Shaping the future

People

Shaping the Future

The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham A STRATEGIC TEMPLATE FOR MISSION

Introduction

At this early stage in seeking to create a more mission shaped diocese the Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod, offer the diocesan family a strategic template based on four values, four challenges and four questions. All involved in diocesan leadership are asked to consider and own this template in order to make our diocesan outlook and ministry more mission orientated.

“The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches” Matt 13 vv. 31 & 32

Jesus used the image of growing plants to illustrate the kingdom of God and the life of the church. St Benedict used the word for trellis to indicate his rule for the community. A trellis or framework supports plants to grow in particular directions. This template is offered as a framework to support the mission and growth of our diocesan family life in sharing the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ in word and deed. Just as a trellis has gaps so this template provides spaces which need to be filled with mission shoots and branches rooted in our churches and communities.

A basic assumption of this document is that God is at work in his world, in other churches, other faiths, other institutions and individuals. We as a diocesan family are called to work together with them, bringing our own understanding of the gospel and our own life as a church. Joining together means we will be collaborative and ecumenical in the working out of these values and our place in God’s mission.

We invite leadership bodies at all levels of diocesan life ( parishes, networks, LEPs, clusters, deaneries, departments, chaplaincies, Bishop’s Council, Bishops Staff…..) to use the values, challenges and questions offered in what follows in your own community, cultural and mission context. For example a parish away day might review the life of the parish in the light of the four values; a deanery might use the four challenges to begin thinking about its mission strategy; and a PCC might use the mission questions to plan evangelistic opportunities.

FOUR MISSION VALUES

It is neither appropriate nor possible to offer a highly defined set of strategic guidelines which fit all. Neither would it be helpful to simply rehearse the main themes of the report “Mission Shaped Church” within a diocesan context. Rather the first perceived need is to delineate a set of mission values which can be owned by the diocesan family as a whole and translated into practical action within differing deaneries, clusters, parishes, networks and cultures. Our strategic template is value based and designed to encourage, challenge and support mission rather than direct it.

Why Values?

It has been said that “you value what you do and you do what you value.”
Also that you should "never change a structure before you change a value.”

If a structure is changed within our Church, for example a parish or deanery boundary, without changing a key value, then little permanent change takes place. The values people adopt effect their actual behaviour and action. If a church values welcome and hospitality to parishioners who do not normally attend church then change will take place to make the Church environment more hospitable. If this value is not in place then simply changing something structurally will not make a Church community more welcoming. This is only done by focussing on the change of attitudes of the people who are meant to be welcoming.

A good test case scenario for altering structures without adopting any rigorous missionary strategy through a values based approach is seen from the Victorian Church. When the 1851 census revealed that only half the population went to Church the response was to build more churches. This structural response did little to alter a decline in church attendance. Rather it gave the institutional church more structural problems (literally!) in terms of buildings. In our own times adopting new expressions of church structurally without first addressing prior questions of context, evangelism, discipleship and appropriate leadership for growing churches (both clergy and lay) is not going to be fully effective.

Where fresh expressions of church and network mission flourish these key prior values have already been addressed. It is not the mere adoption of a structure that has brought the added benefit, rather central or core values have been adopted and acted upon. A prayerful values based approach leads to an evolution of structural change in supporting Gospel values and avoiding change for changes sake.

The four mission values which have emerged from theological reflection and consultation are:

Discerning God
Valuing people
Serving Community
Enabling Change

Those four Values expanded:

1. By Discerning God we mean amongst other things
• Recognizing God is active outside the church, reconciling, calling, challenging, healing and bringing about justice.
• Making prayer for the kingdom and incarnational spirituality a priority from which action springs.
• Recognizing that God is concerned about this world and that we are called to make earth more like heaven.
• Recognizing the contribution of partner churches and other spiritualities to the mission of God.
• Offering worship that is sensitive to our cultural context
• Theologically reflecting on that context and our responses in the light of our scripture, tradition and developing our vision.

2. Valuing People
• Listening to and valuing other’s ideas and inputs.
1. Embracing diversity and ecumenical partnership
2. Going to people rather than expecting them to come to us
3. Hospitality
4. Facilitating lay leadership and fostering emerging gifts
5. Offering the Good News of Jesus Christ
6. The right people making appropriate decisions (subsidiarity)
7. Honesty and accountability
8. Good information gathering and communication

3. Serving Communities
1. Discovering needs
2. Working in places of great need
3. Participating in political and civic life
4. Workable and accessible structures
5. Creative use of resources (including people, church buildings and schools)
6. Effective communication
7. Collaborative working amongst ourselves and with local “Churches Together” groups and secular agencies

4. Enabling Change
• Sharing vision and values
• Giving permission
• Strategic planning and leadership
• Promoting and enabling local ecumenical partnerships and covenants
• Encouraging risk taking
• Trusting one another

Cultural Interpretation

These values will need interpreting according to local cultures, needs and Christian tradition: mission flesh will need to be put on their bare bones. The diagram below is an attempt to place these values in a general cultural and collaborative framework. It highlights the need to resource the diocesan family in theological reflection on mission and in understanding the cultures in which we now live, work and minister. A prior question in strategic thinking is always: “What are the cultures within which we seek to do mission?”

(NB. The cultural framework outlined in the diagram is illustrative rather than exhaustive.)

A Mission Statement?

The diagram also emphasises the fact that we are called to work together in mission as the one body of Southwell Diocese. “Joining Together in the Mission of God” could be a possible strap line which defines our collaborative intent as part of a diocesan mission statement which includes the above four values:

FOUR MISSION CHALLENGES

Early in the discussion of the report “Mission Shaped Church” the Bishop’s Council saw the absolute need to back mission priorities with appropriate deployment and resourcing. This applies to posts, buildings, planning and finance. Hence these four challenges to all:

Every post – a mission rationale
Every building – a community purpose
Every deanery – a collaborative mission plan
Every benefice – to give “more than enough” for its mission

Exodus 36:5

FOUR FUTURE MISSION QUESTIONS

In the light of the above, if we are to enhance our collaborative working as the Body of Christ we need to share our experience, giftings and needs. Hence these four questions which draw out collaboration and sharing of resources:

What will we do differently?     - specifically in mission ….
What must we stop doing?       - those things bring death rather than life!
What do we need?                  - new ideas, skills, resourcing, personnel, buildings ….
What can we learn together?   - as a diocesan family and as an ecumenical
                                                          partner to enhance our mission.

Conclusion

Working with this simple triplet of values, challenges and questions a church leadership team has a template through which to identify need and build a mission strategy which is flexible, detailed, and properly resourced. The diocesan family also has a tool which can share mission effectively and collaboratively.

The effective use of such a template, backed by diocesan resourcing through the Directors will:

Encourage a better understanding of the cultural contexts within which we are called to do mission.

Encourage diocesan, deanery and church leaders to own, promote and teach mission values.

Provide teaching and training resources for the exploration of these values and vocations associated with them.

Renew the traditional and create fresh expressions of church that arise from them.

Promote evolutionary change in our structures to create the best leadership and collaborative context for them.

Need us to adapt our central and local deployment and financial resourcing accordingly.

A paper prepared by the DCE and the 4 core Directors of Mission, Ministry, Social Responsibility and Education, January 2005 amended in the light of Diocesan Synod debate and further reflection by the Directors, February 2005

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