Church for Every Context. Michael Moynagh

Rowan Williams, an Anglo-Catholic with a liberal ethical theology, injected an element of diversity into the fresh expressions story. As Bishop of Monmouth, Williams was vexed by the disconnection between the church and the bulk of the population, and had direct experience of some imaginative church plants in the diocese. This set him on a path of reflection that prepared him to make Mission-shaped Church a priority when it was published soon after his translation to Canterbury.

      His support broadened the church-planting tradition in the Church of England, which had been dominated by evangelicals (who also comprised most of the Mission-shaped Church working party). It became easier for the whole church to endorse the report. Archbishop Rowan himself contributed the phrase ‘mixed economy’ to describe different types of church existing alongside each other in mutual respect and support (Croft, 2008c, p. 5).

      Disequilibrium has involved

       mounting dis-ease with existing church;

       fresh expressions of church, involving novel combinations, that suggested new ways of practising church.

      Amplification

In complexity theory, stable systems tend to dampen innovation.7 They deploy various strategies to resist novelty. Large changes become possible when the system is less stable – instability is a sign of openness to change. For a system to become unstable, small changes need to be amplified. The stronger the amplification, the more likely it is that resistance will be overcome. Amplification occurs through feedback – the effects of actions feed back through the system and influence future actions. Positive feedback creates a cycle of self-reinforcement, which increases the likelihood of other similar changes (Lichtenstein and Plowman, 2009, p. 620).

      Spreading stories

      Amplification happens when news about an innovation spreads, encouraging others to innovate too. This has been important in the story of British fresh expressions. In particular, since 1999, the Church Army’s Sheffield Centre has played a key role in disseminating stories about new types of church through its quarterly publication series, Encounters on the Edge, whose subscription base had grown to 425 by 2011. These publications helped raise awareness in the early 2000s that stirrings were in the undergrowth, and provided an important evidence base for Mission-shaped Church. The work of Stuart Murray, a Baptist and leading researcher on church planting, had a similar effect (2004a, 2004b, 2006).

      Mission-shaped Church itself, with its huge sales, was a major amplifier. Though some have seen the report as an attempt to institutionalize and control fresh expressions, its authors intended to describe what was happening, provide a theological defence and encourage the church to give appropriate support, including dismantling institutional blocks (pp. xii–xiii). The report sought not to control, but to permit and facilitate. Greatly helped by being endorsed by the Church of England’s General Synod and then by the British Methodist Conference, it quickly became an authoritative text. It gave legitimacy to people exploring new ways of being church and encouraged others.

      The Fresh Expressions team

Subsequent to the report’s publication, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York appointed the Fresh Expressions team, headed by Steven Croft, now Bishop of Sheffield.8 The team was largely funded by the Lambeth Partners, a charity that raises money to support aspects of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s vision. The Methodist Church was a partner from the beginning, the Congregational Federation has partnered for several years and the United Reformed Church has become a partner.9 A number of agencies, such as the Church Army, are also partners.

The Fresh Expressions team has had amplifying effects in a number of ways. Steven Croft’s initial year (in 2005) of listening to pioneers affirmed and legitimized what these ‘early adopters’ were seeking to do. An online directory of fresh expressions of church had over 750 entries by 2009. Though it is doubtful that all met the team’s 2006 definition,10 the growing number of entries offered a tangible sign that the phenomenon was far from insignificant.

An early tour round a number of Methodist districts and Church of England diocesan synods, followed by a later tour in 2009–11, helped to spread news of what was happening on the ground. Two DVDs, one already referred to and the second in 2007,11 contained stories of these new and different forms of church. The first in particular has been widely used, selling approaching 5,000 copies by 2011, which makes it one of the most popular Christian DVDs to come out of the UK.

      To whet people’s appetite, Vision Days have provided a story-based introduction to fresh expressions of church. By the start of 2011, 74 had been held, with nearly 5,700 people attending. A downloadable six-week mission-shaped intro (msi) course for use in small or medium-sized church groups focuses on the ‘why’ of fresh expressions, and had involved an estimated 25,000 participants in 22 countries by 2011. By early that year, the flagship mission-shaped ministry (msm) course had been or was running ecumenically in nearly 60 centres across the UK with over 2100 students involved. This ‘one-year, part-time course takes participants on a learning journey as part of a supportive community, training them for ministry in fresh expressions of church’ (www.missionshapedministry.org).

      These and other initiatives (such as a presence on Facebook) have been a megaphone for emerging types of church. Events like Vision Days have given pioneers a platform from which to tell their stories and enthuse their audiences. Stories have legitimized pioneering developments, given others the confidence to follow suit and encouraged the UK churches to give more official support. The Church of Scotland, for example, has been influenced by the spread of fresh expressions in England, as have churches in North America, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe.

      Official support

      Other signs of official support have further amplified the acceptance of fresh expressions, encouraging more people to start one. In 2004, the Methodist Conference identified fresh ways of being church as one of its five priorities and subsequently appointed the Fresh Ways Working Group to take the agenda forward. A succession of presidents, who serve for a year as head of the church, have actively supported the vision, which is now integral to the church’s official thinking. ‘Venture FX’ is a Methodist scheme to identify 20 people with pioneering gifts who will be funded to start 20 Christian communities among young adults with no Christian heritage. It is a powerful symbol of the church’s commitment to fresh expressions. A high-level group seeks to overcome institutional blockages as they are identified.

      The Church of England has introduced a new category of clergy, Ordained Pioneer Ministers, who are like other ministers (they can perform the sacraments, for example) but are called and trained specifically to develop fresh expressions of church. Seventeen had been ordained by 2009, with another 70 in training in 2010 (A Mixed Economy for Mission, 4.6). Fresh expressions have become part of the general curriculum in many ministerial training courses (Croft 2008a, p. 47).

      Since 2009, Bishops’ Mission Orders have provided an officially sanctioned route for Church of England practitioners to start churches crossing parish boundaries. Twenty-two were in effect in 19 dioceses by October 2011. A number of Church of England dioceses have created part or full-time posts to advise on fresh expressions. In some cases, funds have been made available to support individual initiatives.

      Networks

      Complexity