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Share - a guide to fresh expressions of church A regular blog by Andrew Wooding and others, keeping users up-to-date with the Share website. 2008-11-14T12:51:18+00:00 aaee0bb740c92e59983ba3a20e8d4be8 fatsyndication An encouraging blog http://plone.org/ cc52f6d2d7f6f77961f741596c01d574 Jonny Baker concludes a recent blog with this heartwarming sentence: 'it's very encouraging'. What is he encouraged by? Jonny's blog is in response to the announcement that the Fresh Expressions initiative is to continue for a further period of five years. The Rt Revd Graham Cray, currently the Bishop of Maidstone, is to be the next Archbishops' Missioner and leader of the Fresh Expressions team. The Methodist Connexional Missioner for Fresh Expressions is to be the Revd Stephen Lindridge, currently Evangelism Enabler in the Newcastle District. Andrew Wooding 2008-11-12T17:05:13+00:00 2008-11-14T12:51:18+00:00 Manipulating people for the sake of church? http://plone.org/ f3575c73fd55b3210135362170fcf6fa I’ve been revisiting a number of pages on the Share site recently, and was especially struck by 'Does the fresh expressions journey risk manipulation?' The ‘fresh expressions journey’ is a framework offered on a number of pages on Share, but the page on ‘manipulation’ rightly points out the danger of treating this – and other frameworks - as formulas for success. That people will be seen as means to an end rather than having value in and of themselves. Andrew Wooding 2008-08-12T10:06:18+01:00 2008-08-12T11:33:20+01:00 Put out into deep water (written by Colin Brown) http://plone.org/ 06d6ab54bc24f62c4c9f992ef211a76d A thread running through many fresh expressions is God's call to take risks – to step out of comfort zones. Maybe the Spirit doesn't want us to become too settled or reliant on our own way of doing mission and being church. Andrew Wooding 2008-07-21T15:44:17+01:00 2008-07-21T15:45:16+01:00 Follow the cloud (written by Colin Brown) http://plone.org/ 43a17e3558300796d097cd1fc6112d81 What's the sign of God's leading for you? Maybe it's visible, like the cloud. Most likely it's more of a gut-instinct. Like the Israelites, there will be times of waiting and a time to move. It's a life-long lesson for all of us. Ask God to show you, and keep looking … keep listening. Andrew Wooding 2008-07-02T16:50:07+01:00 2008-07-02T16:51:54+01:00 The real meaning of radical? http://plone.org/ aa7ea1e6ffd0d3f23b6b9ae14e4f228b What does it mean to be radical for Jesus? What does it look like in our fresh expressions to be socially radical, trying to bring about change for the better in society? How far do we go with being theologically radical? In short: what, in God’s kingdom, is the real meaning of radical? Andrew Wooding 2008-05-27T12:09:13+01:00 2008-05-27T12:09:13+01:00 Evangelism - no more going-it-alone http://plone.org/ 1b47ea3979782926d86c56a4b33a5321 Mention the word 'evangelism' to the average person and it will likely conjure up images of the lone evangelist on the street corner handing out tracts, a besuited man on a soapbox spouting forth at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, or the international speaker striding energetically across a stage at an evangelistic rally. But just as God said, 'It is not good for man to be alone', it might also be true to say that 'It is not good for evangelists to be alone'. Indeed, there is a page on Share about this very subject: God works through communities, which urges that 'Communities should be at the heart of mission'. Andrew Wooding 2008-04-25T16:49:35+01:00 2008-04-25T16:50:25+01:00 Bishops' Mission Orders http://plone.org/ 63532e4b1cc79f4ea2206826eaf2105b Friday, 31st March, sees the publication of a new booklet from Church House Publishing, called Bishops' Mission Orders: A beginner's guide. In accessible language, it explains this new opportunity in the Church of England for fresh expressions of church to be officially recognised and supported. Andrew Wooding 2008-03-27T19:53:35+00:00 2008-07-16T15:15:20+01:00 How can we sustain our fresh expression? http://plone.org/ 74955337d70faf25e9b56ea33491d6c0 A brand new section has appeared in the guide: How can we sustain our fresh expression? Arguably it is one of the most important sections of the guide, which makes it ironic that it is also currently the shortest. Andrew Wooding 2008-02-22T15:26:18+00:00 2008-02-22T15:47:39+00:00 Share on YouTube, and sustainability lessons in latest Encounters on the Edge booklet http://plone.org/ cceb7ab5412b26cce8c2e0471839c936 Share is now rubbing shoulders with the thousands of music videos, comedy clips and other televisual items on the popular video-sharing website, YouTube. A specially made video, demonstrating the strengths of Share can be seen here. Please spread the word about the video. If you prefer books to online videos, you might want to check out the latest edition of Encounters on the Edge, number 36: Leading Fresh Expressions: lessons from hindsight. Andrew Wooding 2008-01-29T11:38:11+00:00 2008-03-09T12:08:52+00:00 Questions, questions... http://plone.org/ fc2629d297ff01eb421de04d1929d923 On Share we can't quite stretch to 42, but we can give you just one less by providing 41 answers to frequently asked questions about fresh expressions of church. Andrew Wooding 2008-01-11T14:53:37+00:00 2008-03-11T14:46:31+00:00 Helping others to pray (written by Steven Croft) http://plone.org/ 55f9d28115af17cfe4e2cd28f00658a4 Make it one of your resolutions for 2008 to find out how people outside your church community say their prayers and how you can help and support them in their journey. Andrew Wooding 2008-01-04T13:35:36+00:00 2008-01-11T13:53:57+00:00 A time for thinking ahead http://plone.org/ 124d5082cc63165aff93506b50b535fb As I write these words, we are nearing the end of Advent, a time of waiting and preparation, and looking ahead. Most of my preparation the last few weeks has involved editing, laying out and adding pages to Section 2 of Share: How might we start a fresh expression? If you've been eagle-eyed recently, you might have seen pages appearing and changing (and sometimes disappearing) each time you visited the site. Andrew Wooding 2007-12-21T14:10:15+00:00 2007-12-21T14:27:43+00:00 What is a church? (written by Steven Croft) http://plone.org/ 4a2a0af38dd962433c2aa1eba73c9ed4 Here is a game to play with your home group, your PCC or over dinner with some Christian friends. You could even adapt it for a sermon. The aim is to help you think more deeply about what it means to be church. Andrew Wooding 2007-11-12T17:12:32+00:00 2007-11-13T12:48:38+00:00 Tell us about it http://plone.org/ 1e4a8188e49bc754fa8b1e9870a514e0 If all we've produced is a nice-looking website with a few pretty pictures, then we've failed. The purpose of Share is to connect people so that they can share with each other – lessons learned, and mistakes made – both highs and lows in their work for God. Andrew Wooding 2007-10-22T17:09:37+01:00 2008-04-29T16:37:43+01:00 You've seen the Share page - now read the book http://plone.org/ 7a8294b21ec256f2d0547297f5fceb69 The story of fresh expression Come & Go is featured in a case study on Share. Now, if you want to know more, Come & Go is looked at in-depth in the latest edition of the Encounters on the Edge series of booklets. George Lings, director of Church Army's Research Unit, writes about this unique church service where it's normal, and even expected, that people will turn up late. Andrew Wooding 2007-10-16T15:50:30+01:00 2007-10-16T15:58:16+01:00