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Rev Dr Langley Mackrell-Hey, Summary of research finding undertaken through the University of Durham DThM, 2000-2016

Key findings - General Practice

The Methodist Church has always been committed to church planting and has experienced considerable success through ecumenical partnerships, both with well-established, and more recent denominations. Even so, whilst there are now well beyond 3,000 fresh expressions or ‘forms of church’ intended for people who are not yet members of any church, only one, at the time of writing, had constituted itself as a ‘church’ in the Methodist legal sense. Meanwhile, Faith and Order have stated that, ‘A small but significant number of fresh expressions have become a church of the circuit in which they reside.’ Whilst there are limited examples of new churches that do appear to fit the legal criteria, or churches who have become fresh expressions, the question still remains as to why so few fresh expressions are becoming churches in their own right.

Within British Methodism, a ‘church’ has a distinct status and can exist only when twelve ‘members’ unite. For a fresh expression to become a ‘church’ in its own right, practitioners must do three things:

• First, encourage newcomers to put their faith in Christ.

• Second, introduce what might be termed as ‘the Methodist construct of membership’ and make new members.

• Third, help these new Christians to discern whether God is calling them to form themselves as a ‘new’ church.

This research suggests that whilst the Church is good at initiating new projects, their ongoing development is inhibited by the fact that:

• The vast majority of fresh expressions do not have what might be termed ‘ecclesial intent’ or as Mission Shaped Ministry puts it, a vision of ‘becoming church’. Instead, they see themselves as new forms of worship or mission. At the same time, Fresh Expressions, and the broader vision for churches to engage with new people in ways that are appropriate to context, has had a profound impact, encouraging and enabling discipleship.

• The research uncovered numerous examples of where local churches broke with the Fresh Expression’s principle that ecclesial development should be focused at the heart of the emerging community. Fresh expressions were viewed by many within the wider church as a stepping-stone to Sunday morning worship, where the established church (or ‘proper’ church) gathered. The unspoken hope of the wider church was that these new people would integrate with them and bolster their mission. This research observed how, in reality, this rarely occurred - or if it did, the numbers of people committing to the wider church was small. The reasons behind this are complex, but the case studies within my research suggested that fresh expressions often reached out to people whose weekends were busy with family or work commitments, or who struggled to relate to those in the wider church who belonged to different social networks, and were often of a different culture.  

• Even when lay leaders and ministers insisted that their fresh expression had ecclesial intent, the wider church policy on where baptisms and holy communion were administered brought this into question. The primary locus of teaching and fellowship for newcomers to fresh expressions was the newly emerging Christian community. However, baptism, holy communion, confirmation, and membership of those attending fresh expressions was often conducted during Sunday morning worship, in the presence of the established church. This practice is questionable on two counts. First, it forces an unnatural separation between newcomers and the community that has nurtured them. Second, it disavows the emerging community of the opportunity of learning through the sacraments, and taking corporate responsibility for Christian nurture. Thus, whilst one might argue that fresh expressions lack the spiritual depth and sustainability required to incorporate baptism and communion, they will not be able to mature unless they are given the opportunity.

• Introducing membership into fresh expressions is proving difficult, but not impossible. Some adherents, especially those who have belonged to other denominations, raised genuine theological and practical questions about why they need to become members. Others resist membership because they are sceptical about associating with a religious institution, or lack the confidence that a declining church can oversee them effectively. However, without making members, a new church cannot be formed.

• In practice, if a fresh expression generates new Methodist members, they are incorporated into the parent church and are drawn into sustaining its existing pattern of worship and mission. This means that energy is lost within the fresh expression, and makes the prospect of twelve members uniting to form a new church, unrealistic. This is complicated further by the fact that Methodist members can only belong two one society, and by the fact that the prospect of forming a new church is often seen by practitioners as an act of disloyalty which will give rise to conflict.

• The balance of representation on church councils and circuit meetings puts fresh expressions at a minority, and gives the inherited church the ascendency in any discussions. This has the effect of drawing fresh expressions towards conformity, rather than allowing them to assert and develop their own identity.

Literature Review and initial
considerations for Oversight

Accessible parts of the Thesis:

Abstract and Acknowledgements

Intro, Method, and Thesis Outline

The full consultation on CPD, and the case studies are embargoed: I am however able to provide more detail on request.

Conclusion and Recommendations
for further action

Thesis Appendices

Consultation on Oversight

Sample Quantitative Survey 2

Sample Quantitative Survey 1

Probing Questions

Glossary of Terms

Bibliography