The London Policy Papers belie the oddly misinformed critique that those of us who are behind the Reform & Renewal programme are only interested in perpetuating old church, done in a certain way. In point of fact, the London policy is about letting 1000 flowers bloom. We are committed to planting 100 new churches and ecclesial communities by 2020, and the church planting policy paper which is set out below provides the framework for this.

Church Planting

Background

The Diocese of London is committed to the parish system of inherited Church and to the planting of new churches. Capital Vision 2020 further commits us to develop our Church Planting Strategy as part of our desire to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with 21st century London. Church planting is not new in the Church of England. Daughter Churches are a familiar sight, and there are also Chapels of Ease, Conventional Districts and Mission Churches, each with their legal status. Church planting is an effective expression of mission that seeks to reach as many people as possible with the gospel.

From a certain perspective every church is the result of a planting programme. At some point in history a conscious effort has been made to establish a congregation, to raise a building, to develop local ministry and mission and to encourage Christian life and discipleship to flourish.

The oversight of Mission and Ministry is entrusted to the Bishop as a sign of the Church’s catholicity.  This oversight is shared with the college of priests throughout the Diocese. A strategy for planting is part of an overall strategy for Mission and Ministry.  This document recognises that the Church of England is still organised into geographical parishes as our way of ministering to all people in the land and as an expression of its duty to present the claims of Christ to everyone. It further recognises that many parish Churches are flourishing and have the strength and resourcefulness to plant within their own buildings and boundaries. The Diocese is committed to Church Partnerships as a major expression of Church Planting.

We need, though, a broader understanding of the potential and opportunity for Church Planting than this. The ways in which people make, seek and join communities is now far more fluid than a century ago. There is a need to plant in the non-institutional, networked lives of today’s population through new and experimental ways of being Church and of incarnating the power of God’s love.

Groundwork

Planning and co-operation are very important at every stage, and this is reflected in the procedures below.  Whatever the procedure followed, the Mission & Pastoral Measure 2011

http://www.churchofengland.org/clergy-office-holders/pastoralandclosedchurches/mpm2011.aspx

should be observed and used creatively.  The Measure seeks to provide a “light touch” enabling of mission initiatives and, in particular, introduces the concept of “Bishop’s Mission Orders” (BMOs).  The bishop has oversight of mission and ministry in the Church and the responsibility of encouraging trust and understanding.  The bishop is a focus of unity in the Church and will encourage the development of the right conditions for the planting to take place.  The Measure sees the bishop as ‘broker’, who will consult closely and widely, as the Measure requires, but is empowered to override local opposition if it is right to do so.  The BMO will particularly offer the opportunity to establish church or Christian communities as “Fresh Expressions” (not a terminology that is in currency in the Diocese of London, though we are glad to acknowledge the contribution that the Fresh Expressions movement has made to the Church of England over the past years). 

Procedures

In developing Church Planting as a form of mission, we will

·         Encourage healthy churches to consider Church Planting as part of their mission strategy

·         Review struggling churches, especially at the key moment of a vacancy

·         Examine the need to plant into unchurched localities, including new housing areas

·         Take the opportunities afforded by the entrepreneurialism of planters

Definitions

• A healthy church is one which
• Is growing spiritually, numerically and financially.
• Owns a vision.
• Encourages all its members to play their part and use their gifts.
• Enjoys worship and prayerfully seeks God’s purpose and direction.
• Is willing to take risks.
• Has different opportunities to share faith and study together.
• Has effective and respected leadership.
• Is engaged with the society it serves.
• Is involved in the life of the deanery and wider Church.

 

• A struggling church is one which
• Is static or declining in numbers.
• Has no vision for its mission.
• Has little lay ministry and does little to encourage it.
• Is focused on maintaining the status quo.
• Does little to encourage growth in Christian discipleship and understanding.
• Has uninspiring and inefficient leadership.
• Shows little interest in cooperation with the wider Church.
• Shows little interest in serving the wider community

 

• A struggling church which is not adjudged to be a “potentially going concern” will have some or all of these additional features:
• A poorly placed or badly maintained church building
• A long history of non-engagement with its local community
• A very low level of numerical, spiritual or financial resources

 

Note: These definitions should be used alongside the material in the Healthy Churches Handbook

http://www.chpublishing.co.uk/uploads/documents%5C0715140175.pdf

including the seven marks of a healthy church

http://bishopperryinstitute.org.au/uploads/SevenMarksOfAHealthyChurch.pdf

 

Classification

 

For the purposes of developing church planting within the framework of Capital Vision 2020, we have identified ten basic models of planting. The classifications are about the models, not the style nor the locality.

1.       Parish intra-congregational plant: developing a new service for a new clientele within the existing parish church. This is, of course, nothing new. All parish priests will be looking to innovate in order to reach new groups of people. Examples might include After School Clubs, Saturday Night Mass, Messy Church, Café Church.

 

2.       Church plant by parish into their own parish This is the time-honoured approach of seeking to develop a new worship centre in unreached parts of the parish, in a church or community building (see Policy & Legal Framework [PLF] 1 below)

 

3.       Parish graft: a leader and a congregation "graft" into an existing congregation with a view to infusing the church with new DNA and fresh energy. This is more of a partnership between old and new, but with the understanding of change being welcomed. This can include a cross tradition plant where an existing tradition is supplemented with a different tradition, this offering two styles rather than one in a single location. (e.g. St John West Ealing plant into St Mellitus Hanwell – PLF 3 below)

 

4.       Parish plant: a leader and congregation are invited to "plant" into a church building that is either closed, faces closure or needs so much help to survive that a different approach is needed and agreed. This model "restarts" parish ministry. (e.g. St Paul’s Shadwell, planted from Holy Trinity Brompton – PLF 3 or 4 below)

 

5.       Network church: a leader and a congregation start a new church in a new space that draws in people through their network of relationships. This is not a parish church but exists autonomously within someone else's parish. This will use a Bishop's Mission Order. (e.g. King’s Cross Church, planted from St Mary’s Bryanston Square; Grace Church, Hackney, planted from St Helen’s Bishopsgate; Oak Tree Anglican Fellowship, planted from St Barnabas Kensington – PLF 2 below)

 

6.       Third space church: “Third space” is understood in the ways defined in community building theory – “first place” is our home; “second place” is our workplace; third place or third space is a place of community relationships, characterised by being

·         a neutral ground

·         a leveller – a place of commonality among its occupants

·         a place of conversation

·         a place of accessibility and accommodation

·         a place of playfulness

·         a home away from home

A leader and a congregation start a church in a non-sacred space with a view to inviting neighbours and contacts in. This kind of church might start as a missional community that intentionally grows itself beyond a small group. Third places include schools, cafes, or pubs. Third space church may include church planting with a partner: a leader with or without a congregation, partners with a specialist ministry, such as Eden Network or XLP, to reach a particular group or sub-culture in that place. (e.g. All Hallows’ Bow who partnered with Eden Network, who have settled on the Lincoln Estate that surrounds the church building). Such partnerships may well transcend denominational boundaries – and there may be an ecumenical or pan-denominational dimension that will need to be considered and factored into the legalities. Each space has different potential for reaching different social groups. (PLF 1, 2 & 5 below)

 

7.       Missional Communities: these are understood as communities constituted by a specific missional purpose in relation to a network or a place. They are not parish churches or places of conventional worship. Policy Paper 5 spells out in more detail what is entailed in committing the Church to the development of missional communities.

 

8.       Second Place Church: To take seriously our commitment to discipleship in the workplace is to entertain the possibility of church in that context. In our current culture, where religious observance is not actively encouraged in a workplace setting, this is not an easy option, but may be a possibility.

 

9.       International & Ethnic Congregations: Policy Paper 6 spells out in detail our understanding of our calling to develop communities of worship and mission in partnership with the great diversity of ethnic and national groups in the World City that is London. These will include opportunities to worship in the culture and mother tongues of groups for whom English is not their first language

 

10.    Churches in existing unreached communities and new developments: London’s rapid growth and expansion means that much new residential development is being planned without places of worship or community spaces. Our planting strategy necessitates engagement with developers and local authorities in order to explore the possibilities of ensuring a Christian presence in these localities. Our calling is also to engage with those communities that are being “left behind” and which have possibly been untouched by the existing parochial provision.

 

Policy & Legal Framework

These various models require a proper framework. Some of the considerations are listed below:

 

1.      Planting from the parish church within the existing parish’s boundaries

This requires:

·         Agreement of Incumbent, PCC, Bishop

·         Authorised leader (licence or commission)

·         CofE worship framework

 

 

2.      Planting a focussed congregation within another parish

This requires:

·       Agreement of Incumbents, PCCs, Bishop

·       If there are objections, these can be overruled, using a Bishop’s Mission Order

·       Authorised leader (licence or commission)

·       CofE worship framework

 

3.      Developing a struggling church by transferring people from another church

This requires:

·         Discussion with struggling church and deanery

·         Invitation to transfer

·         Transfer with sensitivity to existing traditions

 

4.      Planting into an existing parish church

This requires:

·         Agreement of Bishop, Patron, PCC – can be facilitated by Bishop’s Mission Order.

·         If there are objections, these can be overruled, using a Bishop’s Mission Order

·         Authorised leader (licence or commission)

·         CofE worship framework

 

5.      Planting into a new housing area or development

This requires:

·         Agreement of Incumbents, PCCs, Bishop

·         If there are objections, these can be overruled, using a Bishop’s Mission Order

·         Authorised leader (licence or commission)

·         CofE worship framework

Our policy is to keep all such opportunities under constant review within the context of our overall Mission & Ministry strategy, and proactively to seek opportunities for planting.

Oversight of the policy and strategy rests with the Bishops of the Diocese as leaders in mission, with the Area Councils, and with the Diocesan Strategic Policy Committee.

 

Framework for Planning and Decision-Making

 

We therefore welcome proposals for planting, and, in order to facilitate the process, set out the following framework document to guide the conversation between Bishop/Archdeacon, Diocesan staff and prospective planters. We aim for clarity and a capacity to bring together

·         the intentions of church planters

·         the process by which churches become available for planting

·         co-ordination of planting efforts

 

1. Questions for Church Planters

 

Questions to be asked if you are contemplating a plant:

1. What is your strategy for church planting? Please produce a written statement – your Mission Action Plan or strategy document will inform the process.
2. What is your desired area for planting? Locality, network, ethnicity/people group will all be considerations here.

3.       Has there been adequate investment in prayer in relation to the initiative?

4. Where does your strategy fit within the Diocese of London Church Planting policy and Capital Vision 2020?
5. What are the objectives of this particular planting proposal?
6. Who will be involved in the plant? (Leadership, numbers of people committed to the project, etc.)
7. When will you be ready to plant? Timescale, critical path analysis.
8. How are you proposing to fund and resource the plant?
• Capital costs of building (if any)
• Running costs
• Stipends/salaries and oncosts
• Housing
• Expenses
9. How do you plan to develop leadership from within the community in which you wish to plant?
10. What preliminary consultation is needed with existing Church of England parishes and structures?
• Bishop
• Archdeacon
• Area Dean and Deanery
• Neighbouring Parishes
• Area Council
11. What legalities will be required? [this will probably involve you in a detailed conversation with Bishop/Archdeacon)
• Pastoral Scheme or Pastoral Order
• Bishop’s Mission Order
• Licences and Lay Commissions
• Charitable status
• Governance structure (including questions such as PCC and Churchwarden equivalents)
• Synodical representation
12. What do you consider to be the probability of your being ready to plant in the coming year?  In coming 5 years?  Is your likelihood of being able to plant as intended increasing or decreasing?
13. What support do you need from the Diocese to help you achieve your objectives?  (These may not be deliverable, but we want expectations to be clear on both sides.)

 

 

2. Processes for making churches available for planting

 

Church buildings will become available either because a particular congregation/parish has been identified by the Area Bishop or because a church previously surplus to requirements (usually, but not always, closed for regular Anglican public worship) becomes potentially available.

 

Heritage issues may well be involved in the process of making a building available, particularly if there are proposals to use procedures under the Mission & Pastoral Measure 2011. The Archdeacon will be able to advise on this. In the case of a planting opportunity with a “live” parish, the Bishop, Archdeacon and Area Council will work up a proposal to make the church available for a graft or transplant and approach potential planters.

 

In the case of a building not used for Anglican worship becoming available, the Diocesan Strategic Policy Committee will consider whether the building should be released for planting. Factors to be considered will include suitability of location, existing use (especially where the building is being used by another Christian denomination), and proximity to other churches. If the building is released, consultation with the relevant Area Council may be needed. The Bishop may then make an approach to potential planters.

 

Some opportunities for planting will be subject to competitive bids from a number of prospective planters. In this context, you may need to discuss with the Bishop/Archdeacon and the Diocesan Strategic Policy Committee how the proposal you are making fits with

·         Local Context

·         Diocesan Context

·         Economic practicalities and opportunity costs

 

3. Co-ordination of Planting Efforts

 

Church Planting across the Diocese will be regularly reviewed at DSPC, JOT and the College of Bishops. It also needs to be an item on the agendas of Area Councils and Deaneries.

Training and Development for Church Planting

The Bishop of London has appointed an Adviser for Church Planting, Ric Thorpe. He has a remit to encourage and support church planting across deaneries and diocese. The College of Bishops is also committed to work across the spectrum, in co-operation with St Mellitus College, to encourage and train catholic, middle of the road and evangelical parishes towards more outward focus and exploration of planting. 

 List of documents and resources

Breaking New Ground: Church Planting in the Church of England (Church House Publishing, 1994) Bishops’ Mission Orders: a beginner’s guide (Church House Publishing, 2008)

This paper is issued by the London College of Bishops as part of a series of Policy Papers on Mission and Ministry issues.

The missional mixed economy church for C21 London

 

“Church” really doesn’t need to explain itself. The Church is the people of God, called into being by Jesus Christ, shaped by the Spirit and showing forth the love of the Father. We are the Church of England in London because we stand in continuity with the Church throughout the ages, tracing our origins in scripture, seeking to be true to the inheritance of faith in tradition, and proclaiming that faith afresh in each generation.

This paper seeks, therefore, not so much to explain, as to set down the policy parameters for the ways in which we seek to “do” church in C21 London. It is taken as read that the manifestations of church which we seek to build and develop are in continuity with the reformed catholic heritage of the Church of England, based in the faith “revealed in the holy scriptures, and set forth in the catholic creeds, to which the historic formularies of the Church of England bear witness.” These are communities of the baptised where word and sacrament are faithfully proclaimed and celebrated, under the leadership of their Bishop and in communion one with another.

1.       Parish Churches remain at the core of our understanding of how we serve our city. London is a series of small villages and neighbourhoods, and the concept of “parish” still has real traction, even though people may commute across parish boundaries to attend their church of choice. We will seek to sustain parish church presence, though all churches will be subject to evaluation under our Mission and Ministry Health & Viability criteria. We will continue to put in place measures to support and grow parish churches. We will also develop the distinctive and “eccentric” ministry of central London and City churches. 

 

2.       Overlaying the parish system, and complementary to it, will be other forms of church.  These include

·         Network churches – churches which serve people who are not necessarily locality-based, and whose relationships are more network than neighbourhood. Such churches will usually cross parochial boundaries, and are likely to operate under a Bishop’s Mission Order. Local protocols will be put in place to define their relationship with the local parish (es).

·         International & Ethnic Congregations For many of London’s ethnic and nationality based groupings, English may be a second language, and they may wish to worship in the style and culture of their mother tongue and ethnic group. We will work with such groups and enable those who wish to give Anglican expression to their worship and mission to be incorporated into our parochial structures. Policy Paper 6 addresses these issues in more depth.

·         Youth congregations  It will sometimes be appropriate to set up a separate youth congregation in order to evangelise and disciple young people within their own cultural milieu. Normally such congregations will be attached to a parish or network church.

 

3.       We will continue to pursue a vigorous policy of Church Planting (partnering with a variety of planters) wherever mission opportunity arises, and wherever possibilities can be created. A separate policy paper (Policy Paper 2) sets out the Diocese of London’s policy on church planting.

 

4.       We will experiment with other forms of church. The Church of England has written extensively about Fresh Expressions (defined as “a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.”) In a majority of contexts, a parish that is missional will already be experimenting with what might be categorised as “fresh expressions” – Messy Church, After School clubs, Café Church, Pub Church, etc. For examples see http://www.sharetheguide.org/section1 Sometimes a Fresh Expression will emerge outside of an existing parochial context, in which case we will consider how best to resource it, give it legal and charitable status and ensure that it is fully a part of the Church of England.

 

5.       Other new ecclesial communities include

·         The London Internet Church http://www.londoninternetchurch.org.uk/

·         Ambient expressions of church – alternative forms of church worship and networks typically suited to a generation and culture for whom inherited church patterns of worship don’t work. Formative in their DNA will be the exploration of new forms of liturgical and other worship expression; a desire for artistic expression; a sense of shared community; evangelism among their peers; and a deep commitment to justice and peace issues.

 

6.       Community Ministry has been a formative and inspiring adjunct to our parish ministry in many urban and estate locations.

http://www.london.anglican.org/kb/getting-started-in-community-ministry/

Mostly it will complement existing patterns of parish life, but sometimes new ecclesial communities will emerge though community ministry initiatives. As well as more traditional forms of community ministry, we are glad to partner with Eden Greater London, XLP, and other similar initiatives.

 

7.       New areas of housing and major development will be places where we look to build Christian community, either via a plant (from the parish church or elsewhere), or via promoting grass-roots growth of a Christian community in situ. We will also work with planters and mission agencies in these areas where they can also add value and resources.

8.       Our Schools offer huge potential for developing new or parallel worshipping communities alongside the parish church. We will work with the LDBS and Governing Bodies to explore the development of churches based in some of our schools. (This may also be the key to resourcing new churches in new developments – see (7) above).

9.       We will continue to support and develop Chaplaincy in HE, schools, prisons, the Armed Forces and other significant institutions and workplaces. This work will be overseen by the Bishops and the Chaplaincy Steering Group.

 

10.    Another significant development is that of Missional Communities, defined as communities constituted by a specific missional purpose in relation to a network or a place. These will normally be communities without buildings, defined by relationship, meeting inter alia in homes, cafes and pubs; designed to be places where those who would be highly unlikely to join institutional church might find faith and be discipled. Missional Communities will operate under a Bishop’s Mission Order, and may inhabit a number of localities.

 

Alongside these ten different classifications of what it means to be church, we have a wider concern for the re-evangelisation of London and of England.

·         We will therefore partner with Holy Trinity Brompton and other planting churches to encourage wider re-evangelisation of England through planting beyond London

·         We will build alliances with Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic and international churches to develop new forms of church in pockets of major ethnic and national concentration. 

·         We will work across the spectrum to encourage and train catholic, middle of the road and evangelical parishes towards more outward focus and exploration of planting. (See the training strategy in Policy Paper 4).

The Staffing and Deployment implications of this strategy are addressed in Policy Paper 3.

This paper is issued by the London College of Bishops as part of a series of Policy Papers on Mission and Ministry issues.

 

 

 

 

Simplicity Itself

“Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest”

 

If the Church of England is to take seriously the need to reverse its trend of decline and commit itself to the renewal of the faith and the re-evangelisation of England, it needs the tools and structures to make that process possible. Four Task Groups have been working to devise a framework for change – in how we identify and train our senior leadership; how we allocate our resources better and focus on mission; how we call, equip and structure clergy and lay oversight; and how we simplify our structures. None of us is under any illusion that lasting change that makes a difference for the Kingdom of God can be achieved by tinkering with structures. The Church is first of all a Divine Society, underpinned by prayer, listening to scripture, worship and the life of the Spirit. A change of heart and a reorientation towards love for God and love for neighbour – obedience to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment – these are the things that will breathe new life into the Church. The work of the Task Groups is to make what’s under the bonnet work better.

 

The remit of the Simplification Task Group has been to identify hindrances to mission. We asked bishops, archdeacons and dioceses – “What is it that prevents you from making changes that will enable parishes, churches and congregations to flourish and new initiatives to take shape?” The response was overwhelming, and cumulatively ran to ninety or so pages of A4. Our report lists a swathe of legislation – canons, measures and regulations – which are too complex, cumbersome to operate, and militate against change.

 

Top of the poll came the regulations around Common Tenure, closely followed by the Mission and Pastoral Measure and the over-elaborate procedures for Bishop’s Mission Orders. Whether it’s provision for new mission or reorganisation of the church on the ground, the framework for change is far too complex and bureaucratic.

 

Of course, the genius of the Church of England is that it is an ordered church – our legal framework is part of the law of the land, and has prevented us from sliding into sectarianism and irresponsibility. But there has been a tendency over recent years, in framing our legislation, to over-prescribe, to defend against every possible eventuality, and to create a defensive bureaucracy that is in many instances no longer fit for purpose.

 

The Simplification Group recognises that a programme for change runs the risk of being time-consuming, intricate and at times controversial. There will need to be a balance between the rights and duties that legislation is framed to protect and the need to make a missional difference in the life of our dioceses and parishes. Identify the essential – what makes for good governance, proper legality and a clear process? Eliminate the rest. If we’re given a mandate, there’s plenty more to do, and we’ll be asking parishes for their take on an agenda for the next five years. For the sake of the gospel, mission and the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ.

The experimental baptism rite - baptism lite

On the alternative so-called baptismal rite - the salient questions are:

1. Why is it so semi-Pelagian when it claims to be about grace? "Will you help them?" It's wet... and not in the water sense!

2. Where is the sense of their own pilgrimage which was expressed in "walk with them in the way of Christ?"

3. Where is the truth that we are rebels against God expressed? 

4. Where is repentance from sin? 

5. Where is renunciation of the devil and evil? ("reject" is a much weaker word - I can reject your ideas, but I need to reject and renounce the devil and evil)

6. Where is the sense that Christ is Saviour - and that we need saving? 

7. Where is submission to the rule of Christ as a disciple? 

8. Where is the understanding that sin, the world and the devil are all areas where the rule of Christ needs to be affirmed and lived. Not just the obviously evil bits...

9. Why is the suggested credal interrogation the weak one - when the Apostles' Creed is the place where our faith has always been affirmed in baptism? 

10. "They will need to learn the story..." No, they need to *inhabit* the story, as forgiven sinners, as praying people, as those in whom the Spirit dwells (the Spirit doesn't get a mention here...)

This is crass. It's baptism lite. It will not do.

Twenty quick hits to change the CofE

Resourcing Mission & Growth – making it happen

 

1. The Church of England cannot bear too much reality... but now may just be the time when we can see some major changes. There are quite a few people around who are asking “what church-wide action is needed to support planning for mission and growth within dioceses (and help remove obstacles to growth)?” The fruits of that discussion could yet evaporate unless we are prepared to seize the initiative and create a new climate within the Church of England to make change happen.

The CofE has adopted three quinquennial themes (see GS 1815)

 

(i)      To take forward the spiritual and numerical growth of the Church of England – including the growth of its capacity to serve the whole community of this country;

(ii)    To re-shape or reimagine the Church's ministry for the century coming, so as to make sure that there is a growing and sustainable Christian witness in every local community; and

(iii)  To focus our resources where there is both greatest need and greatest opportunity.

 

2.       The House of Bishops Standing Committee helpfully focussed on the task of the NCIs of the Church of England in

·         contributing as the national Church to the common good;

·         facilitating the growth of the Church;

·         re-imagining the Church’s ministry.

3.       What energises me as a Bishop is the urgent task of the re-evangelisation of England, joining in the mission of God and proclaiming his Kingdom in the public square, and shaping a Church that is fit for purpose in order to achieve all that. Whichever way you cut it, we’re not in business to manage decline, preside over a dying church, or allow what has been entrusted to us to atrophy.

 

4.       My concern is that we are still considering centralised solutions to the problems facing us, whereas it is pellucidly clear that we are no longer living in an era where a command and control approach will work. Whether via the Darlow formula for allocations, the Sheffield formula for clergy numbers, or the Hind Report on theological education, our ability to generate new capacity for mission from the centre has signally failed. Indeed, arguably most of the work that has produced major cultural change and significant growth in the Church of England has come from the edges of the NCIs (Fresh Expressions, projects funded by the Lambeth Group), or from entrepreneurial activity by others (Alpha, the growth of St Mellitus College, the influence of Walsingham, Messy Church). The conclusion that we might wish to draw is that the role of the NCIs in facilitating the quinquennium goals needs to be rethought.

 

5.       The findings of the research from the Archbishops’ Task Group summarised in Resourcing the Church’s Mission and Growth [hereafter cited as RMG] highlighted major concerns from the Dioceses that, unless we are prepared to make some major financial, legal, structural and resource changes, we will not be fitted for the challenges of the next 20 years. The proposals set out in this paper suggest a way to tackle some of those challenges.

 

a.       We need to build on the work of the Spending Review Task Force. I understand that there are proposals for a Financing the Future Task Force with the remit to deliver a redistribution of the Church of England’s funds in order to deliver the goals.

 

b.       We need a Mission Task Force which draws on the expertise of church planters and innovators from across the church traditions. We will need to build on the model pioneered by HTB to plant and graft new churches into Dioceses across the country (ensuring that this is not a partisan and “one flavour” form of re-evangelisation). Other expertise will need to be harnessed from those skilled in revitalising the rural church to share experience and resources across dioceses. (RMG, paras 5 – 14) The paper on Intentional Evangelism (GS 1917) is a start. But you don't evangelise from the centre. It's local church where this stuff happens. This initiative could fall flat on its face unless it listens to and harnesses the practitioners.

 

c.        We need a Ministry Task Force. This would have two main foci:

·         to dismantle the existing bureaucracy and regulation that surrounds the work of Ministry Division, paring it down to what is required to produce a professional process of discernment, selection and training, allowing a diversity of training pathways to develop without regulation, and liberating the financial framework to bring more money into the training system, setting free training providers to serve the Church in a new era

·         to enable dioceses to generate more vocations, to encourage partnerships between dioceses in order to address the imbalance between north and south, and to encourage new forms of ordained and lay ministry (RMG, paras 15 – 25)

 

d.       We need a Regulatory Task Force. The genius of the Church of England, expressed in its character as a church by law established is that it has always insisted that the framework of legality serves the mission of the church. It is now becoming evident that this legal framework is becoming a straitjacket, imposing defensive bureaucracy and inhibiting the possibility of change (see RMG, paras 45 – 50). This group would have the remit of bringing forward the necessary changes in legislation to free up the Church of England and enable a new way of working.

 

6.       None of these task forces must become committee-bound; that will not achieve the climate for change that we need. Rather, these need to be groups which provide drivers to make things happen:

They must

·         Adhere to the quinquennial themes

·         Be driven by the need to resource dioceses and parishes to embark on a sea change in culture

·         Seek solutions, not problems

·         Be regulation-lite, promoting speed, simplicity and trust

 

7.       This proposal will only succeed if it has the full backing of the Archbishops, the House of Bishops, the Archbishops’ Council and the Church Commissioners – and is underpinned by prayer and dependence upon God in Christ in the power of the Spirit.

 

8.       As a flavour of what might be required to change the Church of England for a new season of mission and growth, here are 20 things that might be done (in no particular order!)

·         A rolling week of 24/7 prayer for the re-evangelisation of England successively in every cathedral, touring the country for a year

·         Establishment of recognised new or existing communities of prayer in every diocese to be the driving force for that re-evangelisation

·         Major simplification of the appellate procedure under the Pastoral Measure (RMG para 48)

·         Simplification of the procedure for making BMOs to establish a single tier consultation and to give them an immediately more permanent locus, with 5 year reviews becoming discretionary

·         The capacity simply to mothball buildings that are no longer fit for purpose either structurally or because there is no viable worshipping community

·         A quick legal procedure to allow parish churches to relocate their main centre to schools, community halls and shopping malls

·         Enabling a fast-track process for deanery and parish boundary changes to provide for better ministry in the context of new housing developments, anomalies caused by new roads and the shifting shape of communities and local authority boundaries

·         Vigorous encouragement of church planting, both clergy and lay-led, including new missional communities – recognising that many of those leading such initiatives will need to be self-supporting or part time

·         Work with mission agencies and others with planting expertise, including co-operation with non-Anglican denominations and movements, to identify new opportunities for planting

·         Revision of the S29 Common Tenure Regulations to allow for interim and temporary posts, the termination of posts without the necessity of pastoral reorganisation, and the reintroduction of fixed term appointments

·         A mission opportunities fund to enable underperforming clergy to move out of ministry

·         Abolition of Vote 1 and a new regime whereby ordinands, backed by the diocese, raise their own support from friends, churches, and their sending and receiving dioceses

·         New partnerships between dioceses to train ordinands and place them, with net exporting dioceses entering into training agreements with importing dioceses

·         Ordaining candidates over 60 on the hoof as priests deployed locally, with training provided in the Diocese or local course/college

·         Commitment to process all ordinands to a yes or no within 9 months

·         Abolition of the IME 4 – 7 preoccupation with tick box assessments and pursuit of further academic attainment in order to allow curates to flourish in the parish and be trained for their priestly oversight as incumbents

·         Investment in clergy in service training (using existing service providers and agencies rather than inventing costly new schemes)

·         Identification of those dioceses which are most in need of new funding, based on an assessment of their actual financial position (including reserves and historic resources) and their proposals for growth

·         Serious negotiation with dioceses seeking new Church Commissioners funding about ways in which those dioceses can reduce their overheads and administrative costs through economies of scale and a reduction in the infrastructure of their boards and committees as a pre-condition of receiving funding

·         A public commitment and covenant by the House of Bishops to work together to deliver change, mission and growth

 

There's plenty more to pray and to do where that lot came from. Have we the bottle to take up the challenge?