changes [part 1] - the last 8 years

this is the first of two blog posts about what i am up to with cms and some changes...

it's amazing how many times i get asked what i do and i think i'm not very good at explaining because there is a myth around that i just drink coffee with people! i am at a change point and will be starting in a new role and team within cms from monday. but before sharing details of that (in another blog post) i wanted to take this moment as a chance to reflect on what I have been doing with CMS for the last 8 years. i wrote some notes on it while i was in poland and wrote them up for a few people in cms as a kind of report but in the form of a personal story. people have said how helpful they have found it so i have smartened the whole thing up with some photos (using apple's pages - which by the way is easy to use and makes things like this look great). anyway it is attached as a pdf. it is longer than your average blog entry so print it off, pour a coffee and have a read if you so desire... harry took the photo of me on holiday btw - hope you like the asbo/monk vibe!

it's a journey i have shared with many people in and out of cms and with lots of you who read the blog who have been part of the changes taking place in the [emerging] church and in mission. it's definitely been a collaborative journey and that has been what's been so good about it. the story is cms focused, so if it misses your part in the story i apologise. it's not a comprehensive account and it is written to help explain what i do to cms as much as to anyone else. it is also subjective, a take from where i sit, nothing more. if you have a different take leave a comment or write your own account and send a link...

(i have mentioned this before but if you are more interested in the work/mission side of what i do, i do send out a weekly e-mail that is fairly short with a few points for prayer. just e-mail me if you'd like to be added to that. click on the mail envelope icon in the hello section in the centre column of the blog. )

peace

The environment has changed. Mission is on the agenda of the church in Britain and certainly of the Church of England. There are inspiring leaders, networks, resources, training, and creativity. There is a culture of permission. Church exists for mission. There is lots to be done for sure but if you had predicted 10 years ago the new world no-one would have believed you.

download cms journey here

Comments

[Jason Clark]

Tnx Jonny, for all you are and do. Jase.

[Paul Fromont]

I echo Jase Jonny. Thanks for the reflection. Thanks for the many ways you've shaped my own thinking and acting in relation to the kinds of issues you overview in your reflection. Look forward to one-day having a good conversation face-to-face and sharing a few Belgian beers.

Meantime, I need to learn how to use my first MacBook Pro - my first laptop actually - so I can produce the kind of work characterised by your report - A CMS Journey...

Have a groovy weekend

[cheryl]

echoing the above... i'm really grateful for your wisdom, and also for the generosity of cms, which comes through in the report - that they had a vision for this work, right back then; that they give space for you to explore new territory in faith and imagination... and then that they let you share the wisdom you've discovered, even all the way over to australia. we're richer for it.

[Clare]

so encouraging to read this Jonny - thanks for putting it together. Its easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when you're out in the sticks (!) and we hear so much about what is wrong with church. Great to reflect on how far we have all come. Hope the new role is equally exciting and challenging.
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