This first audit helps local churches to explore some key questions as they compare their age profile with that of the communities in which they are based. Churches are also invited to consider how they are making the most of their premises, what proportion of their use is dedicated to activities for the local church family, for outreach and mission, and for use by the wider community. The audit also encourages churches to reflect on their relationship with other community groups, and how they can be part of combating poverty, homelessness, and social isolation. It also invites churches to consider how they reach out to men by drawing inspiration from Age UK and AMSA (Australian Men’s Shed Association), and how they encourage people to contribute in a practical way to their mission. The final question suggests that churches explore whether and how they are using the gifts of those who attend.
2_Peterborough methodist circuit mission audit 1Peterborough Pioneer Hub: Mission Audit Resources by Helen Crofts. Introduction
This is the first in a series of four resources, produced by Helen Crofts, Mission Enabler to the Peterborough Methodist Circuit of Churches, and an Advocate of the Peterborough Pioneer Hub. Helen offers these resources to anyone that is looking to help churches and local groups review their ministry and mission. This resource serves as a brief introduction and provides a readable outline of what we mean by ‘church’, ‘discipleship’, and ‘evangelism.’
1_Peterborough methodist circuit mission audit_introductionPeterborough Pioneer Hub: Our Vision in a Leaflet
This is a tri-folded leaflet explaining our vision and intent as the Peterborough Pioneer Hub. Please pray for us as we look to grow our work through a network of local Advocates, Associates, and Affiliates. So far we have over twelve associates who are willing to support each other in a set of spiritual disciplines and continue to grow in discipleship – and we have no doubt that more will follow. If you are interested in joining us in this work, please make contact. Please also hold in your diaries May 13th, 4pm at Southside Methodist Church, Peterborough, where we will hold the first of our Pioneer Hub cafe services.
Peterborough Pioneer FlyerFor Starters in Peterborough: Seven helpful insights when starting something new, and a reminder that the Church belongs to God.
Question. If you combine a group of church leaders from across the denominations, all of whom are experienced in mission and fresh expressions, and the desire to encourage new work in any form, what do you get? In Peterborough, one response has been For Starters, a series of events (well we have had two now), intended to encourage anyone who feels called to start – something. Anything in fact, from a toddler group, to a drop-in for pensioners, to a new form of church. For Starters reaches out to anybody; you do not have to be in a leadership role or even see yourself as a leader. The only requirement is that you have a sense that God is calling you to follow Jesus in mission. This is empowering stuff; never mind your insecurities; just be honest about what God is saying to you.
Why I was not bored
I must confess (after a decade of living by the rule of Fresh Expressions – six of which were spent in research) that nothing turns me off more than hearing glib examples of new things that are happening, without any acknowledgment as to the challenges that people face when starting new work. There is almost something dishonest going on when this happens. For Starters got the balance right. The presentations were energised but honest and this, in turn, encouraged people to say things that they might not have had the confidence to share elsewhere. I heard real-life frustration from people who longed to see their church grow but despaired of the fact that whilst newcomers might value fellowship, they recoiled at the idea of being invited to something that felt religious. (We still have much to in helping break unhelpful stereotypes of what church looks like and feels like). I heard questions from local leaders about how they could encourage local development when one or two staunch church members belonged to the ‘not over my dead body’ brigade. These are the very people that we need to equip and support in our churches, and one of the things that For Starters is doing is helping build confidence by setting local people next to experienced leaders who can listen and guide.
For Starters also appeals because it offers new insights that I had not heard before, or if I had heard them they were put forward in a way that gave them real weight. Thus, I thought that it might be helpful to share my own reflections. I found seven new insights to consider when starting something new.
1. People are not so much afraid of change: they are afraid of loss.
Ed Olsworth-Peter (Adviser for Fresh Expressions of Church and Young Adults, Ely Diocese) offered guidance to how church leaders might help the PCC – or in our case, church councils – understand why we need to invest in fresh expressions. Ed began by pointing out that people are not so much afraid of change, but of loss. The danger is that as new work is proposed and begins to flourish, other members of the church start to feel threatened, as if investment in one thing will mean the active neglect of what they have been doing. Ed talked about the need for a ‘blended economy’. This seems like Rowan William’s ‘mixed economy’, or my own idea of a ‘mixed ecology’. Irrespective, the principle is similar. Rather than working in opposition, what is inherited and what is emerging can only flourish if they support each other.
The key to heading off resistance may be for leaders (specifically those who chari meetings) to point out that we all want the same thing, that we are all committed to the Church, irrespective of when it happens and what it looks like. God calls us to build his Kingdom, rather than our own empires. And lest we think that fresh expressions only have one way of doing things, there is considerable breadth in what this looks like. Projects can incorporate the traditional, the sacramental, or patterns living that draw from monastic disciplines. They can be for everyone, or aimed at one group of people – older or younger – especially if they are intended to address a specific need.
2. If the numbers attending your ‘life’ services (especially baptisms) are not resulting in increased church attendance, then you need to be honest about how you are inviting people, and whether what you are offering is suitable.
OK, I admit. This is not new. Fresh expressions are here to stay, and are very much alive and kicking. However, there are times when it is patently obvious that the familiar ways of working are not….well, working. What did strike me as new, and perhaps often overlooked, is the scale at which our outreach as a church can become disconnected with church attendance. Sid Bridges (Holy Trinity, Orton Waterville) shared about the growth of Refresh, which effectively, looks like a blend of Messy Play, Messy Church and a Worship Service. Prior to this, Phil’s church was conducting eighty infant baptisms a year, and preparing 10-20 children from the local school…but guess what…the uptake in terms of new families coming to church was poor. This looks like family fun and fellowship that is wholly ecclesial in nature. It is not just a toddler group with a prayer at the end. The most revealing thing that was said? Kids are disappointed if they cannot go.
3. Fresh expressions are contributing towards the costs of ministry.
One other observation from Refresh (and the same could be said of some of our own fresh expressions) is that the concept of taking up an offering or inviting people to contribute to the costs of ministry, is beginning to become embedded within local projects. Some of those who attend Refresh are opting to give towards the work of the Church. The question for Phil has been whether money given to the church by those who attend the project should be ring-fenced and reinvested into Refresh, or whether it should go towards the broader costs of Parish ministry. At present, what people give contributes to the whole.
4. God is already speaking through those who are not yet part of the church: be attentive. Listen and act on what they say.
Helen Crofts (Circuit Mission Enabler, Peterborough Methodist Circuit of Churches) gave examples of the importance of what Fresh Expressions would refer to as ‘360 degree listening’ when thinking about how to discern the way forward. Listen to God. Listen to the Church. Listen to yourself. Ask, ‘What would Jesus do?’ Walk and pray. Get to know people. Most of all, be attentive to the voices of those who are not yet part of the Church. The bit that had me on the edge of my seat were the examples of how some of our everyday encounters and conversations that might appear random, turn out to be the seed that starts something new. Helen gave one example of a Messy Play that started when an older member of a local community noted that there was ‘nothing for children in the holidays.’ Think also about what is already happening, and how this could develop. If parents are reluctant to leave each other after dropping their children off at a club, and hang around chatting, you probably have the basis for something else, perhaps for the whole family. What might become of your coffee-morning, or your small group that is exploring faith?
5. Can you picture the faces of those people who you will invite to something new? If not, you may have a problem…
Charlie Nobbs (Pioneer and New Initiatives Trainer, Peterborough Diocese) spoke about knowing who we are going to invite to new events. Can we picture their faces? For me, this was a powerful question. So often we just put up a poster and expect people to arrive. Or we expect others to invite people on our behalf. If there was ever a time when we could rely on this, those days are now long-gone. I took from this that if we cannot picture the people who we are intending to invite, then we may be a step too far ahead in our mission. Much of our experience and the research evidence that I have seen to date, suggests that people come to faith through the relationships that they have with other Christians. And with relationships come trust. And with trust comes the willingness to be honest about matters of faith.
6. We might not like engaging with people through social media, but social media is here to stay, and we need to learn how to use it.
Yes, like it (no pun intended), or loath it, social media is here to stay. Despite the scepticism people might have about what friendship means on social media, platforms such as Facebook are proving incredibly useful in terms of building community. In fact, as I reflect on our own practice here in Peterborough, Facebook is becoming far more effective than local websites on advertising what is happening in the life of our churches. One other feature is that social media allows us to take pictures and show what life is like beyond those big wooden doors that people cannot see through. Whilst there are churches who have replaced wood with glass, this remains a valid point. And before I forget, another key factor is that you do not have to be a member of Facebook to view a Facebook page online. I see a link here with how John Wesley, the founder of Methodism found open-air preaching unpalatable – detestable even. He did not like doing it, but he felt compelled to do it because there was no other workable solution. Sometimes you must move outside of the church and meet people where they are. Social media looks like the digital equivalent.
7. Churches propose alterations to their buildings. A minority of local people – many of whom do not attend the church – object. Nonetheless, we need to make changes so that our churches are fit for purpose.
Richard Ormston (Archdeacon of Northampton) shared a wonderful example of how someone, deeply perturbed by the proposal to incorporate a working toilet into a rural church, asked the question, ‘What on earth are they going to use if for?’ Enough said. Seriously though, Richard’s support chimed with our own experience within the Northampton District, and the ‘Property for Mission’ approach within our own circuit. The basic message is that whilst churches need to preserve some of their historic features, the requirement to be fit for purpose in a missional sense is equally important. With some creative thinking, it will be possible to do both. Thus, beware the person who suggests that we cannot do ‘this and that’ because our building is listed. Probably, this comes from a general resistance to change rather than the reality. After all, many of our Anglican churches did not start out with pews in them. You could always, as Vyv Wainright (Anglican Reader and Surveyor based in Oakhampton) has done, train to be a conservation officer and play people at their own game. Whilst an MA in the subject might be a heavy commitment(!), it is surprising how much misinformation is out there about what people can or cannot do to our buildings. In some scenarios, all we need to do is to introduce the possibility that some changes are possible, and that those who oversee the preservation of our buildings are very much on-side when it comes to finding solutions (and I dare say funding) to enable the church to live in a missionally authentic way. After all, nothing is more damaging to the preservation of a church building than underuse.
In conclusion
Vyv’s presentation, on his Little Angels Toddler Group, served as a reminder that new does not necessarily mean having to engineer something that has never been done before. It does, however, mean taking mission and pastoral care seriously, and being attentive to the opportunities arise. (This very much echo’s Helen’s observations). What really moved me about Vyv’s presentation were the pastoral encounters that surfaced in Little Angels, and how the church was exercising a deeply significant ministry in helping people navigate through some of the most difficult periods in their lives.
The change in the demographics of who attended Little Angels (from what we might have seen twenty years ago) was no surprise, with Dads, grandparents, and single Mums bringing their children. But the story of how this community became aware of those who were struggling – a Mum who developed breast cancer, and another young boy (whose family was known to the group) who died from cancer – these stories reminded me of how we as the church have a role, an obligation, to provide space where people can meet and ministry can happen. When I think about some of the arguments I have witnessed about toddler groups and pre-schools (not within my own circuit I am pleased to say) – of how they might leave mess, or occupy the building when others could be using it, I am reminded starkly that we, the church must remember that our purpose is not to protect our personal fiefdom but to do allow God to do His thing. The church does not belong to us, it belongs to God.
Almighty God, Your Kingdom Come, Your will be Done…
Just show us more of what we need to do for starters.
Eucharistic Prayer of Thanksgiving linked to the Parable of the Talents
This prayer of thanksgiving blends themes that arise from Jesus’ Parable of the Talents, with those of communion, as we remember how God invests His life in us by sending His Son to die on the cross. Whilst giving thanks, it reminds us of how God our Father longs for us to find our wholeness and completeness in Him, and of how we are to use the gifts that He has given us, rather than keep them within ourselves. This theme is extended to remind us all of the dangers of burying our tradition (in the mistaken belief that our tradition is preserved by standing still). As the prayer unfolds, I issue a reminder of how despite our tendency to try and live independently, and/or invest only in ourselves, God remains faithful and His grace abounds. The closing part of the prayer, before moving on to recite the words and actions of Jesus, reminds us that if we can invest but a grain of faith in the work of God, we will see great dividends. It invites the hearer to be encouraged by those who have gone before them and discovered this truth for themselves.
One final addition comes after the prayer of consecration, where I look to encourage those who face challenging times by asking God to help us all live free from fear.
Feel free to adapt as necessary….
______________________________________
Almighty God.
You created the heavens and the earth.
You scattered the seed of love throughout our world.
You invest your breath, your life in us.
You form us into a people who reflect your grace and glory.
You yearn for us to find our completeness in you.
Today we remember the sacrifice of Jesus your Son,
who died on the cross so that our sins might be forgiven,
that we might find our peace with you.
We acknowledge that you expect a return on your investment in us.
We remember that we must not bury the gifts you give us.
Or worse still, bury our tradition, valuing preservation over consecration.
We remember your promise, and declare our faith,
that you will return and bring restoration to our broken world.
And that although Christ has died
Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.
We remember your faithfulness down the generations
Of how you sent prophets and priests to guide your people.
And of how, despite our tendency to try and live independently of you,
or to invest in only ourselves, you sent Jesus, your Son, to walk alongside us.
He has shown us how life will be different
if we can but only find a grain of faith to invest in you.
As we gather, we remember those who have gone before us
who have seen this truth revealed.
Those who are with us now, whom we cannot see,
who join with us in worship, prayer and service.
Who together with us, and the angels and archangels
praise you, and proclaim the eternal truth…
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord
God of Power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest
We remember how, on the night before he died…..
After supper he took the cup….
And so, in remembrance of his mighty acts,
we offer you these gifts of bread and wine,
and with them ourselves,
as a holy living sacrifice.
You send forth your spirit
You bind us in love
You renew the face of the earth.
Pour out your Holy Spirit
So that these gifts of bread and wine may be transformed,
and may become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Help us to sense your presence.
Whatever challenges we face in our lives,
dispel all fear of what the future might hold.
As we unite and share with one another.
Help us to remember our shared mission to all the world,
and move forward in boldness,
mindful that you will bring us with the whole creation
to your heavenly kingdom.
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all blessing and honour and glory and power
be yours for ever and ever, Amen
The bread is broken in the sight of the people.
We break this bread to share in the body of Christ
Though we are many, we are one body
because we all share in the one bread.
Peterborough Methodist Circuit of Churches: We love it when a Plan comes together. Worship, prayer for midweek services, whilst reintroducing the spiritual discipline of fasting.
Greetings everyone. This post is a copy of our plan letter, sent to local preachers and church leaders across the region, highlighting our plans for worship from December to January. We are encouraging prayer and fasting, with a particular focus on midweek worship. I share this mindful that the mnemonic we have produced might be helpful to others. We also include a download which provides some basic teaching on fasting as a spiritual discipline, produced by the Methodist Church.
Letter to preachers and church leaders:
Plan Letter Nov 2017
Mnemonic for praying with a focus on midweek worship:
prayer points-1
Fasting as a Spiritual Practice (published in 2012):
dd-explore-devotion-fasting-as-a-spiritual-practice-1212 (1)
Important: Please also consider this web article, which notes the importance of fasting as a spiritual discipline but also offers guidance as to when the practice of fasting that is not anchored on seeking God can lead to eating disorders:
https://www.premierlife.org.uk/Health/Mental-Health/Eating-Disorders/Fasting-and-eating-disorders
God bless!
A Matter of Life and Death: Reflections from Peterborough on the prospect of local churches developing growth plans or end of life plans.
How should we as the Methodist Church respond to the not so recent Statistics for Mission Report that details how, despite reaching half a million people a week through our church activities, we are in a state of decline? Can the Methodist Church, as Mark Woods of Christian Today put it, ‘pull out of its nosedive?’ Will our training take over, and will we stay panic free whilst resisting the increasing G-force for long enough to make a difference? Is this really the end? Or could it be, as Damian Arnold writing for the Times intimates (despite some inaccuracies as to the contents of Loraine Mellor’s Presidential Address), that our youth, pioneer and fresh expressions focus, and our dogged efforts to meet need wherever we see it, might be enough to turn things around?
If fresh expressions and pioneer ministry were not challenging enough for those who would prefer to Keep Calm and Carry On, the Methodist Conference’s Notice of Motion whicht encourages local churches to develop growth plans or end of life plans will serve as a slap in the face to anyone who is at risk of falling unconscious. And besides, Keep Calm and Carry On, that phase made iconic with various additions; ‘You’re only 45‘, ‘Enjoy the Party‘, ‘Carry on Bellringing‘; emblazoned on a multitude of consumer goods, only works if you have a plan in place. Understandably, the idea that local churches might develop a growth plan or end of life plan has stimulated rather a lot of discussion.
Care when speaking of death
My first instinct was to forget about the concept of death. Not because I am frightened of it, nor because I don’t believe in resurrection (of course I do), but because it is not hard to convince small churches that they are dying. To compound matters, in my experience, as people tire they lose the energy and belief that something else is possible such as adopting a different pattern of worship, working in partnership with other community groups, or simply giving more of their focus over to fellowship and mission. Our challenge is to present people with a different narrative other than accepting closure as an inevitability. To push the point further, if you present a tired and small church with its age profile, low membership, and anticipated future cost, persuading them to close is not difficult. They may not like it. The surrounding community may be ‘up-in-arms’. But ultimately, they will see the (human) logic in it and accept it. The trouble is that human logic can be ungodly. Of course, the aim of the end of life plan (given the Spirit in which Elaine Lindridge spoke to this motion) is not to close churches, but to renew them. At the same time, I accept that some churches are financially comfortable, failing to engage in mission, and expecting an unwarranted level of circuit support. Could the end of life plan be the shock that resets the heartbeat of many of our churches back into the right rhythm again?
The key question is how we help churches move to a position of seeing life amidst death, rather than death amidst life? It is not so much that churches need to accept that death will occur at some point. Rather, they need to embrace change and movement if they wish to stay alive. It is not the local church that needs to go, so much as the traditions which we maintain that are no longer helpful or appropriate for our present contexts. Churches often place unreasonable expectations on themselves, fuelled by the fear of offending a ghost from the past who started this or that, but who in reality would have never expected them to have carried on regardless for so long. Perhaps that is another real-life Keep Calm slogan that we must disown.
Guarding against euthanasia
My overriding concern is that what has begun with deep missiological intent will be used unwittingly (or even deliberately) to sanction a form of ecclesial-euthanasia by the back door. How do we guard against this, particularly given that some churches may already recognise their frailty, be over-conscious about their inadequacies, and see themselves as a millstone around the neck of a wider circuit which may be struggling to resource the whole? I look forward to seeing the connexional resources; these will, no doubt, attempt to counter this. But the truth of the matter is that what we need is not only good resources but also determined leaders who are prepared to question why the rest of the crew might be preparing to bale out when they have not explored all the options. Superintendents take note: we set the tone for mission. This is happening on our watch. Of course, I say that as one myself, rather than assuming some ascendency that I do not have.
Two reflections and a powerful thought
Three reflections emerged on this theme at our recent Northampton District superintendent’s meeting. The first is my own – from my past experience as an NHS Chaplain and drawing from the difference between hospital and hospice care, and the fact that treatment options are never constructed in a vacuum as if patients are ever left to diagnose themselves: local circuits have a key role to play. The second follows input from Andy Fyall (Stamford and Rutland) who reminded us that just because we make a funeral plan does not mean that we expect to die tomorrow. The third, which I suspect will receive deeper attention from elsewhere, is that Jesus had an end of life plan. I will leave that hanging for your further reflection. It really is quite a powerful thought.
End of life plans and the NHS
In my last post, I also worked as an on-call chaplain for the NHS. It was enjoyable. However, rarely was I called upon to celebrate good news. Most of the time I was asked to pray with those who were dying. Sometimes they were on their own. At other times I arrived to find a cloud of witnesses (or relatives) by the patient, with some family members having travelled long distances to be alongside them. My first move when checking in at the nurse’s station was to ask what requests had been included on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) plan. The idea behind the LCP was to make patients as comfortable as possible. It allowed a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death when the time came. It also included details about what patients had requested in terms of spiritual support.
By 2013, attitudes to the care pathway had changed. Whilst there were good examples of its implementation, a government review found that in some cases there were significant failings. In some instances, communication between patients and families was poor. There were concerns about treatment decisions being made without relatives being informed, family members not being told their loved ones were dying, and doctors communicating hurriedly and inappropriately. One major difficulty rests in how it can be difficult to diagnose when someone is about to die. Furthermore, in some cases, patients recovered despite their relatives being told that death was approaching. In 2014, the LCP was phased out, usurped by the One Chance to Get it Right report. This highlighted five priorities of care. The concept of a ‘pathway’ was dropped – a patient’s final days and hours are now viewed as a ‘continuum’. Staff should be proactive rather than reactive in their communication with patients and families. The dying person decides who else to be involved in discussions about end of life. The needs of families are explored and met as far as possible. The care plan (which includes food and drink, symptom control, psychological, social and spiritual support), is agreed and delivered with compassion. End of life plans are personalised and not generic. (Reference; ‘What happened to the Liverpool Care Pathway?’ Produced by Compassion in Dying.)
Consequently, If there is a parallel to be drawn between churches and people in terms of how they decline (and that is a big ‘if’), the failures of the LCP serve to remind us about the dangers inherent in pronouncing that death is inevitable. It also challenges us to ensure that the local church is in control of what is happening, rather than its relatives. Come to think of it, Gareth (my presbyteral colleague) and I are even beginning to question whether we can in fact talk of a local church going through death and resurrection. People die and will be resurrected. But churches? Whilst I realise that the death and resurrection motif is an easy one to grasp when a church faces closure, I find myself questioning whether this is a step too far in our extrapolation. Where does it say in scripture that a local church dies? In our own polity we do not use this term: we speak of ‘ceasing to meet.’ Moreover, Ekklesia describes the people of God who are called out to form a body of the faithful. And just as God can call people into this, God can call them out of it to gather together with others elsewhere. Taking this line then, the crucial issue for us to explore with people is not when they anticipate that their death will come. The focus needs to be on where and how they feel God is calling them to serve. Another issue is that just as hospitals exist as a place where all of our medical resource and expertise can be put into action to improve someone’s condition, circuits can do the same for struggling churches. They have the power to turn on the oxygen and monitor what is happening. How will circuits discern who is for the hospital and whose future days might be best lived out in a hospice?
Funeral plans
A funeral plan is not quite the same as an end of life plan. Some funeral plans come with a free pen, should you be persuaded by the smiley-face presenter on the television. Thinking seriously, I am still shocked, and continue to pray for a lady in one of our churches whose son died tragically from a heart attack at the age of 45. My initial thoughts combined two facts together. The suddenness of it all, and the fact that her son was my age. There comes a time in life when you accept the probability that you have less time ahead of you than you have spent.
At our superintendent’s meeting, Andy Fyall helpfully pointed out that just because someone creates a funeral plan does not mean that they are expecting to die tomorrow. Whilst the end goal is to ensure that those who are left behind are not left with the cost of the funeral fee, or feeling duty-bound to curate our steamroller collection, it will invariably focus the mind back to what you want to achieve in this life. This is, without doubt, what the church end of life plan will intend to do.
To close…
One thing that has been a constant surprise in my own ministry has been how older members of my congregations have in fact been surprisingly open to new mission initiatives. The reason for this? They know that they are in their twilight years and are desperate to leave something behind for the next generation. So, will growth plans or end of life plans help local churches? Concurring with Rachel Deigh (Church Growth Plans versus End of Life Plans – http://www.seedbed.com/church-growth-plans-vs-end-of-life-plans/), I think we need both. I think that the end of life plan feeds the growth plan. However, one thing I am sure of, whatever the future holds, is that talk of end of life (which inevitably conjures up images of death) will need to be discussed with great care, and the outcomes will depend on our how we approach this as church leaders.
A ‘Network of Networks’ for Fresh Expressions: What might this mean for Methodism? (Reflections from the Peterborough Pioneer Hub)
This report was originally compiled for the Discipleship and Ministries Learning Network East Central Region, and has been adapted/expanded.
Over the next five years, Fresh Expressions wants to avoid becoming anything more of the mission organisation that it is already. They want to release rather than control what is happening by developing deepening their local networks. Fresh Expressions want to create a movement that is ‘releasing, connecting, and enabling’. At the recent Hub conference in September, Phil Potter encouraged its leaders to be driven by two maxims; ‘Your success is my honour’, and ‘Partnership without ownership’. (In the case of the latter read, ‘Partnership without control or manipulation.’) Fresh Expressions do not want a monopoly. They are striving to promote unity whilst encouraging diversity. Fresh Expressions do not want a top down leadership. They do not want to form a community of their own. They do, however, want more to be than a list of names but less than a centralised organisation. Amidst this they are asking, ‘What do we stop, what do we start, and what do we enhance?’ I must confess that as I write this I am slightly confused as to whether I should say ‘they’ or ‘we’. That is precisely the point. Fresh Expressions are looking for more local leaders to own what is happening. Having been invited – and accepted the offer – of becoming a Fresh Expressions Associate – I should feel entitled to use the word ‘we’. This does not quite come naturally to someone like myself who is wary of misrepresenting what the movement or its leadership is saying. Nevertheless, be in no doubt that this paradigm shift is exactly what Fresh Expressions is calling for.
Nationally, a ‘network of networks’ is emerging, whereby multiple denominations and church groups are connecting with each other because they are geographically close (For example, For Starters in Peterborough), draw from similar traditions (such as new monasticism), share identical training needs (in developing pioneers), or serve particular mission fields (‘rural’ as opposed to ‘city’). Nationally this is patchy, and messy. In some cases, people from across different denominations align themselves to Fresh Expressions, whilst in others, there is a direct denominational link. Across the whole, some groups are more robust whilst others are more fragile. Unsurprisingly, Fresh Expressions has given rise to web-based forms of information sharing and support that can transcend local boundaries (for example, the Cumbria Fresh Expressions Facebook Page). Within the Church of England, there are some particularly striking examples of networked leaders; a bishop’s hub (incorporating some 30 bishops), and DDO hubs (incorporating Diocesan Director of Ordinands) who have a crucial role in assessing and forwarding people for ministerial selection.
As I reflect from a wider Methodist Church perspective, I sense that Fresh Expressions has done two things. First, it has spoken prophetically in a way that has encouraged local churches to modify and adapt their worship and mission, bearing in mind the needs of those who have little or no previous experience of ‘church’. Second, it has given Church leaders the warrant and confidence to call for change.
Some observations that might relate to us:
‘Slippage’ in the language around fresh expressions
Over the past three years, I have observed subtle changes to the language used by Fresh Expressions, or by its adherents in local settings. One example is the shift away from talking about ‘church’ to using the term ‘congregation’, or speaking of ‘new ecclesial community’. In my view, this reflects two issues. First, I suspect for free church denominations, the word ‘church’ is troublesome. For Methodists, a ‘church’ has a distinct legal definition; a church is formed only when twelve Methodist members unite. Local churches form a church council which oversees mission and ministry across the whole and are required to appoint key individuals: secretary, treasurer, stewards. Second, if the aim of a fresh expression is to create a ‘new form of church’, why would we constrain ourselves to this single model? Personally, apart from the challenge of making members, I think that the model we have is a good one; everyone is accountable to each other; decisions cannot be made in quiet corners; children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded from harm; those who hold office are properly vetted and approved; the teaching of the church is preserved; no one exists in a bubble – we want to form new churches and not cults. The problem is the language that we use switches some people off. In my experience, if I asked people to fill these positions I would receive a stare which questioned what century I thought I was living in. But if I asked a group who held the contact details of those who attended, or who looked after the money, or who liaised with visiting speakers, people saw sense. Nonetheless, talk of ‘church’ is troublesome. To talk of an ‘emerging ecclesial community’ has double appeal in that it honours the idea of creating ‘church’ without using the word. Talk of creating new congregations is helpful because a congregation (such as a new worship service) can be held by the wider church and as such, is less of a threat. It can, in theory, sit as a new church within the old, where newcomers can make it the primary local for their discipleship. The second issue – married to some of the above, and for other reasons that I will outline later, is that I suspect we are lacking confidence in ‘C(c)hurch’ as we know it.
Another concern is how the term ‘pioneer’ is being used in multiple contexts; fresh expressions are at ease in calling all fresh expressions leaders ‘pioneers’, whilst the Anglican and Methodist Churches have different pioneering pathways, and local circuits are free to appoint ‘pioneer workers’ at their own discretion. The challenge how we encourage one without disenfranchising the other. Here in Peterborough, we see ourselves as a Pioneer Hub rather than a ‘fresh expressions hub’, or a ‘mission hub’ because we recognise that the core of all things new is the apostolic dynamic of the Holy Spirit who brings openness, creativity, innovation, boldness, and even a measure of entrepreneurship. Not convinced? Remember that the apostle Paul was a tentmaker who supports himself and is, therefore, free to minister. Consider how the Holy Spirit leads him into unchartered territory.
What are we creating through fresh expressions?
In the 2014 Statistics for Mission Report, The Methodist Church stated that 2705 projects self-declared as fresh expressions. 548 churches stated that their projects were intended for those who do not attend church at all, whilst 304 stated that they were for those do not attend church regularly. The amount of independent research is limited, but to date, this suggests that very few have the intention of becoming a new church: they are fellowship groups or mission projects. Nonetheless, they are significant because they (i) retain people whose needs are not entirely met by traditional worship, (ii) provide a space and context in which personal evangelism can take place, and (iii) allow people to use their gifts and grow as disciples. Even so, given the 2017 Methodist Conference’s Notice of Motion 102 (which encouraged local circuits and churches to pray, promote acts of personal evangelism, nurture new disciples, and plant new societies), an examination of just how many fresh expressions might have the potential to become new churches would be well justified. Perhaps the broader question (if we are looking for an approach that could encourage both congregational development and church planting), is how we enable groups to become self-determining, self-financing, self-theologising, and self-propagating. (Drawing from insights in Indigenous Church Mission Theory).
One difficulty is that even if some fresh expressions do possess this ecclesial potential, comparatively few circuits will be able to draw from previous experiences of church-planting. (Most new societies are formed by merging declining churches, or by a declining church merging with a stronger ecumenical partner.) Granted, there are examples of church plants that are not a consequence of decline, but finding clear and detailed accounts of this is difficult.
Fresh Expressions are raising sharp questions about how local churches help those who attend local projects understand that they are part of the wider church, and vice-versa. My own experience of working in fresh expressions has been how some newcomers are skeptical of the Church as an institution, and therefore resist becoming members. This may be due, in part, to Fresh Expression’s argument that the inherited Church is failing in its missionary endeavours and therefore must change and adapt. Whilst this is helpful on one level – in calling people to action, it also asks people to trust a denomination that has a track record of sustained decline. Another issue is that whilst Fresh Expressions clearly defines what we mean by C(c)hurch – with reference to how ‘church’ emerges in the New Testament and the Four Marks of Church – we do not stress enough the importance of belonging to a denomination. This is key for Methodism, because connexionalism guards against insularity. And the question of how fresh expressions are incorporated into local churches is our business.
In terms of what resources we need, I would develop the following for my own context, if I had the time.
- We might create an audit tool to help churches assess their fresh expressions. Is their project a separate congregation, or is it a stepping-stone to the inherited church. Much more clarity and honesty around these areas will help churches discern their vision for the future, and deploy their resources accordingly. Strictly speaking, a fresh expression is not a stepping-stone to something else, but that is not the point.
- A separate issue is that for some reason, the most recent Statistics for Mission reports have focused less on fresh expressions. Is this because we lack the data, or because we consider them less important? The difficulty for those who are sceptical of fresh expressions, is that there is no clear alternative response to addressing church decline (apart from ‘keep calm and carry on’ or ReImagine Church with the challenge of encouraging re-imagination rather than cloning something and reproducing it at a different time, with less crappy biscuits – acknowledgement to Trey Hall for the ‘crappy biscuits’ reference). There may be theological objections around how we understand ‘Church’, whether we are pandering to consumer demand, the theological breadth of fresh expressions (are they top-heavy in their conservative-evangelicalism, are they too narrow in their understanding of church etc)…but in Fresh Expression’s absence there is no real alternative to what we are already doing.
- We might develop a resource to help fresh expressions use Methodist membership as a means of evangelism and deepening belonging. (This could be of used by the wider church, and would outline for those who have experience of other denominations, why membership is important). This might need only to be a conversation starter, but it would need to counter a skepticism towards the Church as an institution, explain why Methodism has membership (whereas the Church of England does not), and outline the benefits and expectations of membership. Is there a resource that could be used or adapted?
One possibility might be for us to develop of highlight training for ‘Class Leaders’. This might be ideal for fresh expressions and allow us to refocus our efforts on promoting prayer, evangelism, mutual accountability, and discipleship within projects. It could also revive our pastoral system wherein the notion of a class leader – in contrast to a past
Opinion piece on Jimmy McGovern’s TV drama, ‘Broken’; to be Holy is to remain committed to discipleship whilst enduring no-win situations. Despite our frustrations, our integrity will shine through.
I don’t know if you had chance to watch the BBC series ‘Broken’ on television? Written by Jimmy McGovern, it tells the story of a Catholic priest who battles his own personal demons as he ministers within a parish that is battling low unemployment and is poverty-ridden. What makes McGovern’s work unique is the grace and gentleness in which he treats the central character, played by Sean Bean. Rather than taking the lazy option of presenting Roman Catholicism as an ancient and crumbling historic tradition, or as a hotbed from which nothing but sexual abuse arises, McGovern presents us with a priest who has been abused in the past, tries to be loyal to his sense of call, but experiences post-traumatic stress. This intensifies whenever he stands in front of the congregation and recites Jesus’ words over the bread and the wine. As he stands in this most holy of places his mind is interrupted by flashbacks, and he battles to finish the liturgy. As the story unfolds, McGovern sensitively demonstrates how the priest’s ministry is filled with extraordinary pastoral demand and no-win situations. The priest is wracked with guilt; for the time when he did not answer the phone because he was too tired, giving way to a string of events where a young man was shot by the police; when he could do little to prevent a suicide; when, despite his best efforts to address the homophobic abuse suffered by a neighbour, he faced the wrath of a gay man who was deeply critical of the Church and everything it stood for. Ultimately, the priest believes that he is unfit to hold office and is ready to resign, until the point that he leads his own mother’s funeral. However, in the closing episode, knowing that the priest is struggling, members of the Church address his insecurities by responding, ‘Amen, you wonderful priest’, as he distributes the bread at the Eucharist. It is a poignant, tear-jerking scene which marks what is truly holy – one’s devotion to discipleship – whilst accepting that life often presents us with no-win situations in which we do our best.
This speaks volumes to me, but what might this mean to our churches? The wonderful thing about McGovern’s writing is that we can all be just like the priest, trying to do the best in sometimes very difficult circumstances. And what releases us from our struggles is the ability of others who are around us to recognise that we are struggling, and who then offer simple words of encouragement that shake us to the core and wake us from our doldrums. Who have you done that to recently? Is there anyone who you feel needs to be encouraged? If so, do it. At our time when Circuits and churches have been called upon by Conference to encourage acts of personal evangelism, we would do well to remember that this can begin with the simplest words of encouragement that lead people to feel recognised, acknowledged and valued. Remember how Jesus said that people would know that we are His disciples by the way that we love one another.
Another aspect of McGovern’s writing is how he builds so much around the simplicity of certain actions that are repeated at times of confession or prayer; ‘We light a candle to remind us that Jesus is present amidst our suffering.’ Our faith is not a complex affair, it is simple, but at the same time, it is profound. It is the simple things that can sustain us when we are challenged. What are the simple things that you do, which remind you of the presence of God? God does not so much expect us to read great theological tomes, or to pray though the night for a week, or to castigate ourselves for our failings. He simply invites us to remember that he is present, and to not lose faith when everything around us appears uncertain.
As I reflect on how we have journeyed as a circuit I am encouraged by how we have both discerned the Lord’s will for us, and refused to panic when challenges have surfaced. I see this when I think about how we have recruited new paid staff, or become anxious about the need for us to fill offices. The age-old lesson from experience would seem to be that to have faith in God is to also have faith in God’s timing. Our task is to hold on to the basics of our faith, and the vision that God has given us, rather than lose our bottle because we cannot see a way ahead ourselves, or we grow tired of waiting. Christ is always there, present among us. And whilst I acknowledge there is some logic in not continually knocking on doors until our knuckles bleed, the gospel still urges us to knock, and keep on knocking, until God says ‘no’ or points us in a slightly different direction. ‘Right route, wrong door’ one might say. I suspect that many a Christian initiative throughout history has collapsed because believers have lost sight of the basics – they have yearned for a level of certainty about what the future will hold so they end up living by circumstance rather than by faith, or have simply bottled it.
Praise God for all he is doing among us!