresh expressions enable church to happen with the poor in a way that traditional church cannot. I passionately want to see more fresh expressions on the edge, and I dream of them reaching different ethnic groups of people as well.

So, the two buts become two challenges for us.

Let's together ask God to raise up more pioneers, more evangelists, people who want to help us create relevant Christian communities that reach those on the edge, and help disciple people beyond the reach of traditional church.

We have come a long way with fresh expressions. Let's catch a fresh vision and keep pressing on towards the goal!

The credit crunch will change the church (Graham Cray)

Graham Cray, incoming leader of the Fresh Expressions team, gives his thoughts on the future of the church.

Graham CrayI think the church over the next few years is going to hear the word of the Lord through the credit crunch. A former diocesan secretary in Canterbury used to say:

The Church of England as it is now structured cannot afford the Church of England as it is now structured.

And my guess is, that is true for almost every historic building with plants and churches and manses and so on.

The critical question then is, if we have to be a more lightweight church in terms of plants and bureaucracy – not in terms of theology and spiritual vision – then will we find the way to live the mixed economy in the new realities? I'm quite convinced that means a townwide partnership of every church willing to take part; that we dare not compete with one another. We do need to complement one another's strengths. And one of the threads that runs right through that sort of ecumenism is actually fresh expressions.

The real changes will be renewing of imagination to do church with less of the very costly historic resources

So it may be that in God's economy – and having been taken by surprise by what he's done already, I'm just having a guess at how he might take us by surprise in the future – that this becomes critical in enabling the energetic partnership of churches together doing lighter weight church in serious mission and involvement in their communities. Hope08 gives a hint of that. I think fresh expressions gives a hint of that.

The real changes, I think, will be renewing of imagination to do church with less of the very costly historic resources. That doesn't mean the mixed economy disappears, because we will still in historic denominations do beautiful liturgy, do dignified worship. But I am convinced that there's got to be some significant change in the use of our available resources.

Is it really Church? (Rowan Williams)

Rowan WilliamsRowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, asks 'Is it really church?'

The "strength" of the Church is never anything other than the strength of the presence of the Risen Jesus. And one thing this means is that, once we are convinced that God in Jesus Christ is indeed committed to us and present with us, there is a certain freedom to risk everything except those things that hold us to the truth of his presence – Word and sacrament and the journey into holiness. These will survive, whatever happens to this or that style of worship, this or that bit of local Christian culture, because the presence of Jesus in the community will survive.

Fresh Expressions, I've suggested, has helped us see something of this liberating vision. It's true, from one point of view, that this takes us beyond a concern with denominational identity; and for some this is worrying. Is it really Anglican, or Methodist, or Baptist? What I hope is that, in the next phase of the work of Fresh Expressions, as it continues to enter more fully into the bloodstream of the churches, we start asking instead – of Fresh Expressions, but also of some of our inherited patterns – 'Is it really Church?'

Mixed EconomyThe remainder of this article can be found in the debut issue of mixed economy, a new journal from Fresh Expressions, which is available free of charge from the Fresh Expressions website.

Other articles include Howard Mellor (on evangelism as parable), Steven Croft (on milestones on the journey), Brother Damian SSF (on mission and spirituality) and Ian Adams (on international perspectives and developments).

An encouraging blog (Jonny Baker)

Jonny Baker concludes a recent blog with this heartwarming sentence: 'it's very encouraging'. What is he encouraged by?

Jonny BakerJonny writes: 'i sometimes get asked about the relationship between fresh expressions and emerging church. it's all part of the wider change in response to mission in postmodern cultures. fresh expressions is the anglican/methodist initiative. emerging church was the name given to the earlier experiments at the edges that was not denominational that inspired the c of e to write mission shaped church. the edges are blurred and it's not really that important. i know of very few other mainline denominations around the world that have been so prepared to pave the way for newness in response to the changing mission context. it's very encouraging.'

Jonny's blog is in response to the announcement that the Fresh Expressions initiative is to continue for a further period of five years. The Rt Revd Graham Cray, currently the Bishop of Maidstone, is to be the next Archbishops' Missioner and leader of the Fresh Expressions team. The Methodist Connexional Missioner for Fresh Expressions is to be the Revd Stephen Lindridge, currently Evangelism Enabler in the Newcastle District.

Manipulating people for the sake of church? (Andrew Wooding)

Andrew Wooding asks if we're manipulating people for the sake of church.

I've been revisiting a number of pages on the Share site recently, and was especially struck by Does the fresh expressions journey risk manipulation?

No entry to churchThe 'fresh expressions journey' is a framework offered on a number of pages on Share, but the page on 'manipulation' rightly points out the danger of treating this – and other frameworks – as formulas for success. That people will be seen as means to an end rather than having value in and of themselves.

Sounds obvious, doesn't it, but be honest: How many times have you been part of a group, a team, a community, an institution, where you have felt used or dispensible? Valued for what you can do to keep the machine going, rather than for who you are? And if you rock the boat you won't be missed, because the 'task' is far more important than the group being with you in your doubts and questions.

I am not talking in the abstract here. I have seen this far too many times, and continue to see it. To my shame, I have also in the past colluded with this sort of thing, justifying my collusion with that old 'ends justifying the means' argument.

How can leaders of fresh expressions prevent this happening? How can they retain the goal of forming church while at the same time making sure each step of the journey has its own integrity? See what you think about the suggestions on Does the fresh expressions journey risk manipulation?

Put out into deep water (Colin Brown)

Colin Brown challenges us to put out into deep water.

'God believes in creative experimentation' claims a page in the Guide. And Are there any dangers? Haven't there been scandals in the past? talks of the importance of taking risks and moving forward.

Sand and seaA thread running through many fresh expressions is God's call to take risks – to step out of comfort zones. Maybe the Spirit doesn't want us to become too settled or reliant on our own way of doing mission and being church.

Jesus did this when he called his first disciples – pioneers who helped God to build his church. To Simon the fisherman, who had caught nothing all night long, Jesus says, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.' (Luke 5.4) Although he is sceptical, Simon does so and then experiences what it means to trust in the power of God. Perhaps he doesn't really understand why his net is full, but now the way he sees Jesus is changed through taking the risk.

The spirituality of fresh expressions is the spirituality of risk. We can sit on a familiar shoreline and gaze at the shallows where we have grown comfortable with the way things are. But Jesus offers a deeper invitation: to try something different; to see that there may be new ways of reaching people and finding some way to answer the question, 'what might the kingdom of God look like for them?'

As fresh expressions leaders have taken a risk, however, sometimes they find that this didn't work out. But that first step was important. God showed them one path, only for them to find that this leads to something else quite different. Yet, to get there, the first step was vital.

Simon Peter took the risk of 'putting out into deep water'. How might God be asking something similar of you, or your church? Ask him to show you, and to be the power needed for his kingdom come.

Follow the cloud (Colin Brown)

Colin Brown follows the cloud.

A number of pages in the Guide emphasise the importance of listening, particularly '360 degrees listening'.

Cloud and sunHave you ever wondered if the thoughts you have about helping God build his church are actually from him? I mean, how do we know that our idea is part of God's way ahead and will bear fruit that will last?

Many leaders of fresh expressions have learned that this 'discernment' is a constant challenge. Of course prayer plays a vital part. Not the sort of prayer that tells God what we want him to do, but prayer that is listening, as well as asking the way ahead.

The Israelites' time in the desert is a good example for us. Moses and the people had done everything just as the LORD had commanded them. They had built the tabernacle – the place of meeting where Moses really encountered the person of God.

Where do you go to be with God? Perhaps you have set aside a special time and place … to share your deeper desires … and to listen well to God, to get tuned in.

God gave the Israelites a sign. A cloud would show them when to move on and where to go. When it stayed over the tent, they stayed put. Only when the cloud moved, did they continue to the next stage of the journey.

What's the sign of God's leading for you? Maybe it's visible, like the cloud. Most likely it's more of a gut-instinct. Like the Israelites, there will be times of waiting and a time to move. It's a life-long lesson for all of us. Ask God to show you, and keep looking … keep listening.

The real meaning of radical? (Andrew Wooding)

Andrew Wooding asks what it really means to be radical.

I don't know about you, but when I hear a word too many times in quick succession, it starts to lose its meaning for me. It becomes just a sound or a noise. Try it yourself! Pick any word ('hospital', say) and repeat it to yourself over and over. At some point you will stop thinking of a medical building where sick people go for treatment, and you will hear just a succession of sounds and syllables that don't mean a thing.

Olde FriarsThis very nearly happened to me at a meeting of fresh expressions practitioners a few weeks ago. One of the buzz words was 'radical' and I heard it so often, from so many people, that I started to wonder what it meant.

I once heard a church leader say that one of his church's core values was to be 'radical'. When a number of other churches followed his church's example, he felt deeply uncomfortable at no longer being the most radical church in his network and decided to make his church even more 'radical' – out-radicalling those new upstart radicals!

But what did 'radical' actually look like in his church? Was it the fact that their music was louder and more 'out there'? Was it the fact that they showed controversial film clips, booked provocative speakers or tried to be headline-grabbing? Was their clothing slightly different – more cutting edge? Be honest: is that sort of thing really radical?

A page on Share, God seeks to transforms society, stresses the importance of being radical, and poses the questions: 'Are fresh expressions radical enough?' and 'Will fresh expressions as a whole develop in a socially conservative or radical direction?' The page name-drops JustChurch in Bradford where, as part of their worship, members write letters on behalf of pressure groups such as Amnesty International.

Is JustChurch's music loud and different? I don't know. Are they radical in their dress, language or choice of visual aids? I haven't visited, so I'm really not sure. What I do know is that they believe God can truly make a difference on all levels in this society and make time to express this in a practical way.

Maybe in a society where so many individuals struggle with self-worth and acceptance, a community that simply seeks to be nice to people is radical … that values people for who they are, rather than what they can contribute to 'our fresh expressions project'.

One fresh expressions practitioner in London describes himself as counter-cultural. He expresses this by humbly opening up his house to people to hang out and relax, in a city where not many homes are open or welcoming. Not very controversial or out there, is it – but radical? I think so.

What does it mean to be radical for Jesus? What does it look like in our fresh expressions to be socially radical, trying to bring about change for the better in society? How far do we go with being theologically radical? In short: what, in God's kingdom, is the real meaning of radical?

Evangelism – no more going-it-alone (Andrew Wooding)

Andrew Wooding discusses evangelism.

Mention the word 'evangelism' to the average person and it will likely conjure up images of the lone evangelist on the street corner handing out tracts, a besuited man on a soapbox spouting forth at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, or the international speaker striding energetically across a stage at an evangelistic rally.

Group of legsBut just as God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone', it might also be true to say that 'It is not good for evangelists to be alone'. Indeed, there is a page on Share about this very subject: God works through communities, which urges that 'Communities should be at the heart of mission'.

I am a trained evangelist and I confess that I have done my share of lone evangelism. Talks at school assemblies. Parachuting into mission situations to 'do my thing' then parachuting out again. Hospital or door-to-door visiting. That sort of thing.

So I am attracted to this idea that the life of a community shows God to the world, rather than any individual. As the hymn goes: 'They shall know we are Christians by our love'. In a society where there is so much distrust for words, our relationships could speak volumes.

But how does this work in practice? How exactly can a community be evangelistic? Does this mean you now have lots of people on that street corner handing out tracts? Does your Christian community try and stand on that soapbox at Speakers' Corner – bit of a tight fit. And do you appear together on that stage at the evangelistic rally, all talking at once?

I'm exaggerating, but the gist of my question is: if our community is to be evangelistic, how can it be lived out in public in full sight of people outside the community? How can we stop our community becoming closed and cliquey, happening behind locked doors purely for our own benefit?

The Bridge - pint in a pubI know of a group of Christians in Sheffield who meet each week in a pub for Bible study and prayer. They could have booked a function room, but instead they meet round a table in the main drinking area in full view of everyone. Over the months and years, this has led to trust and respect from the regulars, and lots of conversations.

Also, what implication does this way of thinking have on our churches? Traditionally, they have equipped individuals to do evangelism. If they sent out communities to do evangelism, would these communities form the core of new congregations? As it says in God works through communities: 'Instead of "Sunday" church being about sending individuals into the world from Monday to Saturday, fresh expressions can be understood as the sending of tiny communities into the world.'

Maybe you disagree, or have some practical advice from your own experience that you would like to Share with myself and others. If so, a comment left at the end of this blog would be much appreciated!

Helping others to pray (Steven Croft)

Steven Croft reflects on helping others to pray.

Two men prayingOne of the major public themes of 2007 was prayer. As I watched the news I was moved again and again by a rising tide of prayer vigils and special events around major crises and tragedies. The word prayer was on the lips of politicians, public figures and celebrities more often than I can remember. Themes of faith and hope intertwine in the single released by X Factor winner Leon Jackson. ‘When You Believe’, currently at the top of the UK singles chart.

In November, Tear Fund released the results of a major survey to mark Global Poverty Week: ‘Prayer in the UK: Be part of a miracle’.  They discovered that 20 million adults in the UK pray regularly. All of them find it helpful. At least half believe that prayer makes a difference in their lives, in the lives of their families and friends and in the life of the world: prayer changes things. Encouraging people to pray as part of their response to global poverty strikes a chord.

A large number of different research strands now demonstrate that Britain is becoming a more spiritual place again. A growing section of our population is more open to experience of God; more open to prayer. That trend has been building for a number of years and probably has some way still to go. The ministry of spiritual directors is in great demand from those who are not regular churchgoers as well as those who are. Retreat centres and religious communities are attracting a growing number of visitors. This search for spiritual experience and connection showed itself again over Christmas in attendance at church and cathedral services.

Candle in front of sheetMission is finding out what God is doing and joining in. So if part of what God is doing is stirring people to pray, how can we as a church look to join in what God is doing and support this vast number of people in their prayers?

First, I think we need to recognise honestly that many of us within the church are starting a long way back in this respect. Our services are no longer recognised by many as places of spiritual depth and encounter with God. John Drane has argued for some years that we have become a ‘secular’ church in a ‘spiritual’ society. In many churches of all traditions there may be little expectation of encountering God through public worship, in the ministry of the word or in any other way. We need to clear away the clutter at the start of a new year, not just in the space we use for worship (though that is important), but in our liturgy and songs, and especially in our notices.  Silence and space to be open to God and respond to God’s grace will be vital. Whether our meeting place is an ancient chapel, a school hall or a café, will those who gather find a sense of reverence and of God’s presence in our midst?

Second, we need I think to work on creating particular times and spaces and symbolic actions to help people to pray. Discovering these will only come about through listening to what people find helpful and a sense of experiment. These opportunities to pray seem to work best when they are offered in a way which is open and available to people to join in as they feel is right. However, it is also important to provide help and support in terms of the words and actions used. We are too used, I think, to the idea that prayer together is about sitting or kneeling in a pew with head bowed and eyes closed while someone at the front reads prepared intercessions.

Many established congregations and fresh expressions of church are now experimenting with prayer stations: different points in a building where people can come and pray in a range of ways which engage the senses. These stations have been traditionally part of cathedrals and churches in a more catholic tradition for many years and are a very good example of the ancient-future dynamic at work in fresh expressions of church. For all or part of the service, the congregation move around these different stations and engage with them in prayers of confession or intercession or silent reflection. There may be at each station a symbolic action such as lighting a candle, placing a stone on a cairn or making the sign of the cross with water. There may be the opportunity for laying on of hands or anointing for healing and grace.

Yellow candleMoving to the prayer station and engaging in these simple actions or using the words provided engages people in prayer and offers them words and actions which articulate in a deep way the spiritual longing inside them. Shaping these prayer stations draws out new gifts of creativity in those who develop them. Sometimes they can be permanent and occupy a corner of the church for a season for all who come in and use the building. Sometimes they are just for one moment or occasion.  They can be helpful in ordinary times of thanksgiving and intercession but also immensely powerful in a time of shared grief, intercession or tragedy.

One of the most memorable acts of worship I shared in 2007 was at the Portsmouth Diocesan Conference where a fresh expression of church called the Friday Fridge led the conference in Compline entirely through the use of prayer stations and static displays. Every part of the order of service was used. The act of worship was profoundly engaging. Some people moved around in silence. Others talked to each other as they explored the different parts of the service. Many different gifts were used in preparing the worship. For me, a traditional liturgy I have always loved was given new depth and meaning.

Make it one of your resolutions for 2008 to find out how people outside your church community say their prayers and how you can help and support them in their journey.