Church for Every Context. Michael Moynagh

Church for Every Context - Michael Moynagh


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Christian community to find a place within the inherited church – and increasingly change it. A new attractor would then emerge, combining novel and existing forms of church in fruitful relationship.

      Stabilization involves

       adapting to the tradition, including the denomination;

       adapting to the context of the new church.

      Conclusion

      New contextual churches are emerging in Britain through processes of disequilibrium, amplification, self-organization and stabilization. Already they are having a substantial influence on ecclesial life, not only in this country but in other parts of the world. Do they represent the early stages in the birth of a new attractor, the mixed-economy church?

      There are positive signs. The idea of fresh expressions, even if the term is not used, is taking root in denominations beyond those officially involved in the Fresh Expressions initiative – from the Assemblies of God to the Baptist Church – and overseas (for example Robinson and Brighton, 2009). Denominations associated with Fresh Expressions have steadily deepened their commitment. By 2009 19 out of 43 Church of England dioceses reported that they had created a strategy for encouraging fresh expressions of church and church planting (A Mixed Economy for Mission, 3.2).

      A telling sign is how church organizations and networks are responding increasingly to the fresh expressions agenda, whether it is publishers, mission agencies or missional networks. Cell UK, for example, is now working in the spirit of ‘4 life’ to underline its focus on encouraging missional communities in the context of everyday life.

      Despite this progress, a 2009 report to the Church of England’s General Synod could identify only three dioceses (out of 43) whose strategies for fresh expressions really stood out. ‘Even in these dioceses there is still a long way to go before it could be said that a mixed economy church has been established as irreversible and normative . . .’ The majority of lay people were unaware or had only a very partial understanding of the mixed economy (A Mixed Economy for Mission 2009, 4.9, 4.28).

      Anecdotal evidence and some limited research (for example, Stone, 2010) suggest that most fresh expressions are small, have a significant proportion of people who already go to church, and where they are reaching out are connecting with people on the fringe of church rather than the growing numbers of never-churched. There are encouraging exceptions, but the overall picture is of the UK church being still at the beginnings of a journey to fresh expressions. Despite growing momentum, the vehicle could yet stall.

      Further reading

      Drane, John and Olive Fleming Drane, Reformed, Reforming, Emerging and Experimenting, Report for the Church of Scotland, 2010.

      Mission-shaped Church: Church Planting and Fresh Expressions of Church in a Changing Context, London: Church House Publishing, 2004.

      Wheatley, Margaret J., Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World, 3rd edition, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2006.

      Questions for discussion

       Much of this chapter has been about official support for new contextual churches. What should individuals and churches do when this support is not present? How far does the spread of new contextual churches depend on official support?

       Do you agree that the mixed economy in Britain could yet stall? If so, what would avoid this?

       What are the lessons from Britain’s experience? If you were advising your network or denomination, what strategy would you suggest for multiplying contextual churches?


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