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e-xpressions June 2010

Church for the NightWelcome

Welcome to the June edition of e-xpressions. Stories and updates on our website this month include:

June's podcast includes more from re:generation and Church for the Night, information about two new books on discipleship from Graham Cray, an update on the Methodist Church's VentureFX project and a meditation on the beach from Rachel Matthews.

If you've never listened to our podcast, why not give it a try? You can listen online without any special equipment - each episode is only around 15 minutes long and features some of the most inspiring stories and latest news about fresh expressions. Have a listen!

Graham CrayThe beginning or the end?

One of the most common misunderstandings about fresh expressions is the belief that they are new types of worship service. It is an understandable mistake as worship lies at the heart of the life of the church, and fresh expressions are new congregations or churches, (not rebranded or experimental church services). There is also an honourable stream within, and pre-dating, the Fresh Expressions initiative, called ‘alternative worship’. However, our recommendation is that the shaping of an act of worship normally lies near the end, rather than at the beginning, of the planting process.

There are a number of reasons for this. Ideally fresh expressions are planted following a process of prayerful listening, and making relationships through acts of service. But if the initial point of contact is a worship event it can only be one which it is hoped the relevant people will like, rather than one which they are involved in shaping, or which we can shape for them with greater care, because we know them. There is also a danger of self indulgence, of creating an event which suits us, or which relieves the frustrations we have with the worship in our own church. 'I like it so they will as well' is not the way to plant. What Mission-shaped Church called 'dying to live' challenges us to sacrifice our preferences for the sake of what is appropriate for others. Finally it is likely that the result will be an event to attend rather than a church community to which to belong. If there is no intention to form a new congregation, it is not a fresh expression 'of church'.

To begin with worship may be feasible for the de-churched, who retain a memory of what church was like (up to the point they decided to leave!), but it is less likely to be appropriate for the largest part of our adult mission field, those who have never been involved before. For many worship is culturally strange. They don't have the toolkit for worship. They don't know the Biblical story. They only community sing at football matches and they don't understand our vocabulary. With them we have to start much further back.

Of course, if a fresh expression is planted by transitioning an existing piece of work in the community, then the listening, serving, community forming and witnessing have probably already taken place. In which case you are not starting with worship, but introducing it at the right time. A culturally appropriate, recognisably Christian practice of worship, including baptism and holy communion, is the aim for all fresh expressions that hope to endure, bit mostly it is a later development, not the starting point.

+Graham

You can read another perspective on this in Share David Muir's post on the Share blog. Share also has more on Share the fresh expressions journey and Share the up dimension of church.

Share PerspectivesShare

The Share website has always encouraged interactivity, inviting comments, feedback and blog entries from its users. This interactivity is now expanding with the introduction of three new features:

Share thoughts is a free, monthly e-bulletin brought to you by the Share team. It aims to help you reflect, in bite-size chunks, on the theology and practice - the whys and hows - of fresh expressions. You received a trial copy earlier in the month. To receive Share thoughts at the beginning of every month, you'll need to subscribe to Share thoughts.

The Share Share Community is an online gathering place where people who are pioneering (or just interested in) new forms of church can rub shoulders with and support each other. Share Register for the Share community and join the conversations.

Share Share Perspectives is a new, multi-voiced part of Share - a growing archive of articles and opinions from all shades of fresh expressions. To read existing pages, and to find out how to contribute your own page, visit Share Perspectives.

SunflowerSummer festivals

There's several opportunities to catch Graham Cray speaking over the summer.

At New Wine North he'll be speaking on leadership and discernment on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th August - exploring the themes in his recently-launched Grove booklet.

Then he'll be at Soul Survivor weeks B and C chairing a panel of practitioners exploring models of youth congregations (14.30, 14th/19th August), teaching on Lessons for young leaders from Timothy and Titus (14.30, 15th/20th August) and leading a seminar on the last year in popular music (16:00, 13th/18th August).

Finally he'll be at Momentum leading three seminars on planting fresh expressions of church (09:30, 22nd/23rd/24th August) and again on discerning leadership (14:30, 25th August).

And if you're at Greenbelt on Saturday 28th August you might want to visit the new Methodist venue where you can hear from Stephen Lindridge, Ian Bell (VentureFX) and pioneer minister Simon Sutcliffe.

Training, jobs and events

Our next vision day is in Liverpool (South Wirral) on 10th July and our next mission shaped ministry courses kick off in the Autumn (Edinburgh, Surrey and Sussex, North East, York, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and Stoke on Trent) but now is the time to sign up. Contact your local course on the links above for details.

You can check out other related events we're aware of on our training and events page.

If you are aware of a job in fresh expressions then we'd be delighted to share it on our jobs page - please send the details to resources@freshexpressions.org.uk.

Fresh!Fresh!

An introduction to fresh expressions of church: what they are and how they thrive.

Organised in partnership with Cranmer Hall, Durham and the York School of Theology, this week is aimed at people trained for or involved in church leadership in any Christian church.

The week features an in-depth study of the book of Acts, a national overview of fresh and inherited forms of church today, engagement with a broad swathe of new forms of church, thinking through how you might start a fresh expression or plant a new church in your own context, a tour of the beautiful city of York, a Fresh party and times of worship and prayer.

Taking place in York from the 12th-16th July 2010, the week costs £100 and you can find out more and book places by visiting the Fresh! page of our website.

Who's Shaping You? coverWho's shaping you?

Hot off the press from CellUK, Bishop Graham Cray's new book explains four different foundational issues for us as we set our course to be disciples of Jesus. In doing this Graham gives us an exciting theological vision to help us work out our foundations for living this life. He describes a radical way of life, based on blblical thinking which he sees is necessary if we are to impact our world. He encourages us to allow Jesus to infect the whole of our lives and to live those lives openly in front of those we come across day by day.

You can buy this book from CellUK's bookshop.

And finally

Fresh Expressions is a registered charity, funded by donations, gifts and grants. If you'd like to find out more about how you can help, please visit our support page.

See you next month,

The Fresh Expressions team.