A few weeks ago I attended a Fresh Expressions conference in Christchurch. The keynote speaker was Bishop Graham Cray, who heads up the Fresh Expressions network in the UK.
Bishop Cray defines Fresh Expressions as a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of those outside the church. He was at pains to point out that it is not a “bridge project” designed to bring people into the existing church; nor is it “church-lite”, a watered down version of the real thing. Rather, it is church with a strong mission focus and a consequent willingness to re-imagine church in order to relate to a particular culture or sub-culture.
Having heard too many advocates of Fresh Expressions, alternative worship and the so-called Emergent church bag existing forms of church, I was pleased to hear Bishop Cray say it’s a both-and situation. The driving force for fresh expressions of church must be a commitment to sharing in God’s mission in the world, not a reaction against certain forms of church, often dismissively referred to as “traditional”. Just as jazz musicians require a solid grounding in the theory and practice of music in order to be innovative, so Fresh Expression exponents must be well versed in the patterns and principles of Christian worship lest their innovation become little more than an aping of the latest fad or an endless cycle of uninformed experimentation.
For Bishop Cray, one of the measures of a Fresh Expression’s authenticity and sustainability will be its potential to: (1) become a mature expression of church shaped by the Gospel; and (2) exhibit the enduring marks of the church within its particular cultural context. A Fresh Expression will therefore be committed to the principles of listening, service, incarnational ministry and the hard yards of making disciples. It will not exist merely to give people a new kind of “worship experience”.
One of the key learnings of the Fresh Expressions movement is that people tend to be converted to community before they are converted to Christ. Mission, therefore, is integrally related to hospitality.
For more information about Fresh Expressions and some examples of what a Fresh Expression looks like, visit the web site: www.freshexpressions.org.uk
In the likes of StudentSoul and B@TCH, we have some homegrown examples of fresh expressions. Some congregations have also seen the potential in developing worship and pastoral care dimensions to their Mainly Music programmes in ways that are consistent with fresh expression principles.
As with all good conferences, I came away with as many questions as I did answers. For example, originating as it does in the United Kingdom, the Fresh Expressions phenomenon seems to presume a cultural setting that is predominantly Western. I’d be interested to know what it might look like in a Pacific Island, Asian or Maori context. I’d also be interested to explore ecumenical possibilities. Back in the UK, Bishop Cray chairs a Fresh Expressions council comprising representatives from several denominations; he is adamant that Fresh Expressions should be an ecumenical enterprise rather than serving a denominational agenda. How realistic is that here? Finally, what are the implications of taking seriously the claim that buckets of energy and raw enthusiasm are not enough, and that Fresh Expression exponents need to be well-trained people of mature faith and a discerning eye, with appropriate levels of resourcing? Are we willing to invest what it takes?
On that note, I’d like to sign off this quarterly column. I’ve enjoyed offering a selection of thoughts from my perspective as Moderator over the past couple of years. Thanks for your feedback. But more importantly, thanks for your prayerful support, which I am sure will be extended to the incoming Moderator, the Rev Peter Cheyne. I was both encouraged and humbled by the number of people I met around the country who assured me of their prayers. Thank you. Ma Ihowa koe e manaaki.