Start The Week

e-xpressions May 08

Most STW readers will also subscribe to the Fresh Expressions e-newsletter - but if you don't here's the latest edition. To get on the list contact the FE office: contact@freshexpressions.org.uk

May 2008

Tel: 01865 311838
web: www.freshexpressions.org.uk
email: contact@freshexpressions.org.uk

e-xpressions

Bishops' Mission Orders go live

Bishops' Mission Orders provide a new framework for giving legal recognition to fresh expressions of church alongside the parish system. They are now officially on the statute book and we helped to lead three national training days in May for senior clergy, missioners and others. Potentially BMO's will affect every parish and deanery in England over the next decade. There is a new section on Share which gives you a basic introduction to BMO's and has links to the key documents and resources.

Time to shop

We have also produced with Paul Bayes a very short booklet as a beginners guide to Bishops' Mission Orders. It's published by CHP and sold in packs of 5 so you can buy them for your PCC or planning group.

You may not have noticed but in the last month, our online shop has got up and running. So you can now buy the Bishops' Mission Orders booklet and all our resources direct from the website.

Re:generation in Romford

Re:generation is a youth church in Romford which is part of the Methodist circuit there. The church provides a spiritual home to around 50 young people aged 13-21 and is led by Ruth and Jamie Poch, two Methodist deacons. Read all about it here.

A Tour of Dioceses and District Synods

Fresh Expressions has written to every Synod in the Church of England and the Methodist Church asking if we can have time on the agenda at some point over the next eighteen months. We want to listen to what is happening in your area, update every Synod on the good things that are happening across the churches and highlight the need for strategic thinking to encourage fresh expressions everywhere. There has been a very good initial response.

Exploring Pioneer Ministry

We are asked lots of questions by clergy about beginning fresh expressions in their own work or moving to a post which gives more scope for this. Surveys indicate that around a third of Methodist ministers are looking for this kind of opportunity as part of their next move. We've put together a short leaflet which summarised the advice we are currently giving.
More posts are being created to work in this kind of area particularly by Anglican deaneries. Read more about this here.

Help needed!

As a team we are revisiting the idea of 'the fresh expressions journey' and trying to find ways to describe how new communities begin, develop and grow. We'd value your feedback and insight into this. The latest version is on Share here. You can add comments at the bottom of the page to tell us how you would improve it.

Forthcoming

We've done a lot of work at Festivals over the Easter period and have presented seminars at Spring Harvest, ECG and Alive 08. Watch out for us at Momentum, the student conference linked to Soul Survivor over the summer where we hope to launch our new resource on Ordained Pioneer Ministry. More news on that next month.

And finally

Fresh expressions of church continue to grow in all kinds of places. I spent three days in Ireland this month with clergy and lay people in Cork diocese and at a big gathering of pioneers in Belfast. There were lots of stories of new beginnings and of lives and communities being changed as the gospel of Christ is taken beyond the churches to people who are hungry and thirsty for truth and good news. Keep going and every blessing.

Steven Croft

Share - get radical?

Andrew Wooding sends this from the SHARE website office:

Share website asks: are fresh expressions radical enough?

A page on Share, ‘God seeks to transforms society’, stresses the importance of being radical, and poses the questions: ‘Are fresh expressions radical enough?’ and ‘Will fresh expressions as a whole develop in a socially conservative or radical direction?’  

What does it mean to be radical for Jesus? What does it look like in our fresh expressions to be socially radical, trying to bring about change for the better in society? How far do we go with being theologically radical? In short: what, in God’s kingdom, is the real meaning of radical?

To join in the discussion and leave a comment, visit ‘God seeks to transform society’: 

http://www.sharetheguide.org/section1/2/transform/index.html

or respond to the Share blog at: 

http://www.sharetheguide.org/blog/archive/2008/05/27/the-real-meaning-of-radical

 

Open for You

Michael Nokes commends this book on welcome in the church:

Open for You: The Church, the Visitor and the Gospel by Paul Bond published by Canterbury Press £14.99. Details here.

Michael writes:
This is a FANTASTIC book on what it means to really be a welcoming church. It is an easy read and VERY practical. I defy any church leader to read it and not be challenged.

Narnia - an evangelistic text?

The second of the Narnia movies is in production and will offer another opportunity to focus on the gospel through C S Lewis' imagination. You'll remember that Robin Gamble in Manchester, and lots of others around the country, made the most of the last opportunity when "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was released.
John Bowen at the Canadian Institute of Evangelism explores issues of narrative evangelism in his thoughtful article Are “The Chronicles of Narnia” an Evangelistic Text?: http://institute.wycliffecollege.ca/?p=50

Cell UK Leadership Link

Here's the latest Leadership Link from Laurence Singlehurst and the team at Cell UK. This one has an article from cell church guru Bill Beckham, whose book "The Second Reformation" remains the classic text for this way of being church.

Download leadership_link_letter_may_08.pdf

Missional Bible

National Children's Adviser Mary Hawes commends this culture-friendly Bible resource:

Let me tell you about the Bible which Keith White has been working on for the last 21 years. It is now available in the UK at £8.99. It seems to me that it would be of great interest to any network reaching out to people who might find the traditional version of the Bible rather daunting. With this one you can read the narrative (accompanied by superb illustrations) without the details (which are still there, but set differently). I've seen a copy and have been more impressed than I thought I would be!!

 

You can read more about it here: http://www.wtlbiblepublications.com/ including the chance to flick through some of the pages to see the way it is laid out. And if you want some more details, they're here:

 

About This Bible

This is one of the most radical editions of the Bible since Gutenberg. It has 500 original illustrations, and has been produced for people of all ages from non-Christian and non-western cultures and backgrounds. Text is set crisply and without interruption using a simple method to denote the primary narrative (single column as in a novel or short story). The rest of the Bible (lists, laws, poetry, letters etc) is set in double column. There are thousands of notes in the margins; maps are placed where needed; so that the first-time reader knows help is at hand should it be needed. The Bible version used is the NIrV (created for readers of English as a second language). This Bible will reach way beyond the church and can be accepted by Muslim, Hindu and other communities.

Project Background

The idea for this Bible was born in an extended family in the East End of London, UK. It was conceived to enable the Bible text to speak to people “where they are”. So if you are a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or a believer in another religion then you may find this Bible a simple way of reading the Scriptures. If you have no background in religion you will find it equally simple to use. Portions of this Bible have been tested for over 15 years with people all around the world. The purpose of this edition is to give every kind of reader what they most need to know to keep on reading through the Bible.

The team that has worked for over 21 years to produce this Bible includes Dr. Keith J. White who wrote the introductions and all the notes in the margins. Notes have been checked by Committee for Bible Translation member Dr. Martin Selman, Vice-Principal of, and Dr. Debra Reid, Lecturer at Spurgeon’s College, London UK. Two editors have checked the Bible text and notes: Martin Manser and Emma Redfearn. Keith retains the copyright for these notes. Tony Cantale designed and conceived the layout and produced many of the maps. Andy Bisgrove produced all the illustrations. Andy retains copyright for all art. Over the last 10 years, Hodder invested upwards of $500,000 in this project. When Hodder cancelled all Bible projects, Mill Grove (Keith White) negotiated to have all the rights and product developed returned. Keith arranged for the GMT Trust to provide finance for the final layout and design to produce the first edition.

Unique Characteristics of this Bible

Format – First it presents the whole Bible in the usual order from Genesis to Revelation, but in a way that makes it clear what is God’s story and what is a different kind of writing. If you start at the beginning you will discover that the first chapters are like a traditional book with the text running right across the page. After a few pages there is a section that uses two columns, and then it goes back to the traditional format. This is the way the whole Bible is set out. If you want to follow the Bible story right through then simply read and turn to the next section of writing across the whole page. If you are interested in details, poetry, proverbs, laws, family trees and letters, you will find these wherever there are two columns on a page. The text version in this Bible is called the NIrV.

Illustrations – 500 pieces. The pictures are all original and created especially for this Bible and, like the maps, are placed where they are needed. The maps help you understand where things are taking place and how far and in what directions people in the stories travel. The whole purpose is that you can read through the Bible without having to turn elsewhere for the information you may need to understand what you read.

Play Your Part

Over at Liverpool University Sally Beyer and her colleagues have developed a beautifully produced and helpful discipleship resource.
See their website at www.windmillsonline.co.uk
And download the flyer: Download play_your_part_flyer.pdf

They write:
‘Play your Part’ encourages Christians to take a fresh perspective and some time out to look at their life and consider:
 
 Why am I here?
 What has God created me for?
 What does this mean for me as a Christian today?
 How can I become more Christ-like in all that I do?
 
It can help people  in your Parish, Church, and Faith Community  to  play  their  part  by  finding  and fulfilling  the  unique  role  and  potential  that  they have in life as a Christian. This  booklet  is  very  flexible. It  can  be  used individually  or  as  part  of  a  small  group  study  or course within your Church.   All  it needs are willing participants,  an  open mind  and  a  skilled  facilitator with a good knowledge of the bible.