Missing the point of mission?

Another blog in our series 'A Voice of Experience'

1 Corinthians 2:2-5 reveals Paul's straightforward yet effective strategy for Church growth, a strategy that we can all learn from.

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power."

From Wigan to Leicester, the plan isn't teaching Jesus Christ crucified; instead it is creating strategies to micromanage crises.

An example is the Diocese of Leicester's , which, I am reliably informed, contains 55,000 words.

Item 3 - Diocesan Strategy

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The introduction says:

"This strategy is about helping us as worshipping communities that through deepening our experience of loving God and being loved by him, we may grow in size, depth, reach and love, Monday to Sunday disciples of Jesus Christ, learning from one another in hopeful, humble curiosity. It is about working towards 2034, where existing, and many more new, churches help us better reflect the communities we serve – accessible, vibrant and diverse churches of all ages and cultures led by people of all ages and cultures."

So, how does this strategy propose we achieve this goal? The document helpfully sets out the five diocese priorities for growth or enabling growth.

"Intergenerational: We are called to see vibrant, accessible worshipping communities where young and old come together in discipleship, prayer and praise. Churches and schools work in close partnership, reaching out to households in their communities with the good news of Jesus Christ. We are praying, planning and ministering to see double the number of children and young people as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Intercultural: We are called to see worshipping communities across the diocese where UKME/GMH people belong and grow as disciples, are valued, represented and lead with confidence. We want greater diversity in governance and cultural competency of all members in all structures, as we work to be a more racially equitable diocese. We are planning to better reflect the communities we serve and continue learning from one another's cultures for effective mission and ministry

New: We are called to see an accessible worshipping community within reach of every person across the diocese, seeing lives and communities transformed by Jesus Christ. We are praying, planning and ministering to encourage more innovative ways of being church enabled, with lay and ordained leaders working in creative partnership to establish new worshipping communities.

Eco: We are called to see our churches, chaplaincies and schools enjoying God's creation and championing its care as intrinsic to the Gospel, for example by participation in the Eco-Churches award scheme. We recognise the global effect of the environmental crisis and will play our part in mitigating its impact, working towards Net Zero carbon emissions. We will advocate for those most affected by climate breakdown.

Reconciling: We are called to see the highest degree of communion within and between our worshipping communities, modelling the restoration of relationships with one another, with creation and with God which is the heart of the Gospel. We are praying and working for peace and justice in the wider world, paying close attention to ministry with the marginalised, and serving with cultural humility and intelligence."

Nowhere in all of those 50,000 words is there a theological discussion about the nature of church growth from a biblical perspective.

Now, I would like to make clear that I entirely accept the church's need for strategic thinking, and acknowledge that these documents are vital for the diocese to obtain money from central funds. But they feel deeply managerial. They do not inspire congregations to do what Paul suggested we should be doing in 1 Corinthians.

Alison Millbank, co-founder of Save the Parish, identified the problem in her article in the Church Times in October 2023 when she said.

"The Church should certainly be well managed, but our bishops have embraced the goals and techniques of managerialism as an unquestioned ideology. The key aims of management as a secular science are efficiency, predictability, control, and accountability. They become managerialism when they act as a form of social control that shapes a social body."

The central problem is that those in charge have lost confidence in the Gospel. A good friend of mine recently spent time in Tanzania. Whilst on a long car journey they asked the bishop's driver about any problems they had in ministry and he was told one of the significant problems is polygamy. So my friend asked how they proposed to address the issue and was told, "We address the problem by preaching Jesus."

Jesus is mentioned just sixteen times in the Diocese of Leicester's strategy document. The gospel is mentioned six times; three times in relation to enjoying creation and championing creation care, twice in relation to reconciled communities and once in relation to safeguarding. There is no mention of the crucifixion - nor the cross (only the importance of cross-cultural evangelism and cross-generational communities). The Holy Spirit gets a couple of mentions; once to justify the use of "goals and measures" and once as an apparent after thought to the leading of the "strategic plans". It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that 'Strategy' and 'strategic' appear 139 times in the main text.

We cannot strategise ourselves out of church decline. Instead, we need to boldly regain our confidence in the apostolic gospel of Christ crucified - and preach and teach it uncompromisingly, with clarity and simplicity.

I am tempted to rewrite the introduction to the strategic document so it would read as follows.

"This strategy is about helping us as worshipping communities that through deepening our experience of loving God and being loved by him, we may know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. We aim to build structures within the diocese to grow biblical disciples willing and able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified. We aim to bring the Gospel to everyone, no matter who they are or where they live. We believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms lives, causes churches to grow, and carries the power of God for salvation."

In his book The Open Secret; An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, Newbigin wrote, "The commitment is not to a cause, or a programme but to a person—at the heart of Christian mission must remain a commitment to serving Christ in his community."

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