jonnybaker

maybe i'm catholic?! a review of 'fresh expressions in the sacramental tradition'

fresh expressions in the sacramental tradition is a collection of reflections/essays edited by ian mobsby and steven croft. it's a very welcome book. a fear that is often expressed is that fresh expressions is the play thing of evangelicals but a read of this shows that this clearly isn't the case. i wasn't expecting to think this but it made me think i'm more catholic than i realised! i actually prefer to resist those sort of tribal labels anyway - i've blogged/ranted about evangelical identity before and i don't find that helpful at all - being a follower of christ is enough for me. but here's a couple of the things that made me think i may be more catholic than i knew...

rowan williams opening chapter identifies these features of catholic spirituality:
non verbal expressions of faith
a central place to sacramental action
seeing christian life as taking time and use of the christian year
faith is a community experience and not just an individual one

then steven croft locates the movement in the tradition of catholic mission in the vein of vincent donavon and roland allen - with central themes of the missio dei, incarnation, and the formation of disciples in community

steven croft's chapter is brilliant - he uses the story of gamaliel in acts 5 who cautioned the sanhedrin to wait before judging the early church. steven croft suggests half the clergy in the church might be in that position of caution and writes his chapter to persuade them to come off the fence. he also makes the point that the resistors/conservatives are in every part of the church and my experience has been that conservative evangelicals have been the most resistant group to ideas of contextual mission as they seem convinced that their way of doing things is the gospel itself! steven croft led the fresh expressions team for 5 years, has spoken with every diocese and lots of groups around the country. he is a wise man who brokered so much in what was a relatively short period so i really valued what i see as his parting reflection. he is now bishop in sheffield.

one of the things he talks about is whether the language of fresh expressions is helpful and says we had to have some language to 'talk about this movement of forming new ecclesial communities through contextual mission'. and it was that sentence where i thought - yes that is why this is so exciting!  'emerging church' 'alternative worship' 'emergent' 'postmodern mission' may come and go but if it has helped us recover contextual approaches to mission at the heart of what the church is about then it is an amazing thing...

there are chapters on various communities such as contemplative fire (i must blog about them another time), new monasticism, a couple of helpful pieces on liturgy and sacraments, and a few US authors such as karen ward, paige blair and phyllis tickle in the mix if you are looking for a book to help lever discussion in the episcopal context in the US.

congrats to ian and steven on this book (which i noticed was the window display in church house bookshop last week). it's not just another book on this stuff - it has a particular story to tell and role to play.

vulnerable mission

mark oxbrow has a piece on vulnerable mission on his blog hope transfigured. his blog is well worth adding into your reader or facebook or however you track the flow of data in your life. he has worked in cms (and now faith 2 share) for decades and is amazingly connected globally with a wealth of experience and wisdom on mission...

wise blindness and icons of the present

cms publishes a series of small booklets, a similar kind of size to grove booklets which are monographs reflecting on contemporary issues in mission.

the latest one is called telling it slant and is in two parts. the first is by john pritchard asking questions around the arts and how they represent an alternative spirituality and doorway to faith, and how they connect with mission. the second is a response which i have written called wise blindness and icons of the present - i'm quite pleased with what i wrote!

you can either sign up for the series or buy individual ones from the cms shop.

egyptian wisdom on mission

yesterday at cms we had a visit from the bishop of egypt who shared a few thoughts at a staff meeting. there had been a discussion around recruitment which prompted him to say that they would like people who

a) are humble
b) come to listen and learn not to give the answers or fix things
c) come to resource local people and not do it themselves

wise words...

an area of quiet growth

the blog is a little quiet because i am in the middle of running the dekhomai stand at the london mind body spirit fair which tends to be full on. the surprise this year is that there are four christian stands with a presence at the festival - all with a different take. so this involvement in the new spiritualities is definitely an area of quiet growth...

my way of thinking about this is through margaret wheatley's amazing piece on networks - lifecycle which i have blogged about at least three times i think 1 | 2 | 3. in it she says that networks change things through 1. naming - getting involved in practice. several people have done that - john drane for me was the first i came across. 2. connecting - people involved in the same practice connect and share stories, experience and learning which of course is so accelerated through the digital media. 3. nourishing - fuelling the practice and network. this has happened informally and formally through training, blahs, articles, and the recent gathering. 4. illuminating - shine a light on the practice so others see and get inspired by it.

it seems to me this process has happened and there's now an intentional network of practitioners - christian travellers in the new spiritual culture that is in the process of being set up. leave a comment if you're interested in knowing more about it...

mission in a consumer culture - blah type event with pete ward

mission in consumer culture is a half day at cms on thurs 11 june in oxford exploring mission in a consumer culture with pete ward and then myself and cathy ross responding. you can book online. if you remember the day we had with brian walsh and sylvia keesmaat, it's furthering the discussion around the relationship between faith and culture. pete's latest book is excellent on this relationship - i reviewed it here.

blah... as a series of events/conversations has gone quiet but i guess this is certainly a blah... type of event. here's the blurb

How should Mission relate to a consumer culture?

Some like to argue that the Christian faith as an 'alternative way' in an alien market driven world. So the Church is a community of those who resist the prevailing consumerist trend.

But is this the only possible approach? Is it possible that Mission in the West requires us to seek to express or contextualise faith in consumer culture?

This half day will explore the possibilities and limitations of Mission as contextualisation in a consumer culture.

dreaming of europe

gerard kelly shares his dream for europe

to create on mainland Europe a centre where mission, spirituality and learning can come together; where thoughtfulness and conversation are encouraged, not despised, and where young leaders can gather to consider the historic challenges facing the churches of Western Europe. Tied to no particular denomination; serving all equally; competitive for the Kingdom of God rather than within it, such a centre could foster missional imagination across the European landscape. It could touch ancient churches deeply embedded in our culture and history and equally resource new and emerging movements. Its aim would be simple:  to empower young Europeans to believe in their churches and transform their world.

fractured or networked - depends on the lens you look through!

one of the most thoughtful mission thinkers out there in the blogosphere in relation to mission and the emerging culture is mark sayers who i really enjoyed meeting last year. he has just posted a piece that i have been thinking about for the last 24 hours the emerging missional church fractures into mini movements. initially i thought he was writing as though this was a problem but on  re-read i'm not exactly sure. maybe he is just trying to map something...

here's my thought on this. if you look at this through an old lens - denominational or tribal - it looks like a problem. but if you look at it through a network lens it's exactly what we should both expect and hope for (though i wouldn't use the word fractured as that sounds very negative). i blogged previously about small world theory which i don't want to go over at length again. but to recap a couple of points. people can only hold a certain number of meaningful relationships, most people are locally focused (in their small world), it only needs one or two people in any small world to be connectors to other small worlds and suddenly the insights across the various small worlds (or movements as mark calls them) can flow around the network.

the key point therefore for any movement is having a particular edge and practice, connecting with others but then encouraging some to focus externally so that that movement isn't insular.

my fear around mark's post/headline is that people will think fracture, spilt, difference, disagreement. whereas i'm looking and thinking diversity, network, connectivity, flows, insights etc... it all depends on the lens you look through!

i wrote a piece on the spirit in which this might be conducted called the network of christ which you might like to read if you didn't catch it.

of course australia is a different context which i know less about in terms of how networked/fractured it is. but my impression in the uk is that there are plenty of small worlds but lots of connectors and lots of generosity...

cms acknowledged community of the church of england

in an article in he church times this week by david walker who chairs the advisory committee on religious orders in the church of england he say this:

...the renewed zeal for mission in the Church of England is bringing to birth its own fresh expressions of religious life. The Church Mission Society is the first of several established missionary bodies to become an Acknowledged Community... These communities coming from across the spectrum of church raditions are discovering the religious life to be a missionary imperative.

so i guess it's now public news (even though it was approved a few months back) so i can let you know that cms has been recognised as an acknowledged community of the church of england. what does this mean? well it means that cms is at its heart an ecclesial community with a rhythm of life and a mission spirituality and ethos that is at the core. it's a fresh expression of church in and of itself. in saying that it doesn't mean church in a congergational gathered mode but church has always functioned in a number of modes - the congregational one has tended to be the one that has dominated our imagination. we will have (yet to be appointed) an external visitor to the community who is a bishop.

so what? well the so what is yet to be worked out but there is some pretty exciting potential. cms at its heart is a dispersed community of people who want to live out a mission life. being part of the community should fuel that mission spirituality. in many ways that is nothing new - being recognised for a community is recognising what we actually already are - it's just making it fit within the structures. cms has a history of pioneer mission leaders. the c of e is recognising the need at the moment for pioneer leadership and it's a pathway for ordination for some. so it's a safe bet we will be in the mix (which of course we already are) in recognising and training pioneers (mainly not ordained but no doubt ordained into and through cms as well). we have spent a lot of energy in the last decade helping the wider church recover a mission focus, develop new edges (emerging, fresh, missional, new monastic, alternative, renewed traditional or whatever terms you prefer), networking and training and encouraging leaders of the new things as well as helping renew more traditional structures. so it's also a safe bet that we will build on that and continue to help new mission communities to emerge that are part of the wider mixed economy of church. the difference now is that they will already be part of the church in and through us rather than some poor relation tagged on the side. i apologise if this sounds like internal politic to those of you not in the church of england or denominational structures. at one level it's a small shift - we carry on doing what we're doing. but at another it's a radical shift, the subversive potential of which is going to be worked out in the next 20 years...

so watch this space!

keeping up with the jones

andrew jones (aka tallskinnkiwi), debbie and their 5 children called in at cms in oxford today as they head off for a new adventure. andrew is a good friend, a mission leader (and geek), and part of the team i lead at cms. having been settled in orkney for a season it was inevitable they would get restless...

so the next phase in the jones' life is travelling round europe in a van and tents, meeting creative mission leaders and church planters and people that throw good parties to hang out, encourage them, map some of what is happening in europe, research the gaps, catalyse some new stuff, create some networks, tell some stories and so on. they have an incredible overlander truck which is semi-converted and they'll do a bit more on the road. a few people have asked how long this is for but it's open ended - travelling as a lifestyle i guess. the van and jones will be back in the uk next at greenbelt so catch them there if not before.

follow andrew's blog to see how it all goes and if you are doing some creative mission type stuff in europe introduce yourself. cms has historically worked in africa and asia and in recent years done quite a bit in the uk. this adventure is part of a shift to more of a european focus. plenty is still going on in africa and asia (and now south america with the link with sams) but the direction for those areas is to let go control and western leadership and to be a networked family of mission agencies round the world rather than a british governed global agency. if you are a praying type, pray for the jones as they go. got to admire the adventurer spirit. i work with some fun people!

church on the edge

richard passmore has posted notes and slides from a talk he gave at exeter diocese. he is one of our best missiologists in youth ministry in my view. he comes at thing totally through a mission lens. i realise i like that as it's what i try to do. but it's worth a read of his notes. they are long so get a coffee and sit down and take your time...

god is rice

i read the book god is rice a few years back. i really like theology that comes from other cultures. i was reminded of it by phil simpson, who connects together what cms is up to across asia. he has been travelling and connecting with the changing face of cms in asia.

skinny to hit the european road

in my job i manage/support a team for cms of creative people. it's a lot of fun! one of the people on the team is andrew jones who with his family is about to embark on a new adventure going back to a travelling lifestyle round europe. they have got a huge van that is currently being converted - windows, furniture, cooker and all that and will be heading off round europe stopping at various places to connect with entrepreneurial mission leaders, creating networks, hanging out, doing some training, mentoring and so on. watch andrew's blog to see how the story unfolds. the sortingroom, the collective of businesses in orkney they helped start will be continuing now it's up and running.

i am excited that they are heading round europe. whilst we sometimes moan about the state of the church in the uk, actually there is so much creativity, resources, training, networks, permission and so on here. it's a very different environment to say 10 years ago. in my travels (which is only certain countries and even then a limited view) there are many other countries that simply do not have the same openness in the churches to mission and change. so i hope that the jones will be able to connect with creative people, offer encouragement and catalyse some newness as they go.

if you are in europe, they will be taking part in a few roundtables - get togethers of leaders from different countries. one of the largest will be at slot festival in poland. i am thinking i may head over to that to join them...

canadian edges

i have been to canada a few times now doing some training and connecting with a few people involved in mission and reflecting on how church can emerge in the new postmodern environment (or whatever we call it now) there. and i have followed with interest some of the creative edges there to see what is growing and emerging. jordon cooper was one the first fellow bloggers i discovered when i started blogging back in the day when only a few of us were and i think that connected me in with canada. plus i have several friends there...

in some ways it feels a bit more like the uk than the usa does as a mission context partly because less people go to church. anyway it was with interest i watched the dvd one size fits all and it was great to hear/watch stories in a variety of places in canada where newness is emerging. and a couple were things started by people i had met before now. it's amazing to see the parallels in terms of challenges and change in different parts of the world. these things are small and fragile but that's true everywhere i think.

reaching out in mind body and spirit

there's a conference in april 24-26 in sheffield called reaching out in mind body and spirit. i'm planning to go. john and olive drane will be speaking. lots of us have run stands and been involved in taking the christian faith and spirituality into the market place of new spiritualities. this will be a good place to share stories and learning and get new ideas and encouragement. here's the blurb

Over the past few years many Christians from a wide range of denominations and styles of spirituality have been developing ways to relate their faith to the growing numbers exploring the New Spiritualities. This has lead to regular ministries at rock festivals, health & fitness centres and MBS fairs; life coaching, card reading and spiritual art; meditation, creation liturgy and healing prayer; and much more. This conference is a place for those engaged in the whole range of these to come together, learn from each other and most of all explore how we can move further towards the establishing of Christian communities that can sustain the faith journeys of today's spiritual travellers.

more info and a booking form are available here

blogging tweeting networking director

you may (or may not) have noticed via twitter or facebook that i was presenting on the new environment (my preferred term for culture following marshall macluhan's lead) for cms directors - networks, communication, leadership, community, participation, new media and all that - and implications for mission. it went well. i can proudly report that cms does have one blogging, facebooking, tweeting director - phil simpson who spends half his life connecting with people across asia. go say hi.

his dream for church and connectivity is somehow captured in the slightly brilliant and slightly 'how do you get a job like that?!' wherethehellismatt who travels the world and dances in various cultures with various peoples..

mission geekery at the photographers gallery

i love the new photographers gallery in london (well technically it's the old one moved to a new venue). it's become one of my places to meet people if i am anywhere near oxford circus. although oxford street is really busy because this is slightly off the main track, the cafe is a bit quieter than anything else around there. last week i met andrew jones there and, mission geek that he is, he spotted a piece on mission in the exhibition on photography in soho. he even snapped photos of the magazines featuring what we might call missional church in 1955. andrew has blogged the pics and story .

on the subject of mission and photography there is a showcase on the london independent photography site of mark denton who has a series called missionaries which is described like this...

Mark’s series ‘Missionaries’ (2008) portrays the young recruits of a fundamentalist evangelical Christian community in Sussex, England. In this project we see images of young people as they undergo six months of intense training and conditioning in a closed environment set very much apart from mainstream society.

he describes himself as an athiest so it is interesting seeing how he comes to view something like this to capture it in images. i'm not actually sure what the group is - anyone know?

this missionary theme reminded me (and i'm not going to try and explain the connection in my brain) of nic's provocative post before christmas narnia über alles !

the social pulpit - barak obama gets it

there's a white paper on barak obama's use of social media as part of his campaign. you can download the pdf here - the social pulpit [ht bob]. the paper is several pages and if you are like me you may have good intentions to read it but it's too long to be bothered to read now... so let me try and a) save you the hassle or b) persuade you it's worth it.

i have been banging on about the new environment and how different it is. and in relation to technology that one of the challenges to get is that the shifts taking place are not just about technology - they are changing a whole lot more. see my 4 interactions with here comes everybody 1 2 3 4 , review of tribes and starfish and spider or leadership reflections for example. my point is that barak seems to get this - he's actually native to the new environment - so we may be witnessing a seismic shift in political organisation. as the article puts it - away from the president's bully pulpit to a social pulpit where others take up and deliver (and create and reform?) the message and actively participate in their small worlds/networks/localities. it's the second half of the paper that particularly struck me which lists lessons from the campaign as follows:

• ladder support through tiers of engagement
• empower super users/influencers
• provide source material for user generated content
• going where the people are
• using tools people are familiar with
• ensuring that people can find your content
• mobilising supporters through mobile devices
• harnessing analytics to constantly improve engagement activities
• building the online operation to scale
• choosing the right team

i won't comment on them all here but just pick a couple...

going where the people are - recognises that while 60% of people in the US belong to an online social network most belong to one only. so don't expect them to come to a social network you create - you have to flow in theirs. this is almost exactly the sentiment behind my blog redesign and explanation in the top right hand box of the blog and yes it's the reason i joined facebook. what's weird is that so many organisations anbd charities are investing in their own social networks and sites. i understand it and obama clearly had a very effective hub of his own but largely to give people the tools to flow and communicate in their own online presences. obama identified some key networks amongst black, hispanic and asian communities and not just the facebooks. so maybe there is some intentional border crossing and getting out of comfort zones needed to enter other peoples worlds?

providing source materials for user generated content - what interested me about this section is the issue of trust. over 400 000 videos and 400 000 blog posts were created by people in their networks. the campaign could never have done that on its own but crucially it was better that it didn’t. why? because people trust someone like themselves more than a politician or religious leader or CEO or whatever other official. i.e. let someone in a local community be the voice in that community. it's such a simple point but how many organisations want or have their experts doing the talking?!

some people are saying that this use of social media is why obama is now president. i have no idea if that is overblown. but it is brilliant and there is so much to reflect on particularly for people working in advocacy or charity sector with a message, a big idea, a meme, a heresy.

and needless to say going where people are and giving tools to indigenous leaders - sounds like the instincts we could do with around mission and the church?! and yet what do we experience so much of the time in church programmes - experts, theologians, messages on video from the leaders (why do alpha do that?! - update:i have been corrected on this in the comments and they no longer do so apologies!) and very little trust of the local to deliver effectively!

it's been a very exciting week - i have actually looked forward to getting the newspaper and have been reading the sports section after the news!

sanktuary

mark berry and the telford community safespace kick off a new venture sanktuary tonight. it's a chill out safe space for clubbers that runs from 11:30pm to 3am. they have been working really hard over the last few weeks to get it all together and ian, a new member of the community, has put his sign making skills to good use - love the signs and furnishings. mark's a bit nervous as their first night is known as fighting friday in telford - the last friday before christmas. the idea of the space is that it's a good safe space in which to unwind, be safe off the streets while you can caht and order a taxi. the council are so pleased it's happening they have given money towards it and the police are fully supportive...

make believe - what shall i do with my life?

in the wider team i am part of in cms we have been joined by johnny sertin and mike morris, both trailblazers in their own ways. over the last few years they have developed make believe which i guess you'd describe as a vocational discipleship course. over a year process with 8 weekends there is a journey through three modules that give you an honest space to reflect on your worldview, your personal development, gifts and calling, and how to use those - i.e. what to do with your life!

my brother and sister in law have done it and loved it... it's usually pretty expensive and i assume aimed at business people. but cms have a course at about a third of the price starting in january - download booking form here . so if you want to work out what to do with your life sign up... the thing i like about it is that it doesn't focus on being churchy - i.e. using your gifts in church which is what too many discipleship type courses do, but it's about how you can use them and be who you are in the area of life you spend most of your time in - work.