The Evangelisation of the UK: LICC/Imagine Research (3 of 3)

This is the third in a series summarising the findings of LICC Imagine research 2003-2010. In this post we look at research conducted amongst leaders identifying the key issues they are facing as they look to equip the people for mission. Read the first and second posts.

Leadership toward Evangelisation
Connected to the question of the equipping of the people, explored in the last post, is the question of the equipping of the leaders, those who release the people into evangelism. A number of issues emerged from What the Leaders Said (2004) a consultation event with 150 Christian leaders, the Spring Harvest Apprentice ’09 survey (2009) and the Imagine Pilot Project (2007-10).

Overall, it is clear that: 1) leaders are struggling as much, if not in some cases more than, as their congregations to discover a way of living that manifests the difference the gospel can make, 2) the ‘pastor’-centric model of church actively mitigates against an equipping for mission (the role of leaders is limited to that of care-provider rather than equipper), 3) there is a perceived tension between the demands of keeping the church running and releasing members into life.

William Diehl - Seven Suggestions for Pastors

I've recently been reading William E. Diehl's book Ministry in Daily Life: A Practical Guide for Congregations (New York: Alban, 1996). Diehl worked as a management consultant and became a key figure in the workplace and ministry in daily life movement in America during the 80s/90s. He wrote prolifically in this period, even producing a book called Thank God It's Monday! (good title for a book!). Most of Diehl's books are now out of print but you can still find them if you search on Amazon.

The book Ministry in Daily Life is an important one for us as it tells the story of how the congregation of which Diehl was a part, the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Emmaus, Pennsylvania made the transition to supporting its members for ministry in the places they spent the majority of their time. (For those of you interested in seeing how sustainable this work of culture shift is over the long term, it is well worth checking out the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit website to see what has become of that work today.)

Jesus the Discernment Artist

We are convinced that discernment is a crucial skill for disciples on the Frontline, it was therefore with great interest that I read these posts on John Frye's blog Jesus the Radical Pastor. In his most recent series he is exploring some of the dimensions of discernment from a New Testament perspective:

1. Jesus the Discernment Artist
2. Apostle Paul: The Discernment Challenge
3. The Spirit of God: Discernment Energy

Assumptions Behind the Movement for MDL

The excellent Urbana website, produced by the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, has a fascinating list of 15 Assumptions Behind the Movement for Ministry in Daily Life or Whole-life Discipleship as we would term it:

1. God has a purpose for the life of each human being.
2. The primary "calling" or ministry for most laity is in the world not in the church.
3. Many laity are undeveloped in relating their faith to daily life.
4. The primary task of the congregation is to develop mature disciples for ministry in the world.
5. For the most part, congregations do not take seriously the worldly vocation of their members.

Pastors, go to work

There might be some translation needed from the different context, but this post about church leaders visiting people at work strikes me as good advice. Particularly the advice not to introduce yourself as a church leader - let people find out that you're a normal human and a church leader. Come to think of it there's a few assumptions there as well ;)

But worth a look: www.buzzardblog.com/2010/07/14/go-to-where-your-men-work/

Who's Shaping You? 21st Century Disciples

The prolific Bishop Graham Cray's latest book Who's Shaping You: 21st Century Disciples has just been published by Cell UK priced at a very reasonable £4.25. An edited version of the talks Graham Cray has been delivering in partnership with LICC across the UK, the book explores 4 foundational issues for disciples of Christ.

The publisher writes:

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.

Order a copy of the book from Cell UK here.

The CD version of the talks is available here.

Update from the North-West - Chick Yuill

Some of my best friends - the kind who know me well enough to tell me what they really think - have sometimes suggested to me that I might occasionally suffer from delusions of grandeur! I’d always thought they were joking until I took up the post of - wait for it - North West Regional Church Life Consultant for the Imagine Project. It’s worth getting out of bed in the morning for a title like that! My mates might have been right after all...

Seriously, it’s a great job which requires me to get involved with individual local congregations, clusters of churches in the same geographical area, and denominational groupings. And my role is simply to help them make the transition to Whole-Life Disciple-Making communities. It’s fascinating to see the range of churches who are either showing real interest or who have actually come on board with the Imagine Project here in the North West - a long-established Anglican church, a non-denominational new plant, a large Black-majority congregation, a lively Church of the Nazarene congregation, a URC church, a relatively new church in the Oasis network...

Work in Progress

At the moment I’m working on a publication that I hope will see the light of day in the autumn this year. It’ll reflect the work I’ve been engaged in with the churches that linked themselves into the Imagine project. This is a short excerpt from the introduction….

For three years we worked with churches up and down the country, getting to know them well, trying to understand their particular challenges and opportunities, encouraging them to become whole-life disciple-making communities. From this experience we have been reminded that there are no silver bullets, no ‘off the peg’ resources that will change everything. Over three years later, we have learnt from our work with these partner churches.

What we have found is that there is a clear process that can be used by any church, regardless of their denominational stream, their age profile or their geographical location. Of course, what they end up doing will be unique to them in each situation. Each church is local and unique, and God has a way of dealing with each of them according to his plans and purposes.

But the simple process can be summarised in three points:

The Evangelisation of the UK: LICC/Imagine Research (2 of 3)

This is the second in a series summarising the findings of LICC Imagine research 2003-2010. In this post we look at research conducted amongst Christians identifying the key issues they are facing. Read the first of the series here...

Fit for Mission? Equipping the Church
Non-Christians are asking many fundamental questions about meaning, purpose and identity. The problem that occurs is that the Christian narrative is not seen as relevant to a response. Of further concern is that, as our research among Christians highlights, many believers, despite professing faith, are asking exactly the same questions. Despite discovering a ‘fundamental’ meaning to life, they struggle to connect this with a lived reality that fuels purpose and identity in the everyday. In other words, it seems many Christians ‘still haven’t found what they’re looking for.’

Talk: Whole Loaf & Whole-Life Disciples (MP3)

Neil Hudson, the Imagine Project Director, recently introduced the ideas behind the Imagine project to a group from Crofton Parish Church, Stubbington. The talk was recorded and has been made available on their website. For those interested in hearing more about whole-life discipleship this talk may provide a useful way in.

To hear or download Neil's talk click here...