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+--- Thread: Article (UK) Anglican churches drop ‘church’ for trendy self-help & seeker services labels (/thread-16662.html)
(UK) Anglican churches drop ‘church’ for trendy self-help & seeker services labels - C C - Oct 14, 2024
https://rlo.acton.org/archives/126012-anglican-churches-no-longer-churches.html
INTRO: What on earth is an “NWC”? Well, options include Northwest College, Wyoming, and the National Water Council, an obscure statutory government agency in Britain. Thanks, Google.
According to a report from the rather grand-sounding Center for Church Planting Theology and Research, based within a Church of England seminary at the University of Durham, NWC means “new worshipping community.” A what? Is that what we once called a church?
The Church of England has lost its way, trapped in a mire of tortuous language, multifarious experimentation, and a superficiality that has led to doctrinal declension and a loss of confidence in its very foundations and, indeed, its Founder and head. We need to recover our confidence in being the Church of Jesus Christ and not some vague imitation or self-help salon.
Churches in decline often seek turnkey answers to reverse direction. In other words, they constantly search for a formula or method that, magically, will turn fortunes around, bring more people in through the door, make them more relevant (we are told), and connect with people “where they are.” Most of this is nonsense. I am not sure whether readers in the United States are aware of the formulation increasingly common in Britain that “Jesus meets us where we are.” Everybody nods, but it is a meaningless formulation. It might help turn the tide, it is believed, so that’s all right then.
The current temptation to “relevance” is to drop the word church itself. This is a profound mistake. To do so disconnects the Christian community from its deepest roots. The terms most often used instead of church illustrate the lack of both thought and theology.
Examples include congregation, community, movement, experimental, pioneering, network. In the Church of England, these are sometimes referred to as “fresh expressions.” Almost anything except church. I suppose a fresh expression is better than an old one—except it isn’t. Ancient truths of gospel and faith are being passed down the ages through that little word church. If I wanted to join a network, I’d sign up for a LinkedIn account.
I recall when “seeker services” were all the rage. The idea was that people were put off by all the “churchy” spiritual activities, such as prayer, which was hence left out. A moment’s reflection surely tells us that this is bizarre. A church that does not pray is, perhaps … not a church at all? In which case, dropping the name church might be a good idea!
The consequence of all this is the triumph of superficiality over substance. Is it possible that what people truly want is for the church to be the church and not pretend to be something else? After all, who else is going to be church for them?
Let’s return to the report from the Center for Church Planting Theology and Research... (MORE - details)