Church for Every Context
An Introduction to Theology and Practice
Michael Moynagh
with Philip Harrold
© Michael Moynagh 2012
Chapter 2 © Philip Harrold 2012
Published in 2012 by SCM Press
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
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978-0-334-04369-0
Kindle edition 978-0-334-04472-7
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To Liz
Contents
1 Saint Paul’s New Contextual Churches
2 Contextual Churches in History
3 Fresh Expressions of Church in Britain
Part 2 Towards a Theological Rationale
5 What is the Purpose and Nature of the Church?
6 Should Mission be a First Step for the Church?
7 Mission by Individuals or Communities?
8 Why Church with Many Shapes?
9 Are Culture-specific Churches Legitimate?
10 Are New Contextual Churches Faithful to the Tradition?
Part 3 Bringing Contextual Churches to Birth
11 How Do Contextual Churches Emerge?
12 Gathering a Mission Community
21 Towards the Mixed-economy Church
Acknowledgements
Actors often give credit to their scripts, and I have been fortunate to work to an inspiring script written by numerous church founders in the UK. I have learnt from their experiences largely through being a member of the national Fresh Expressions team, which supports and encourages new and different forms of church. I owe a great debt to stimulating and wise colleagues on the team. Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, has been a kind and friendly place in which to write. I am grateful to Natalie Watson of SCM for encouraging me to write the book.
Thanks are due to Simon Cuff, Christopher Shaw and Cara Singer for being excellent research assistants for periods of time, and to the following who have commented on sections of the emerging draft and are not to blame for any remaining shortcomings: Andy Angel, Ian Bell, Mette Bundvad, Adrian Chatfield, Sylvia Collins-Mayo, Graham Cray, Steven Croft, Simon Cuff, John Drane, Andrew Davison, Bob and Mary Hopkins, Norman Ivison, George Lings, David Lyon, Stuart Murray-Williams, Louise Nelstrop, Andrew Roberts, Christopher Shaw, Janet Tollington, Steve Walton and Joseph Wolyniak. Special thanks to John Flett, who read a whole draft, made innumerable comments and ensured that it became a much better book. Biggest thanks of all go to my wife Liz, whom I admire continually and who has been wonderfully patient, not least when I have been physically present but mentally distant. The book is dedicated to her.
Introduction
New expressions of the church are springing up in many parts of the global North. Going under a variety of names – church plants, emergent church, fresh expressions of church, missional communities and many more – they are making a significant mark on the ecclesial landscape. Though notoriously difficult to count, they have attracted a growing literature, generated extensive debate and changed denominational strategies. It is widely recognized that something significant is afoot. Church for Every Context offers a theological rationale of what is becoming a global trend. It proposes some methodologies for starting these new types of churches and growing them to maturity.