The concept, I believe is a sound one. If we want to reach and engage people in the twenty-first century, we must go to them. We can no longer expect them to come to us. "Going" is after all is a part of the Great Commission. By "going" Jesus meant not only leaving this place where he would ascend into heaven but also going into the world. We do not live in the 1950s or even the 1980s when a local church could expect in a growing community an influx of new attendees and church members. People no longer attend church as they once did. What may have motivated them in the past no longer motivates them.
The concept does, however, require a rethink of Anglican and Episcopal ecclesiology and sacramental theology. This accounts at least in part for the resistance to the concept in the Church of England and elsewhere. It also requires the relinguishment of the Anglican and Episcopal clergy's obsession with clerical privilege and prorogative and sacerdotalism, which is not confined to any one particular wing of the church but suffuses the entire church.
Church of England Considers Evangelical-Inspired Proposal for Lay-Led Churches
Petertide—the days around the feast of St. Peter on June 29—is traditionally one of the most joyful seasons for the Church of England, a time for ordination of new priests and deacons. But this year’s Petertide has been marred by what many have interpreted as an attack on the future of Anglican priesthood itself.
As Britain’s national church prepared to gather for its General Synod, which began last Friday and runs through Tuesday, one of its most senior clerics submitted a paper for discussion arguing that the future lies not with clergy in the pulpit, but with worshiping communities led by lay people.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell—second only in the hierarchy to the archbishop of Canterbury—first floated his ideas last year in a report from a “Vision and Strategy” committee that Cottrell heads. But its publication last month, just before the laity, bishops and other clergy attended the Synod sessions online, has caused an outcry. Read More
Mission Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
There is quite the row in the Church of England at present over the ambitious proposal called “Myriad” for the launching of 10,000 churches by 2030. One can detect amidst the heated debate pre-existing factors of churchmanship and of the Fresh Expressions movement (which, it should be noted, was warmly endorsed by the catholic Archbishop Rowan Williams). Strained church budgets never bring out the best in us, especially in the wake of a pandemic. But, while the circumstances of the Mother Church are different, there are real questions of ecclesiology and mission here which have implications for us in the Episcopal Church as well.
We do well at the outset to acknowledge some facts. First, the financial underpinnings of the Church of England are already under considerable stress. “Keep calm” is good advice, but just “carry on” won’t be enough. The same could be said of the Episcopal Church, though we have yet to see the extent of our problem. Secondly, the world’s largest Anglican provinces do indeed have a myriad of lay-led small congregations, which do grow. So the idea of rethinking theological education, buildings, stipendiary clergy in light of this is not crazy. To be sure, I am speaking of the churches of sub-Saharan Africa, where stick-and-mud buildings can often be put up or taken down over a week’s time. And on the positive side of the ledger, they have a system of local or bush Bible schools where catechist/evangelists can be readily trained (as well as an evangelical ethos centered on proclamation). Thirdly, we must admit that our world was once closer to what is here proposed than we often remember. Your parish was planted by someone. Your congregation may have had strong chapters of women’s or men’s or missionary groups, which promoted various missional projects. Our prior economy was more mixed than we now recall.
None of this makes the planting of a myriad of congregations easy, not least because of our own congregationalist spirit, episcopacy or no episcopacy. Fourth, though we all imagine our parishes to be friendly, we have to admit that church plants, difficult to sustain to be sure, have certain advantages. Everyone is new, and for many that makes joining and staying easier. These four facts at least show us that the “Myriad” moment raises questions closer to home than we at first suppose. Read More
Church of England Considers Evangelical-Inspired Proposal for Lay-Led Churches
Petertide—the days around the feast of St. Peter on June 29—is traditionally one of the most joyful seasons for the Church of England, a time for ordination of new priests and deacons. But this year’s Petertide has been marred by what many have interpreted as an attack on the future of Anglican priesthood itself.
As Britain’s national church prepared to gather for its General Synod, which began last Friday and runs through Tuesday, one of its most senior clerics submitted a paper for discussion arguing that the future lies not with clergy in the pulpit, but with worshiping communities led by lay people.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell—second only in the hierarchy to the archbishop of Canterbury—first floated his ideas last year in a report from a “Vision and Strategy” committee that Cottrell heads. But its publication last month, just before the laity, bishops and other clergy attended the Synod sessions online, has caused an outcry. Read More
Mission Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
There is quite the row in the Church of England at present over the ambitious proposal called “Myriad” for the launching of 10,000 churches by 2030. One can detect amidst the heated debate pre-existing factors of churchmanship and of the Fresh Expressions movement (which, it should be noted, was warmly endorsed by the catholic Archbishop Rowan Williams). Strained church budgets never bring out the best in us, especially in the wake of a pandemic. But, while the circumstances of the Mother Church are different, there are real questions of ecclesiology and mission here which have implications for us in the Episcopal Church as well.
We do well at the outset to acknowledge some facts. First, the financial underpinnings of the Church of England are already under considerable stress. “Keep calm” is good advice, but just “carry on” won’t be enough. The same could be said of the Episcopal Church, though we have yet to see the extent of our problem. Secondly, the world’s largest Anglican provinces do indeed have a myriad of lay-led small congregations, which do grow. So the idea of rethinking theological education, buildings, stipendiary clergy in light of this is not crazy. To be sure, I am speaking of the churches of sub-Saharan Africa, where stick-and-mud buildings can often be put up or taken down over a week’s time. And on the positive side of the ledger, they have a system of local or bush Bible schools where catechist/evangelists can be readily trained (as well as an evangelical ethos centered on proclamation). Thirdly, we must admit that our world was once closer to what is here proposed than we often remember. Your parish was planted by someone. Your congregation may have had strong chapters of women’s or men’s or missionary groups, which promoted various missional projects. Our prior economy was more mixed than we now recall.
None of this makes the planting of a myriad of congregations easy, not least because of our own congregationalist spirit, episcopacy or no episcopacy. Fourth, though we all imagine our parishes to be friendly, we have to admit that church plants, difficult to sustain to be sure, have certain advantages. Everyone is new, and for many that makes joining and staying easier. These four facts at least show us that the “Myriad” moment raises questions closer to home than we at first suppose. Read More
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