Church of England’s Mission-Shaped Church – Report Online

An overview of recent developments in church planting. This detailed, practical and well-researched report describes the varied and exciting 'fresh expressions' of church being created.

If ‘church’ is what happens when people encounter the Risen Jesus and commit themselves to sustaining and deepening that encounter in their encounter with each other, there is plenty of theological room for diversity of rhythm and style, so long as we have ways of identifying the same living Christ at the heart of every expression of Christian life in common. This immediately raises large questions about…the kinds of leadership we need for this to happen.

Full text of the excellent book, Mission Shaped Church can be found here (pdf)

Comments

[phil]

Thanks Paul.. Downloading for a read.

[alexander]

Hi guys, could I do a little stirring? I'm currently doing the preparatory research for a national church planting congress here in the uk next march. basically i'm attempting to get a fix on all CP activity over the last 5 or so years. The MSC report, which covers only the C of E (and possibly the Methodists - though almost nothing is happening there in reality) is an excellent report and paves the way for more much needed experimentation/exploration within the C of E. I applaud it and the efforts being made to find new ways of expressing church in todays culture. However (you knew it was coming!) I have one or two concerns. One of these is that to date I have not found one 'fresh expression' of church within the C of E which is not based fundamentally on the same underlying model of church as the existing ones. And even when one appears to break the mould it soon seems to revert to its default position. I am referring to things like attractional -v- incarnational, priest/laity divisions, meeting focused, non participative teaching models etc.
This is only brief so I realise it leaves more questions than answers, but I suppose that's what the comment facility is for.

[Phil]

perhaps people who are 'doing church' in a genuinely different way don't always consider what they are doing to be church....perhaps we don't think we can define what we are doing as church because it is different to what has gone before...perhaps we don't wanna 'label' it as church cos of all the crap that goes with that...writing reports, getting a fix on all the fresh expression stuff almost feels like its a bit modernist, not really where fresh expression stuff should be heading. why do we need to get a fix on it all? kinda feels a bit controlling....sorry for the rant...just some thoughts...

[Paul Fromont]

Alexander and Phil; thanks for your comments. I guess for me M-SC invites me to think and to dream; it's a resource, not a blueprint or a panacea. In many ways it also "permissions" people to start thinking outside the box; it seeds possibilities along the edges of existing congregations; possiblilities within the margins between church and culture.

It's also early days with regards to seriously grappling with what it might mean to be church in a (post / late)modern, post-Christendon etc 21st century context. It's early days for the COFE. I applaud them for having begun the conversation, but am aware that the on-the-ground reality still doesn't always match the hopes a document like M-SC tries to articulate, for example, there isn't always a willingness to release funding for experimentation.

We have huge challenges and huge opportunities.

I purchased the book when it was first published, but it's great to see the COFE making it more widely available. It's a very useful resource, hence my drawing attention to it's online availability.

Thanks again for adding your voices to the conversation. Phil Mc, I hope you find it useful.

[alexander]

Phil hi, liked your rant! Just to clarify - the reason I'm 'getting a fix on things' is partly because that's what I'm being paid to do!! My hope is that while presenting the findings we will be able to go some way in articulating some of the new stuff in a way which helps those in the existing paradigm understand what is going on better; therefore helping to foster the environment of trust, permission and resourcing. Thats why I'm always nervous about writing comments - being so brief they often leave out crucial aspects which give room for misunderstanding!

[jonny]

good spot - thanks