“Missional culture” as the midwife
for Fresh expressions of church
How traditional mainline in the
Reformed tradision can give birth to a
Fresh Expression of church?
Frederick Marais & Communitas
The Communitas FE strategy
Fresh expressions
Dying
congregations
Stable congregations
Missional congregations
Assumption
If the current christendom culture of
congregations – seeking stability at all costs
can be transformed to a kenotic missional
culture…
these congregations will become midwifes in
imagining and facilitating the birth of Fresh
Expressions of church in their context
Missional=kenotic order
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Phil 2: 5- same mind(phroneo) of Christ
:6 although- ”theo morphė”-allow to exploit
:7 did not exploit it
:8 but became human, servant and died on
the cross
Cultural transformation=
• Cast and articulate a new language-missional
grammar vs ecclesiastic - or denominationallanguage
• Understand and train the new missional kenotic
skills for the sake of the birth of something fresh
• Facilitate personal growth in safe spaces to transform attitudes and desires
• Practise missional habits of continuous
discernment in order to transfer the skills ans
attitudes
Practise orientated research on our
assumption
We have identified 6 white DRC congregations
that birthed FE’s of Church and asked them
about the process of innovation…
Innovation as
transferable knowledge or re-coding
Practice-oriented research aims at
generating transferable knowledge (recoding) that will impact on the capacity of
the “church” to be faithful to the
embodiment of our mission
Innovation in alignment with our mission
Innovation is not only a process where new
ideas or programs is designed and added to the
program of the church.
Innovation is the disruptive process of
transformation in the embodiment of our
mission.
Mixed-economy as a adaption-innovation continuum
Intentional innovation=disruptive
• Disruptive innovation is a process by which a product
or service takes root initially in simple applications at
the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up
market, eventually displacing established competitors –
Clayton Christensen
• Disruptive innovative ministry will then be a simple
application in a local congregation/movement that
relentlessly moves through the church to replace
established habits and procedures in the church and
society (re-coding)
The capacity to (re)- react in a different
way
These are all mainline congregations of the DRC.
They share the same demographics as the rest
of the denomination, but they acted differently,
they gave birth to a FE of church that not only
embody a new culture of church- a prophetic
culture, but also cross boundaries of ethnicity,
language, class, nationality and generation.
The risk taking in innovation
A church which pitches its tents without
constantly looking for new horizons, which does
not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its
calling… [We must] play down our longing for
certainty, accept what is risky, and live by
improvisation and experiment. – Hans Kung
(The Church as the People of God)
A new era a new incarnational way
It should not bother us that [during different
epochs] the Christian faith was perceived and
experienced in new and different ways. The
Christian faith is incarnational; therefore unless
the church chooses to remain a foreign entity, it
will always enter into the context in which it
happens to find itself –
David Bosch, Transforming mission
6 DRC congregations crossing boundaries in the
Western-Cape – “missional distance” Hirsch
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6.
Race and class
Nationality, language, ethnicity, class
Language, ethnicity
Class, ethnicity
Generational
Language, ethnicity, class
Questions on the role of the mother in
planting a Fresh Expression of Church?
1. Was daar ‘n gebeure(insident) wat die gesprek oor die
planting laat begin het?
Can you recall an incident that sparked the planting?
2. Wie het die visie vir die planting ontwikkel of gedra?
Who casted and carried the vision for the plant?
3. Wat was die reaksie in die moeder toe dit begin bekend
raak het?
What was the reaction when it became public?
4. Watter oorwegings het ‘n rol gespeel in die leierskap se
onderskeiding/besluitneming oor die saak?
What reasons played a role in the discernment of the
leadership in the planting process?
Questions on the role of the mother in
planting a Fresh Expression of Church?
5.
6.
7.
8.
Wat was die grootste struikelblokke om te oorkom?
What were the biggest stumbling bloc(s) you had to
overcome
Was daar in hierdie tyd teologiese of ekklesiologiese denkskuiwe
wat ‘n rol gespeel het?
Were there any theological or ecclesiological shifts that took
place?
Vertel van ‘n groot deurbraak(e) wat gekom wat die geboorte
laat gebeur het?
Where there any breakthrought(s) that permittes the birth?
Hoe sou jy die rol van die “moeder” in die totstandkoming van die
nuwe gemeente beskryf?
Discribes the role of the “mother” in the birth of a new
congregations?
1 Can you recall an incident that
sparked the planting?
• Demographic change in our community
• We listened to our new community and realised
that our traditional ministry do not reach the new
community in our neighbourhood
• The discipleship formation program
• The missional transformation in the congregation
• A New understanding of our calling
• A conversation in a cell group
2. Who casted and carried the vision for the plant?
1. A minister(tentmaker) with a vision
2. An elder
3. Cell group
In the mainline system the innovation of a FE is
not likely to survive if leadership is not of a
missional mind-set
3. What was the reaction when it became public?
1. Negative- this is a break away group
2. Fear and suspicion (boundaries)
3. Enthusiastic but uncertain
4. Financial worries
5. Resistance from the presbytery(Ring)
6. Constant support
Innovation will disrupt and create internal conflict –
“conflict is the foyer of the (in-breaking) Kingdom”
4. What considerations played a role in the
discernment of the leadership in the planting process?
1. Leader(s) convinced the leadership and congregation
2. Mission field is in our neighbourhood
3. Our traditional ministry will not meet the needs of the new
community
4. God’s calling for our congregation
5. Listening to the needs of the new people
6. We started to focus on the in breaking of the Kingdom vs the
maintenance of the congregation through practices of
Biblical discernment
Discernment empower mainline congregation
to see through the system of the Christendom
5. What were the biggest stumbling block(s)
you had to overcome
1. Fear that this is a break away group
2. Dealing with theological and spiritual diversity
(baptism)
3. Will we be able to serve across cultural boundaries?
4. Are we really called to serve “others”
5. Place of worship
6. Finances
Internal stumbling block(s) are more real than
external one’s-culture eats strategies for breakfast
6. Were there any theological or ecclesiological
shifts that took place?
1. God’s call for us became our paradigm
2. including other spiritualties (worship)
3. Break out of our apartheids thinking- they can be part
of us
4. We are not an ethnic church but disciples of Christ.
5. Focus on the in-breaking of the Kingdom
6. Discernment vs democracy
Breaking out of the ethnic/language/culture identity
seems to be the biggest challenge for white mainline
congregations in becoming a midwife for FE
7. Where there any breakthrough(s) that
permitted the birth?
1. New leadership
2. Finances
3. A place to worship
4. A team to start with
5. Presbytery gave permission
6. When we started to act on our plan
FE are embodied evangelism that deals with
issues of locality, finances and leadership
8. Describe the role of the “mother” in the birth
of a new congregations?
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Giving permission for the birth
Continuous support (financial, admin, logistics…)
Prayer as a witness to our dependency on the HS
Journey together in discernment
Allow the new plant to be fundamentally
different ( My Fair lady: Why can’t a woman be
more like a man)
The “mother”-congregation is best understood as
a midwife that journey with the FE in kenotic
leadership
Conclution
It seems that what these congregations teach us
is in alignment with the missional patterns that
Lois Barret identified in Treasure in Clay Jars.
Lois Barret: Patterns of a missional
culture
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Missional vocation
Missional authority
Biblical formation of disciples
Dependency on the HS through prayer
Risk-taking dealing with internal conflict
Journey towards the Reign of God
Habits and practises that embodies God’s intent
to the world
8. Public worship vs congregational worship