Share

Getting together is about:

• sharing dreams;
• clarifying your call;
• being brave enough to go your separate ways.
• Forming a team (in some cases).

Sharing dreams with someone else is at the heart of 'getting together'. If you want to start a fresh expression or explore the possibility of doing so, it is most unwise to launch out on your own.

God's comment, 'It is not good that the man should be alone...' (Genesis 2.18) was made in the context of instructions about work. It governs any form of work (paid or unpaid), including starting a fresh expression. When two or three people meet in Jesus' name, he is with them (Matthew 18.20).

It may seem obvious that you would not start a fresh expression on your own, but there have been some people who have tried - and it is far from easy. Someone alone may lack the right combination of gifts, they may not have enough contacts to gather a viable group, doing it on their own may prove a heavy burden and they may miss the wisdom of another person.

Who you get together with and how many others are involved will vary from one context to another. (This is underlined in the seven different contexts we have assumed in answering How might we start a fresh expression?)

Making sure that a paid pioneer is not alone is particularly important when a church, group of local churches or a denomination is appointing someone to a fresh expressions post.

The ideal is for the pioneer to be surrounded by a team, with gifts that complement the pioneer's. But sometimes that is not possible.

If pioneers start solo, perhaps gathering a team as they go, they will need a wider range of gifts and qualities than if they have a team, and the project is likely to take longer to develop. Whoever makes the appointment must have realistic expectations - about the type of person required and the length of time they will need funding.

Whether on their own or with a team, a pioneer is likely to need:

• a line manager;

• a group to provide practical support - on budgets, housing (possibly), who to meet, and so on. The group should be set up carefully, so that it is clearly supportive and isn't experienced as 'checking up on me' (which has happened).

  To avoid confusing support and accountability roles, accountability might be kept separate - perhaps through the line manager or a reference group representing the church, churches or denomination that have sponsored the fresh expression;

• a prayer support group or network;

• someone to cry and laugh with;

• a mentor or coach, who can be a wise guide;

• a spiritual director or soul friend;

• a learning network, if available;

• a worshipping community where the person can feel at home.

This may seem like a lot of support (though some of these roles may overlap). But starting a fresh expression is far from simple, and the more support that is available, especially in the early stages, the better.

Much of this support is best arranged by practitioners themselves, but the job description and selection process should make clear what is expected of the individual and what will be provided by the church.

Choosing who to work with needs to be done prayerfully. There are lots of pitfalls. Do you share the same vision? Are there things that could make working together problematic?

One pioneer found that people with pastoral problems or with their own agendas gravitated to him. The team became more of a hindrance than a help.

You do need a basic level of compatibility if you are to share dreams together.

Clarifying your call can be a process that helps you get to know each other and see if you are likely to collaborate well. Even good friends may surprise each other when they start to work on a new project together. 'I never knew you felt so strongly about that!'

In some cases, your call may be to explore the possibility of starting a fresh expression - among friends or work colleagues, for example, in a church group that you run, or as a planning group set up for this purpose by your church's leadership.

In other cases, you may be a pioneer or part of a church planting team which has been asked to start a fresh expression on a housing estate or among a specific group of people.

Clarifying what you have been asked to do will be the first task in either case. 'We're exploring the idea of a fresh expression, but what do we mean by this? What are the boundaries?'

Or: 'The church has a vision for a fresh expression on this housing estate. But what might this look like in practice? How would we go about the task? Have things moved on since the church prayerfully reached that conclusion?'

To clarify your task, you might ask:

• What do we mean by fresh expressions? It may help to discuss What is a fresh expression of church? and What Christian principles lie behind fresh expressions?

• How might we go about the task we've been called to undertake? It could help to discuss the GETON process by using the most appropriate article under How might we start a fresh expression?

• What are the boundaries? Are there easy-to-forget issues of particular sensitivity as far as your church or denomination is concerned? In a work context, what limitations are imposed by your professional ethics? What will permission-givers be thinking about?

• What would each of you involved in these discussions die for? In responding to this call, what really matters to you? Are there any bottom lines? It is better to air these at the beginning than find they become a source of conflict later on.

As you discuss these questions, you might compile a list of things to remember, such as: 'We think that these are the most challenging or easily forgotten values behind fresh expressions. We mustn't forget to consult so-and-so. We are going to have to reassure the congregation on these three points. Here are some of the things that really matter to us.'

Might you put these on a flip chart, prune the list to a a manageable size and then use it to inform your prayers each time you meet?

The result will be a sense of call based on:

• the values of fresh expressions;
• the values embedded in the GETON process;
• the values of permission-givers in your church, workplace or wherever;
• the values of the individuals who have got together.

'Are you clear about the group of people you are called to serve?' may be a particular question you want to ask early on. Fresh expressions can suffer from seeking to reach too many different people who struggle to gel as a group. They don't have enough in common to form a stable set of relationships in which individuals can be loved and cared for.

If - as is often the case - you are not sure at the outset precisely whom you are called to serve, you may want to register this as a key question to address during the 'exploring' phase.

Being brave enough to go your separate ways is important in this early stage. Christians are tempted to think that they must always get on with each other and there is something wrong if they don't. This can lead to the denial of differences, when facing them would be more helpful.

Paul and Barnabas separated. Their disagreement seems to have been pretty acrimonious (Acts 15.39). But rather than continue together and bury their differences, they parted company.

Going your separate ways can be a releasing thing to do. Having learnt more about what is involved, one or two members of a planning group or planting team may decide that they can serve God better in a different context. Two friends may conclude that working together would strain their friendship.

This needn't imply failure. It's about testing God's call. Is God calling a specific individual to this task? If not, better to recognise the fact and allow the person explore other possibilities. The testing process has been successful!

Other people involved can be grateful for the contribution the individual has made while he or she was with them, be glad that the person is leaving with a clearer sense of what the rest will be doing (might they pray for the group?), rejoice that the person is free to serve God in other ways and pray for God's blessing as the person explores alternative avenues of service.

Forming a team - ie, creating a real sense of being a team - will be an important part of 'Getting together' in some cases, continuing throughout the preparation phase.

This will be especially true if you inherit a church planting team, or if you are working on a housing estate or among a specific group of people and have a gathered a team round you.

Forming a team is discussed in Nurturing the team. We have put it there because in quite a few instances preparing for a fresh expression will not require out-of-the-ordinary team work. Most planning groups, for example, would not expect to spend a lot of time becoming a team.

Nor would a couple of friends exploring the possibility of a fresh expression among their contacts. But once they had committed themselves to starting a fresh expression, the two friends might find it really helpful near the end of the preparation process to discuss how they could work well together as a team.

Eagles Wings provides one example where forming the team was an important aspect of preparing for a fresh expression. It also illustrates a willingness to bless team members who leave.

Getting together → a shared call

Back to top