http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog A weekly guest blog. basesyndication http://www.sharetheguide.org/logo.png http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/03/08/how-the-mighty-fall-and-why-some-churches-never-give-in-by-will-sudworth http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/03/08/how-the-mighty-fall-and-why-some-churches-never-give-in-by-will-sudworth 'Decline can be avoided, detected and reversed.' So begins Jim Collins' latest book How the Mighty Fall, based on four years of research into companies which found that decline is 'largely self-inflicted'. Below is a re-wording of the main findings, using 'church language' to see if it helps our exploration of inherited church and fresh expressions. Andrew Wooding Will Sudworth Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:30:49 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/03/01/a-fresh-expression-of-church-is-not-a-cheap-and-cheerful-option-by-caroline-holt http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/03/01/a-fresh-expression-of-church-is-not-a-cheap-and-cheerful-option-by-caroline-holt Those of us in the church need to wake up to the fact that many people don't feel comfortable with any of our traditional ways of doing things. They also don't have a clue what we stand for. The Wesley Playhouse may look nothing like a traditional church - with its children's soft play area, climbing frames, ball pool and café in the middle of it - but those who come along to our Playhouse Praise once a month see this place as their church, and so it is. A fresh expression of church should be one that understands a generation and culture that's very different to what we may know and recognise. The young families I come across don't know what to sing and they don't understand our words. Why should they? Andrew Wooding Caroline Holt The Wesley Playhouse Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:39:38 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/22/the-hardest-thing-ive-done-in-ministry-by-john-maher http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/22/the-hardest-thing-ive-done-in-ministry-by-john-maher Over the years I have done a number of things in ministry that are very challenging. These have included successfully 'Wimberising' a typical Episcopal parish by introducing healing ministry, worship bands and other influences from the Vineyard. We also built new parish facilities and relocated. However, these things were nowhere near as challenging as planting a new church to reach people no other church is reaching. Andrew Wooding John Maher Episcopal Church clusters Messy Church Mike Breen Bob Hopkins Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:22:03 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/15/how-deep-are-we-willing-to-go-by-mark-berry http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/15/how-deep-are-we-willing-to-go-by-mark-berry Graham Cray told General Synod last week that a crucial factor in the spread of fresh expressions has been 'a new imagination about the form or shape of church'. He is right. We have seen over the last half decade an exploration emerge which concerns not just the stylistic aspects of our gatherings - music, dress, structure, location, etc - but concerns the very substance of what it is to be church. The question is, if this is good, how deep are we willing to go? Andrew Wooding Mark Berry community Telford General Synod safespace Graham Cray Trinity Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:44:57 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/08/2018help-we-do-not-know-where-this-is-going-2019-by-jeff-reynolds http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/08/2018help-we-do-not-know-where-this-is-going-2019-by-jeff-reynolds The aim of Twilight, which meets from 7pm, is to try and be a church community outside of the traditional thoughts of church, ie, day, time and building. Over the year we have attracted people from various churches, de-churched people and people who just wander in because they fancy a coffee at Costa. Interestingly, many people with little or no inherited church connection return regularly. That is where the 'problem' is now beginning for us. Andrew Wooding Jeff Reynolds Twilight @ Costa café Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:45:43 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/01/managing-provisionality-in-a-fresh-expression-by-ben-edson http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/02/01/managing-provisionality-in-a-fresh-expression-by-ben-edson I continue to reflect on my experience of Sanctus1 and one area that I've been thinking about is provisionality. I was recently told that the city centre residential community of Manchester has an annual people turnover of 30% - almost the entire community changes in a three year period. This was something that I observed during my time with Sanctus1 - approximately every two years 50% of the community would change. People who had been part of the community for more than four years were a rarity. Andrew Wooding Sanctus1 Manchester Ben Edson Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:31:04 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/25/where-are-the-rural-fresh-expressions-pioneers-by-klynn-and-susan-alibocus http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/25/where-are-the-rural-fresh-expressions-pioneers-by-klynn-and-susan-alibocus Andrew Wooding Klynn Alibocus Susan Alibocus Food for Thought Salisbury rural Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:45:52 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/18/a-fresh-expression-of-amnesia-by-nick-brotherwood http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/18/a-fresh-expression-of-amnesia-by-nick-brotherwood If we are to become a church shaped by and for God's mission in this world, the last thing we need is a fresh expression of amnesia. Two hundred and thirty three variations of the word 'remember' appear in Old and New Testaments. As poet and philosopher George Santayana has it: 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' So as we immerse ourselves in talk of being sensitive to the multiplicity of different contexts and cultures around us, and of the need to connect appropriately with those contexts and cultures, it is salutary to be reminded that we haven't always thought, much less acted, in this way. History is replete with examples of a dominant group misguidedly imposing its own cultural perspectives on another, while being ignorant or simply dismissive of those of the other. Andrew Wooding Canada Emerge Nick Brotherwood George Santayana Robert McDonald Montreal Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:52:55 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/11/so-what-about-some-transition-churches-by-david-muir http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/11/so-what-about-some-transition-churches-by-david-muir But don't our churches themselves need a Transition agenda? Just as oil is running out, isn't Christendom running out too? Our churches have long been dependent on the power of Christendom, making all kinds of things possible that local Christian communities could not have done on their own. Christendom made church a very comfortable place to be. As Christendom runs out, many of the ways we are used to 'being church' are becoming unsustainable. We can improve our welcoming processes, we can take out the pews, we can use PowerPoint in the sermons, but these are lightbulb measures. We need to help our churches become resilient and sustainable Christian communities, not dependent on the structures and support of Christendom for their future. Andrew Wooding mixed economy sustainability David Muir Transition Movement Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:12:08 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/04/in-a-word-by-phil-potter http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2010/01/04/in-a-word-by-phil-potter As I move across churches to encourage, teach and discuss the vision for fresh expressions, I'm increasingly aware of the importance of the words we use and how we use them when describing what we're trying to achieve. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the 500 most used words in the English language each have an average of 23 different meanings. Hardly surprising then that phrases like 'fresh expressions' and 'mixed economy' come to mean very different things to people, depending on their involvement and level of understanding. The development of anything new will always demand, in time, a new kind of language to clarify it. We need to welcome that new vocabulary, whilst working hard to explain it and, where possible, improve on it. So how are we doing so far? Andrew Wooding mixed economy Phil Potter The Lake and River Church Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:16:51 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/29/failing-forward-in-2010-by-cid-latty http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/29/failing-forward-in-2010-by-cid-latty Everyone must face failure because the reality is everyone fails. Although it can be embarrassing, debilitating and lead to misunderstanding, it can also hasten maturity and bring breakthrough. It all depends on the way you look at it and respond to it. Thomas Edison famously once said: 'I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that will not work.' It is not that he avoided failure, rather he never let it stop him. Andrew Wooding Cid Latty cafechurch network café church Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:53:21 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/21/the-sunday-sanctuary-by-mark-rodel http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/21/the-sunday-sanctuary-by-mark-rodel On Sundays, between 10am and midday, we now open what we're calling the Sunday Sanctuary. We provide breakfast and refreshments all morning and some sort of craft-based activity. Alongside that, we also offer one or two light, reflective activities. We've been describing it as a family drop-in in the publicity material. Is that what it's been? Andrew Wooding Mark Rodel The Sunday Sanctuary Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:27:38 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/14/dismissing-the-crowds-by-robert-harrison http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/14/dismissing-the-crowds-by-robert-harrison Jesus welcomed the crowds, he taught them and he healed them, but then he dismissed them. He never invited them back or suggested that they return to him. He sent them away and got back to the important task of teaching and training his disciples, trusting the crowds to God. Andrew Wooding Robert Harrison Christmas Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:01:56 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/07/woman-coloured-spectacles-by-lucy-moore http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/12/07/woman-coloured-spectacles-by-lucy-moore When Andrew at Share asked me to write up my thoughts on this subject, I thought I'd scan through the previous blogs to get an idea of length, style, need for wit, wisdom, searing theological insight, blah blah ... and got as far back as the last 25 posts before I realised that only 5 of those 25 are written by women. In fact, casting your eyes back through the past 10 blogs, you'd be hard-pushed to see that women feature at all in fresh expressions. Does this matter to you? How would someone outside the church perceive fresh expressions as an organisation if they read the same part of the website as I did? More importantly, how would they perceive Jesus if we're his reflection, his ambassadors? And is this bias typical of fresh expressions as a whole? Andrew Wooding Messy Church women Penny Marsh Lucy Moore Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:17:24 +0000 http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/11/30/to-maturity-and-beyond-by-martin-keenan http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2009/11/30/to-maturity-and-beyond-by-martin-keenan I think there is no one answer to what maturity looks like, but I don't think it is achieved by giving up the purpose for which the fresh expression was intended. Maturity in fresh expressions of church means that we are doing what we set out to do and we are doing it better. In the process we have become self-governing, self-supporting, self-theologising and, hopefully, self-propagating. Andrew Wooding The Haven Church Henry Venn George Lings Rufus Anderson Martin Keenan David Bosch Eastbourne three self Steven Croft Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:21:52 +0000