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Reality Church

Reality Church. The Sheffield Centre Church Army’s Research unit. “Sorry – we mean well……..”. The Backdrop Reality is …. the depth of crisis in the wider church. Attenders – down Attendance – less frequent Absence of youth and twenties Money shortages Clergy shortages.

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Reality Church

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  1. RealityChurch The Sheffield Centre Church Army’s Research unit

  2. “Sorry – we mean well……..”

  3. The Backdrop Reality is … the depth of crisis in the wider church Attenders – down Attendance – less frequent Absence of youth and twenties Money shortages Clergy shortages

  4. Is anorexic leaner but fitter ? “Denial” ? Ignore it ? Misguided ? Suppress it !

  5. The Train and the buffers… Church Truancy It’s incredible Mission – in the context of survival Mission or Maintenance ?

  6. The English patient ? “The Christian Church is dying in the West. This painful fact is the cause of a great deal of avoidance by the Christian community. To use terminology drawn from pastoral care, the terminally sick patient is somewhere between denial and bargaining.” Mike Riddell : Threshold of the future : p 1

  7. The new night sky ? A chance to reimagine

  8. What variety ! New Missionary orders Youth Congregations Post modern search for spirituality “Alternative” Worship Café Church Post institutional communities Seeker services Building Missionary congregations Cross boundary Plants What IS ? Church Catachumenate Plants for Networks Base Communities Cross cultural Plants - ethnic - age - social Community development churches Cyber Church ? Cell Church G12

  9. Transforming church is becoming Counter Cultural “Christendom has become so at home in European culture that it has become the folk religion, and Western Church doctrine has developed in this insular context. It was non-missionary and focused on conflicts between various Christian groups.” Wilbert Shenk from 1998 Transmission in tribute to Lesslie Newbigin p5

  10. Transforming church is becoming Counter Cultural We must be realistic: contemporary society is, in significant ways, hostile to traditional Christian belief and Christian values, however frequently we see God’s grace at work in those who do not acknowledge Him. George Carey The Ashe Lecture 1997, The Way Ahead: Preparing the C of E for the New Millennium Before Constantine, the church was a subversive counter- culture operation. Since then it has had an authenticating role. The time has come for the church to become counter-culture, prophetic, developing a theology of resistance/ insistence. Robert Warren : 1997 paper Towards an Anglican theology of change p.3

  11. O Trinity of love and power ... Transforming church awaits the renaissance of Community Creating community is at the heart of the Christian theological tradition in the doctrine of the Trinity. Individualism, separateness and fragmentation give way to individuality, mutuality and belonging. Mike Lowe, A Church without walls : Grove Pastoral 63

  12. Transforming church awaits the renaissance of Community “Eat your head out Descartes” “because I love and I belong .. I am”

  13. Transforming church awaits the renaissance of Community When Jesus sent his disciples out on mission he told them to be poor to take nothing with them. And he told them to do things that were impossible to do all by themselves. so it is for all missions. Communities and members are called to be poor and to do impossible things such as to build community and to bring healing reconciliation forgiveness and wholeness to people. Jean Vanier Community and Growth pp87-88

  14. Transforming church awaits the renaissance of Community Monastic life may seem utterly out of tune with the spirit of our times, yet if we are entering another Dark Age, it may be to the wisdom of such a way the Church of today needs to turn … I sense that the renewal of both the Church and Society will come through the re-emerging of forms of Christian community that are homes of generous hospitality, places of challenging reconciliation and centres of attentiveness to the living God. Brother Samuel SSF

  15. Transforming church welcomes the rebirth of the Apostolic Lets re-work Ephesians 4 Through the lens of the History of Mission

  16. Apostle ProphetEvangelistPastor / Teacher In pioneer missionthe “flow” of ministry is AsChristendomis established the emphasis becomes As the extentoflapsingincreases, in addition we need Aspost-christian and pre-christiangroups re-emerge there arises the rediscovery of BUT….

  17. Church & the Evangelist “out and back” The Apostolic …... ? “out and who knows where ?” If UK is becoming a mission field, not an evangelism field there is a change of direction and mindset

  18. Sheffield Centretainment brings you …. Wallace & Gromit in The Mission Train

  19. Cast in order of appearance Reluctant evangelist Gromit the dog Escaping world Penguin Watching Church Wallace Creative Apostle Gromit - again Surprising Spirit Robot Legs Emerging Church Bottle

  20. If you have ears to hear ….

  21. Transforming Church needs to handle diversitywell “Family” won’t do – “extended family” is better Congregation is Church Church is Minister, Building and Worship Cell as Church Congregate as Church Celebrate as Church Down with congregational imperialism Because all levels are church

  22. Keeping the balance ... introverted unsupported exhausted UP OUT IN ….of Worship, Community & Mission

  23. Suppose there was ... another dimension to church Not just UP IN OUT but also…. OF The Sheffield Centre : Church Army’s Research Unit

  24. Adding OF - acrosswider Church OF Is belonging to more than ourselves Your DNA includes being a sent church – from HTB so what will you learn from what will you send to the wider body - the church catholic ? The one body of Christ

  25. Up Up Up In Out In Out In Out It made me think of … Adding OF within diverse Church OF Is belonging to more than ourselves

  26. Toblerone Church – a danger only for Chocoholics ! Guess which web site ?

  27. of of Up of In of Out of A bit more like this ? Toblerone is rather too tidy

  28. Dare to live at the boundaries

  29. Explore the boundaries "Come to the edge" he said "We are afraid" they said "Come to the edge" he said They came. He pushed and they flew Guillaime Appolinaire

  30. To serve you better The text of this talk and others is on this web site www.encountersontheedge.org.uk Launched July 2002

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