Whether traditional in form or an innovative fresh expression, the common task of the church is to help people to see God, themselves and the world as never before, the Archbishop said at a recent conference in Oxford
.
At a Fresh Expressions conference on Friday last to explore the question of how the “mixed economy” of church might work in practice.
Mixed economy is a term first coined by Dr Williams referring to the coexistence of fresh expressions and ‘inherited’ forms of church.
Addressing Fresh Expressions practitioners from across the UK, the Archbishop explained his vision of the mixed economy as one in which churches in their various forms work alongside one another in helping people encounter Jesus, and discipling them at whatever stage in their faith journeys they may be at.
The future for Britain’s churches, he suggested, lies in striking a balance between “regular and demanding” church cell groups, community-wide gatherings with a capacity for “nudging others towards new vision”, and large-scale festivals and events that give people a glimpse of what the church is trying to create in the world.
Whether in inherited models of church or in fresh expressions, the Archbishop said that the “real heart” for the next generation would inevitably be bound up in the small group – or cell group – where people are able to form bonds of trust in one another.
“Building personal, face-to-face relationships is one of the things that will make the relationship between inherited patterns of church and new ones viable,” he said.
Although the hallmark of the mixed economy is a diversity of styles, the Archbishop stressed that the mixed economy was not about churches working in isolation.
“We are [not] looking for a church which is a sort of Balkan map of little independent, autonomous, self-serving groups doing what they fancy, finding the style that suits them, which is always a danger,” he said.
“[We are looking for] a context within which there is a flow of communication, good news and challenge between different styles of church life, which may respond to different personalities in different stages along the journey.
“What holds them together is Jesus, and what Jesus helps you see, and [through that] the landscape is transformed.”
The Archbishop suggested that the starting point for every church and every fresh expression was the encounter between Jesus and others.
“The landscape gets to look different when Jesus is around. People see things in a new way, themselves and one another, God and God’s world,” he said.