Surprise and lessons from Antioch
Church Army’s Research unit
October 2013
One scriptural story of re-imagination
Two threads
• The Gospel – from edge of Empire to its centre• The Church – from the centre to its edge
• The Holy Spirit– Empowers the missionary journey– Disturbs the church
• The Spirit … is Lord over the Church, guiding the Church from its limited, partial and distorted understanding of, and embodiment of the truth, into the fulness of the truth in Jesus …Lesslie Newbigin
NT Concentration & Dispersal: Phase 1
Concentration in Jerusalem
Dispersal by Persecution
Acts 1 – Acts 8
Acts 6.7 “So the Word of God spread The number of disciples increased rapidly”
Concentration & Dispersal: Phase 2
Concentration in Antioch
Dispersal by Calling
Acts 11.19f – Acts 18
Acts 12.24 “So the Word of God continued to increase and spread”
Concentration & Dispersal: Phase 3
Concentration in Ephesus
Dispersal by Design
Acts 19ff
Acts 19.24 “the Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power ”
In and out
• ‘Gathered’ church = ½ the story• ‘Dispersed’ church is normal too• Wesley’s story illustrates this
Surprises continue
• They spoke to Greeks also – what!
Bruce: ‘some daring spirits…took a momentous step forward’ in speaking to Greeks.
Dunn: ‘a truly astonishing break with the past’.
Newbigin: ‘this strange and at first shocking reversal of deeply held religious beliefs’.
More surprisesAbout how things are done: • From only one way• To a diversity
How you talk about Jesus • From Messiah• To Lord and Saviour
It is the 2nd journey – from the church’s centre to its edge
Arbuckle: ‘The new belongs elsewhere..’ Samaria, Joppa, now Antioch
And yet more surprises
Mission and Church • Not by authorised
apostles – Anonymous ones – Lay people– No one knows who started
the 3 great early churches
• But they were bi-cultural – At home in the host culture– They thought beyond a
physical temple
Ways forward for church
• But … reproduction– Of Church DNA– Leading to fresh expressions
of Church– Related to us, but different
• Not replication• Not franchise
Antioch: two sources meet
• Gospel & Ecclesial [church dna] content … and • Missional Context – leads to diversity
• Genuine creation, not copying, from 2 sources: • like with God creating humans– dust and breath
The role of Barnabas:good, full of the SpiritFrom Cyprus – so bicultural toosaw evidence of the grace of God and holds links with the wider church
Christ and the ChurchSome Theology foundational to re-imagining Church
Church Army’s Research Unit
Finding Foundations
Community-in-Mission
Facing some criticisms
MSC = ‘Church-shaped mission’: John Hull, 2005Rather Kingdom should be central and determinative
‘Kingdom’•Shorthand for the priority of social justice within mission•The dynamic within/ pointer leading to, what church should aspire to
Offering an alternativeChrist is more foundational than Kingdom
Limits to Kingdom-shaped-Church
1. Without Christ, no Kingdom would have been preached Kingdom without King is vacuous
2. Without encounter with the risen living Christ, Kingdom is powerless idealism
3. Acts and Epistles shift from Kingdom language to Jesus’ death and Resurrection
4. In those accounts any mention of Kingdom is to Jews. To any one else it meant political revolution
5. Today it is not a universal or helpful metaphor – take republics, ex empire nations, democracies, ministry to women – kingdom sounds patriarchal and imperial…
Christ and the Church:
Why Christology shapes Ecclesiology:
Christ is the founder – he is foundational Church belongs to Christ – the Christian Church It is to be shaped by his dynamicsWe are called to reproduce his patternsIs it idle that we call Church ‘the body of Christ’?
Easy to say in theory – but what do we mean?
In carnation?
• A much used word• Usually means a pastoral style of
mission; coming alongside people • Literally In Carnate = En Fleshed
Christ and the Church:
A] A typically bipartite process• Like humans made from breath and dust • In the covenants: Abraham, Mosaic, Davidic• Intervention for 3 generations of barren
matriarchs• The partnership of Spirit and Mary
1: Incarnation
Christ himself: God the Son and Son of Mary•The creeds insist on their connection•Luke’s genealogy embraces them
Implications of bipartite thinking
• The Incarnation was not a transplant • Christ the eternal son has Mary’s DNA • Incarnation models intimate engagement with
context • And the coming of content from beyond
• Bipartite working is diagnostic in creating church• Neither imposition from outside• Nor derived solely from context
• Neither ‘incarnational’ ministry nor creating church should be cloning, but bi-partite…
Christ and the Church cont …
B] Exhibits continuity and change:cf Philippians chapter 2
a list of changes That we are called to emulate in spirit
Christ Jesus - a fresh expression of God the Son?Who came from heaven - Jesus of Nazareth? NoGod the Son became incarnateThe Son’s ID was not damaged yet this was new It was even novel !
The Incarnation …
Can church be fresh and still be really church?
Continuity and ChangeThe Jesus story contains a contrast:1 Jesus’ call: the intended / the proactive 2Jesus’ openness to change / the reactive
cf varied reactions to peopleReal sufferingParadox: ‘the immortal dies’Raised by the Father
–Continuity : his ID, relationship to Trinity etc–Change: Enfleshed, ministry, Death and Resurrection
So church should not be photocopied – but rather created from two sources, [content and context] while holding continuity and change together …
1c Limits to incarnation
The references to ‘the Anglican incarnational principle’ and ‘incarnational mission’ should be dropped. The incarnation, God becoming Man, was a unique and unrepeatable event. There can therefore be no ‘incarnational principle’ or ‘incarnational mission’. God becoming Man is not a principle and the mission of the Church does not involve God taking human nature upon Himself. What we are really talking about in both cases is local delivered, culturally relevant, mission and ministry.Martin Davie: submission to MSC writing group : 2003
Objection: Church is the Body of Christ…?But which body – pre or post Resurrection?
Is the term illegitimate?
Is Incarnation the controlling factor?
• Or should it be Death and Resurrection?– Romans 6– Baptism– Communion – The characteristic sign – the Cross– The basis of hope – the Resurrection
The Incarnation–No extension–No command–No possibility
Dying to live is truly central
Thanks Lesslie NewbiginThe Household of God pp 147ff
Self recognition by the church of what it means to be the church is fostered by images that focus upon participation in the death and resurrection of the Messiah: Minear: Images of the Church p 227
Time to discuss and feedback
• You have 4 minutes • Turn to your neighbour• Feedback to one another your thoughts from
Christology and Christ’s incarnation, thus far
Re-imagining Church
Church Army’s Research Unit
Explorations : October 2013
Andrew - admin
Elspeth - stats
George - ?
1 What is Anglican?
When I was a lad …• Parish• Special ‘Church’ building• On a Sunday• Male Clergy take services• 1662 BCP• Bishop – ordains & confirms
And now it might be …• In secular venues
• Churches for networks• Either gender clergy & lay
• Any day of the week• Liturgical creativity • And the Bishop…
Today … what a Bishop approves of
and has relationship with
“Question Time”
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Think back over your personal story of church: – what changes stand out?
Changing Sundays Church at different times
Changing relationships Church for different networks
Changing cultures Church in different cultures
Less knowledge of faith Church for beginners
Deeper spiritual hunger Church for disconnected explorers
2 Why the need for any re-imagination?
Reasons from the Bishop of Sheffield, Steven Croft
2 The internal wake up call
Data - - - - - - - Decisions
Danger: Porcine aviation zone
Church of England Penetration of its Parishes: 1974
21.4
17.4
12.8
10.6
4.1
3.2
2.4
1.8
1.8
1.6
6.1
0 5 10 15 20 25
<250
250-499
500-999
1000-1999
2000-3999
4000-5999
6000-7999
8000-9999
10000-14999
15000-19999
20000 plus
Percentage of the parish who attend Parishpopulation
Church of England Penetration of its Parishes 2011
11.9
6.8
5.1
4.0
2.4
1.9
1.8
1.3
1.1
0.9
3.2
0 3 6 9 12 15
<250
250-499
500-999
1000-1999
2000-3999
4000-5999
6000-7999
8000-9999
10000-14999
15000-19999
20000 plus
Percentage of the parish who attend Parishpopulation
Here’s a cheerful thought
1971 One stipendiary to 3048 people2011 ditto 6745
1976: 12000 Stipendiaries2011: <8000 + 2000 ssm etc
In 1971 usual Sunday attd 1.5 millionIn 2011 ditto 898,300
Ah but AWA?2000 Average Weekly attd 1,25 million2011 ditto 1091,500
NB Population increase 2001-11 7.9%
Resource Strategy & Development Unit – National Church Institutions
10 Year Comparisons (2001– 11 smoothed)
% National Change
Population
7.9%
AWA -7.2%
42% are growing
58% are declining
Doctor, doctor …
I have this great treatment for you all …
Yeah right
4 broad local church scenarios
• Sustainable
• Static
• Strategic
• Unsustainable
Those that are …
No
Yes
No
Yes
Willing
No
- - - -
No
Yes
Growth
No
No
Yes
Yes
Resource
35
4 broad local church scenarios
• Sustainable
• Static
• Strategic
• Unsustainable
Those that are …
= resource and growth, so encourage and cheer
= resource and stuck, so give them a boot - push
= lack of resource but willing, so give them help - pull
= lack of resource and will, so arrange palliative care
See Resourcing Mission Bulletin, July 2012 and October 2012
Diocesan Mission and Finance Strength + Income-Ministry Costs
+
Mission: 5 yr attd change
Sustainable Static
Strategic
Unsustainable
-
-
5% 10% 15%
-15% -10% -5%
+2.5 million
-2.5 million
A move to evidence based thinking?
• Will we dare to differentiate?• Will we challenge what is draining &
parasitic?• Can we see this as more than
economic realism, and part of kingdom ethics – the talents parable?
• Can we avoid unbridled ecclesial capitalism?
Sorry: R. Allen, TCE 1945, L. Paul, V. Donovan, PIM 1981, J. Tiller etc. Great books & reports, but …
Mission& ministry
Plonk 2013
ParishPlonk 1984
Signs of a grass roots voice: we must do something
“Question Time”
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What signs of a wake up call do you see?To what do you attribute it: desperation, realism, hard- nosed finance, God, other?
3 Signs of hope in the Body of Christ
Leaner but fitter? Loss of nominals Signs of healthBut …
Tried health treatments GHC – Warren NCD – SchwarzGood cos …But …
Blood tranfusions & cosmetic surgery?Evang’istic campaigns, Cell, Seeker, Kidz ClubToronto, Turn-around teams, Mid sized communities etc All Good … But …
More signs of hope …
We agree fitness is key discipleship is > following Jesus
‘… following is not so much about trotting along some distance behind Jesus as about emulating his way of travelling’ Stephen Cherry
We’ve gone on retreats Monasticism old & new New ‘orders’ Resources rhythms & rules
We’ve had some babies lots of small CP & fxC, so noise and mess Will they survive? Will they mature? They will be different to us
Churches worth staying for, or creating …
• Offer authentic community not institutional belonging• Treat adults as such• Allow dialogue as well as monologue• Are self critical, especially in relation to power politics• Allow doubts, anger and lament as well as joyful certainty..
• Provide space for spiritual development not spoon feeding• Focus on God – not the leader or programs • Offer holistic vision not privatised spirituality..
• Equip members for world of work• Engage creatively/sensitively with culture & social/ethical issues • Are realistic about rhythms and pressures of modern life..
Stuart Murray, The Exodus Conference Sept 2003: Order adapted
“Question Time”
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How do you think the [C of E] Body of Christ is doing?How does Stuart Murray’s list strike you?
4 What are we learning from fxC?
“… what has been so extraordinary, so life giving and wonderful in the last decade or so, is more and more stories coming in of how those fresh encounters happen….. God is showing us examples of what the church is, in startling new ways, because we are seeing what corporate forms of life actually happen when people meet Jesus.”
Archbishop Rowan at UK Church Planting conference June 2004
Rowan Williams and a dynamic discovery
How fxC are changing assumptions re Church: 1
• Day, time, and venue are chosen more by context, than tradition
• Context is more significant for inculturated mission than territory
• Church is multi-level, so congregation is an option not a necessity
Discontinuity or Development?
• Midweek HC,
House
Churches
• Chaplaincy, x cultural mission
• Diocese/Parish & small group movement
• Mid week Ch, Messy Ch, School based Church, Traditional church plant
• Network Ch, Special Interest Group Ch, <5s Ch, Youth Church
• Cell Ch & Clusters/Mid sized communities
Assumption challenged By what kind of fxC
How fxC are changing assumptions re Church: 2
• Passivity is replaced by participation & Quality Control by trust in the people, word and Spirit
• Community round Jesus is central, from which authentic worship springs
• Leader is not necessarily clergy or pastor/teacher
Discontinuity or Development?
• Family Services, writings of Roland Allen, Vincent Donovan
• BEC movement
•Tiller report of 1982
• Alternative worship, Cell Church, Clusters, Messy Church, New Monasticism, Youth Ch.
• Community development plants, New Monasticism, Messy Church, Cell Ch
• More than half of all kinds of fxC
Assumption challenged By what kind of fxC
Discipleship, not attendance, is core
Non ID reproduction of church is normal
Church at edge not centre of society
How fxC are changing assumptions re Church: 3
Discontinuity or
Development?
Wesley & Methodism
3 self teaching by Henry Venn
Desert Monastics Anabaptists
Assumption challenged By what kind of fxC
78% of fxC take steps in discipleship
many fxC do not clone but create
Community Developm’t plants, & Special interest group fxC
What is Church?
‘Church is the event of Jesus' presence with its characteristic effect of gathering people around him and making them see one another differently as they see him.’
What is the greatest re-imagination? That we become more and more like Jesus
‘The Church exists for nothing else but to draw people into Christ, to make them little Christs.’
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity p. 166
Book recommendation: By the Renewal of your Minds, Ellen Charry
“Question Time”
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Across the list of changes brought by fxC, which do you think are most important and why?
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