(Well, to northern Europe at any rate!)
One of the, somewhat unfair, criticisms of the emerging/new expressions of church movement is that "the key (high-profile?) proponents just travel from conference to conference, living a most un-Christ-like jet-set existence and not ever engaging in the missional activity they speak about with such passion." Where this criticism misses the mark most is in that little word "just"; but it is certainly true that much travelling does take place, networking and the cross-fertilisation of ideas being so important to us. (And the more jet-setting you do, the more and more distinctly unglamorous - not to mention self-sacrificial, and costly to the traveller's family - it very quickly becomes!)
Anyway, today I got to sit in on the very un-sexy Hallam Deanery Chapter Meeting (Anglican church leaders in our immediate geographic area). Our church was hosting it, so it involved no travel whatsoever for me; but did involve travel for our guest speaker, Steven Croft, the Archbishops' Missioner and Team Leader of Fresh Expressions, an initiative of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, supported by the Methodist Council.
Steven started by asking us to get into groups of four or five and share what our observations were of what is going on in culture, society, and the church at the moment, and how we felt about that. That in itself was an interesting exercise! Steven then shared some of his key observations, of shifts in northern European culture and society that the church was succeeding/failing to engage with. These included:
Shift from the centre to the edge: the church had first been pushed from the centre of society (Establishment, institution) to the edges, and then - as the church sought to move back into the centre - the centre itself was found to have disintegrated/imploded, leaving not something to return to at all, but an intirely new (pluralist - positively, neutrally and negatively so, I'd suggest) context...
Shift from geography to network: in terms of where/how people build their relationships, including supportive community. (Research-based quote from Steven: "People are not looking for friendly churches, but for churches where they can make friends..." - which is not the same thing, and which implies that the first-visit, first-impression welcome is not as significant as some would argue - though I'm not suggesting that it is insignificant)...
Shift from obligation to choice: people no longer attend church because they are obliged to do so by societal norms, but because they want to. Alongside this, many people claim to be Christian in their beliefs without choosing to belong to a church community at all; and there is a marked fluidity of belonging among those who do, based on the meeting of certain felt needs...
Shift from religion to spirituality: there appears to be an increase in people's awareness of "God", the effectiveness of prayer, the existence of evil; and no sign of decrease of the Big Questions, such as ultimate destiny, self-centredness v. self-sacrifice, suffering - although there is a declining knowledge of Christian faith, traditional answers to these questions, and this highlights the need - an potential opportunity - for a much strengthened Apologetics...
Steven's observations lead him to believe that there is much to be very positive about, but that we certainly need to get to grips with a context in constant movement at the present time (and for no-one knows how long into the furture). Another quote: "To every complex situation there is always a simple solution...and it is always wrong!" In response to which I would suggest that "The church in northern Europe has no future...but it has multiple entwined futures." Bring it on!
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