Mission-Shaped Church

Paul Bayes

Reflections written by Ted Hutchin

This slim volume sets out to examine things like missionary values, church planting and fresh expressions of church, and all in twenty eight pages. There is nothing like a challenge in the world of writing, and this is certainly a challenge. The book is essentially a review of the concepts that are contained in the report of the same name and to a certain extent other sources such as “Breaking New Ground” first published some ten years ago. What the author does see is the bringing together of these two documents as part of a major opportunity for the church for growth and development.

The book begins with the usual suspects being lined up, falling membership, lack of respect towards the church, much internal gnashing of teeth but not a lot going on outside etc. And yet “We still believe the gospel, and we believe in the power of God through the preaching of the gospel to grow the fruit of the Spirit and transform the world. But somehow the way we are shaping the church is not bringing that fruit in the way we so much want to see.” (p4) So what is happening seems to be the cry? Bayes then quotes Ralph Neighbour “We don’t think you should change a single structure in your church until you have established the right values in your church”. (p5) This is quite a critical statement. Coming from the world of business, the first step in moving any company towards it’s goal is to check the current situation, determine the current level of performance versus the goal and ask searching questions about the problems that exist and why. This is a causal argument leading to consensus on the problem facing the organisation. Without this consensus people are able to pursue minority solutions with no regard as to whether they address the problem or not. In recent months I have a read a great deal about the problems facing the church today, but I have read very little real analysis as to the causal relationships that exist and what the core problem of the church might be. Asking questions about core values seems as good a place to start as any.

We read a great deal about solutions but very little about core problems. We read much about what the church must do, but there is little discussion about why the church is in the position it is in to begin with. Andy Groves, the CEO of Intel writing some time ago discussed what he calls the strategic inflection point – that point in the growth of the organisation that will determine precisely what happens over the next few years. If a company misses this point it might never recover, doomed to stay in the shadow of those it once dominated. Is the church now facing a strategic inflection point? Is this, perhaps, the kairos moment that Bayes suggests? Of course, for Bayes, the answer is both yes and it means church-planting. Well if we use the process of industrial analysis using the Theory of Constraints, what this means is that if church-planting is the answer to the question asked, then what was the question in the first place, what was the problem, and as soon as we do this, difficulties arise. Bayes has not bothered to develop his description of the core problem, simply jumps to the solution – one that he regards as THE solution – and that is that. Remember also, that the absence of your chosen solution is never the core problem of the organisation. So to suggest that church-planting is the solution just because there is very little of it, and what does exist is still considered to be unusual, simply misses the point.

Bayes, quoting Breaking New Ground supports the view that “When a congregation looks outward in mission, and considers strategies for evangelism, it may be that some of the most exciting possibilities for that parish involve planting a new church….” (p6) I would argue that the first part of the sentence is certainly correct, congregations must look outward, and they must consider strategies for evangelism and these strategies may include the formation of new churches, but they are not the only solution, and should not be seen as such. I would not disagree with the observation that the church, and any process of evangelism must take note of the communities in which they exist. Just as society has changed, then so has the need for the church to reflect these changes, and not just in the evangelist role. Central to this changing environment is the realisation that the whole church must be committed to evangelism and not just the poor evangelist operating at the margins of the church. On page eight Bayes recites the Declaration of Assent and it is to the last two lines that I feel attract the most attention “to proclaim afresh in each generation.” (p8) This is what we are about is it not – to proclaim the gospel afresh, to proclaim what happened all those years ago, but in the language of today, with all of today’s nuances and contexts, but the same core message nevertheless.

So what are we to do? Quoting Archbishop Rowan, “Mission, it’s been said, is finding out what God is doing and joining in” (p9). What a thought, joining in with what God is doing, is that not what we should all be seeking to do? The first startling point is that God is already doing things! “What things?” we might ask, but then that would reveal the real extent to which we are not working with Him! How many of us would rather God worked with us, indeed many prayers today seem to be asking Him to join with us rather than the other way around? God is already operating as an evangelist, working with people around the globe, affecting lives, through the Holy Spirit challenging and inspiring lives in a manner we can only wonder at and what are we doing about it?

So, first things first which, according to Bayes, is an understanding of the importance of theology and prayer. This takes us neatly to the five marks of mission and the five values for a missionary church. This is, for me, a clear statement of what church is all about, what being a Christian is all about. There is no need to repeat them here, just visit page 12 and 13 of the book and they are there. Indeed, if this was where Bayes stopped then it could be argued that he has achieved his objective. The mission shaped church requires these five marks and five values which are necessary and sufficient for a church which is a powerhouse. If all the people within the church take these marks and values on-board then the church would not be in the position it finds itself today. Bayes now goes on to discuss the values in more depth, but the focus of what he has to say is now clear. He does highlight a crucial factor when he states “In the end a church shaped for mission is one shaped to meet its cultural context and therefore by definition not a church shaped to suit the preferences of its own members” (p15) This is a challenging statement as many people today consider that the church has been set up to keep people out, not bring them in! This means that what brought us to the church many years ago is not what brings people today, and that we must change what we do in order to accommodate those who need to come now.

I do like the notion of the transformational church, one that “exists for the transformation of the community that it serves, though the power of the gospel and the Holy Spirit. It is not self-serving, self-seeking or self-focused. The kingdom of God is its goal, and church is understood as a servant and sign that God’s kingdom in its community, whether neighbourhood or network” (p18). This goes beyond, but does not demean, the concept of parish, just re-defines it in a modern context. It also raises the notion that there will be groups within the church addressing different issues, related yes, but also different. These are not competing groups, but groups which individually, and collectively, proclaim the gospel to a wide and varying audience. If they each share the same focus, the values of mission, then there is little problem. However, if they feel that there little bit is the only bit of vale then there is still much work to be done! Whether it is be church planting, by creating specialist groups for evangelism, by opening doors that have been closed for many years, the message is clear and unequivocal, we have a duty to proclaim the gospel to the world around us and beyond. We have also failed to do this for many years, that is why we find ourselves marginalised, ignored, and treated with contempt in some quarters. It is not God’s fault but our own, and we must rejoin Him in His work, he has not stopped, He has kept going. We must re-engage with God and rekindle the excitement of the early church and preach the good news.