For Good: The Church and the Future of Welfare by Samuel Wells et al Reviewed

There are various stories around the decline in the significance of the Church in the UK. Some start in the mid to late 1800’s, others focus on the first world war, some look at the changes in British society in the late ‘60’s whilst more argue it is to do with the introduction of the welfare state in the mid 1940’s. In truth it’s probably most appropriate to draw a timeline which marks all of these as significant stages in a process, which have differing significance to different denominations and churches. For Good: The Church and the Future of Welfare by Samuel Wells with Russell Rook and David Barclay lay out an argument which focuses on the argument that the introduction of the Welfare State was the key point of significance. Hence this book engages with a re-evaluation of how the Church can engage with the review of welfare occurring 75 years after the Beveridge Report.

The significance of the date they choose to effectively link secularisation to matters, because it underlines a narrative which can be used to argue that the state has come in and replaced some of the functions of the church in providing care, education of the young and support those in distress. To argue that these were the “right functions” for a church in a society one has to buy into the argument, to some extent at least, that Christianity should have a privileged position in society where it is the recognised provider of essential services. Therein lies my problem with what is excellent a really good book which has some excellent arguments which I will go on to talk about.

There is a catch 22 situation which was excellently illustrated by Steve Chalke, of the Oasis Foundation, at the launch event for this book, which took place at Lamberth Palace. At the conference Chalke, one of the speakers, spoke about the need for infrastructure and governance to be in place for effective engagement at a national level in the provision of goods and services. He identified why, certainly regarding infrastructure, the Church of England was able to do this in ways others aren’t because they are a state church with a parish system. Yet, he was the only speaker that day to talk of spirituality rather than the Church/ Christianity or occasionally faith. The Oasis hub project in Birmingham which is one of the case studies in the book is also the only one which stems from the values we associate with spirituality and Christianity rather than from a congregation looking at how they can help the community, and seeks to work in a truly collaborative way where people are done “with” rather than “to”. Whilst the others reflect these values this hub has this as it's primary purpose rather than an additional one, which a congregation has. His organisation is also the only one to have actively, and I use this word advisedly, seek to oppose institutional homophobia and trans-phobia rather than seeking to protect privilege by continuing to give people the right to discriminate. (see their about section on their website).

I underline these points at the start of my review because they are important in understanding the unease as well as feelings of joy and hope this book unleashed in me as I read it.

The book is essentially as is recognised a report, and as such is too short to be truly nuanced. At 90 pages it can only ever be an overview. Hence, I think having a set of underlying assumptions which are not properly argued.

However, as I said it is a valuable text which provides much hope and gives a useful tool for thinking through social engagement in the contemporary society.

The biggest contribution I think this book makes is seeking to move from a deficit approach (which is what Beveridge took) to an asset based approach. Where as Beveridge said there were five great giants to be slayed (and if you’re not familiar I would point you to You Tube and a rather useful revision guide from History Helper) Wells et al argue there are five great goods society should be aspiring to: relationship, creativity, partnership, compassion and joy.

We have to be careful when talking about these things because focusing on the assets can detract from identifying the reasons these are lacking in our society and dealing with the root causes. This is avoided by the approach of dealing with some of the root causes by focusing on the assets as active verbs rather than simply ends to be achieved. It is an approach which can be seen in the case studies given.

Another strength of the book is it’s recognition of the need for flexibility and fluidity in approaches of social action looking across the spectrum from contradiction to co-operation. This is talked about in a real way which recognises what might start as a protest can end up in active collaboration with those who were at some point in the process “the opposition”.

There are also practical warnings in the book regarding making sure a project is fit for purpose and time sensitive.

So would I recommend it, yes but with the caveats referred to earlier. I’d also recommend some useful supplementary reading to go alongside it though, in order to develop it into the most useful text it might be.

The first text is Sherry Turkle’s Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. My reason for suggesting this as accompanying reading is that it looks at the way modern developments in technology are acting as barriers to the assets being discussed and diminishing these assets in our modern society. It is not a Luddite text, but rather it articulately discusses how our technology is a tool which we need to use well. Churches and Christians need to be as aware of their use of technology as other sectors.

The second text which I would suggest the reader engage with is Michael Volland’s The Minister as Entrepreneur: Leading and Growing the Church in an Age of Rapid Change. This book both provides a theological exploration of the approaches being advocated in the Wells text as well as some practical pointers on how to go about this. It also deals with some of the criticisms that might internally be leveled against congregations and ministers taking the type of approach advocated in the book.

A third text, for those wanting to see some different case studies and to examine how spirituality and supporting social action can come together would be The Pioneer Gift: Explorations in Mission edited by Jonny Baker and Cathy Ross. (Which I have also reviewed in the past on this blog)

My final piece of accompanying reading would be Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today by Stephen Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder. This enables one to reflect on how context matters and how to shape this type of work as Christian but in a society which is more pluralistic than the Wells text might acknowledge. 

The Invisible Church by Steve Aisthorpe Reviewed

Invisible Church by Steve Aisthorpe is a book I was eagerly awaiting having heard some good things about this study into Scottish Christians who were not church attenders. It is a book which has some excellent cartoon illustrations from Dave Walker whose work you may be familiar with.

The book acknowledges that it builds upon the work of Francis and Richter in Gone for Good? And Alan Jamieson’s A Churchless Faith. What it fails to mention is that both these books are somewhat dated now. Gone for Good was published almost 20 years ago and A Churchless Faith published in 2002 was followed up by Church Leavers: Faith journeys five years On in 2006. The texts this study is building upon are therefore not cutting edge. Yet, as Aisthorpe acknowledges they are still useful.

What I was surprised about was that he did not make mention of much of the work that has arisen on the subject of pioneering and which has itself build on Jamieson’s work. He does make passing reference to FreshExpressions and new monasticism as well as the recent Church Growth research but I felt the text could have made more use of some of the contemporary work. It was a particular loss that it was clearly produced just prior to Grace Davie updating her text on Religion in Britain since 1945 and producing Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox. I believe that reference to this updated text would have been particularly useful to the author.

The sample for the qualitative part of the study was relatively low at 30 interviewees. However, Aisthorpe does make use of other social survey material which had a much larger data set and used a random sample.

It was a highly readable book which was easy to work through, but perhaps that was part of the problem with it. It was too readable and seemed to lack depth. There were so many places where I wanted him to expand because he seemed to be only skimming the surface of some very important points.

One area where the book was very good was critiquing some of the stories and studies which have given rise to a range of assumptions about who leaves church and why. His myth busting chapter two was well balanced and made some important points which people who have not been closely following the development of the secularisation debate in the UK may be unaware of. This, summed up both the strength and the weakness of the book for me. It provides an excellent introduction to the current situation but for the more knowledgeable reader if felt sadly lacking.

The “So What? Questions and Activities for Further Reflection” sections at the end of each chapter were useful reminders and provided some useful tools for reflecting on my own practice as a local preacher and experience as a church member.

Whilst he is wary of the models of stages of faith as put forward by Fowler and others this topic is what he is really discussing in various forms in the chapters on “exit routes” and “life really is a journey”.

My favourite chapter was “A Longing for Belonging” which explored a range of issues related to welcome and inclusion in churches beyond those topics which are normally included.

The view of the church which came out of this was one which was realistic, if at times stark. I think these parts of the book are important for all of us to consider.

As with many others Aisthorpe is of the view we are at a pivotal moment in the history of the church and in the mist of something happening which we need to be ready to go with. He highlights some of the risks associated but this book explains why they are important.

Would I recommend the book? Yes, if you are new to the topic or if you are a local preacher, etc who needs a kick up the backside. As I say it is certainly very readable.

The Rise of the Laity???

The role of the laity seems to be coming, finally, into sharper focus. One example which exemplifies this is WATCH who are advertising several events aimed at exploring this theme including one which is only for lay women. These invents include a free one entitled Rediscovering the Laity - a day with Prof Elaine Graham in Birmingham on 3rd May. This is something I applaud and welcome.

For too long the discussions and arguments have focused on the hierarchy and women gaining access to that. Now, I don’t want to lessen the importance of that fight but I do want to highlight some of the things which that has allowed to go unchallenged.

The increasing growth of women in the church working a quadruple shift where they have been seeking to balance not only work, caring responsibilities and housework but also church responsibilities too. The growth of this quadruple shift has not been noticed, I would argue, because the institution to some extent has held onto the model and ideal of nuclear family where the husband took the instrumental role of breadwinner and the wife the expressive role of caregiver.

There is one area where I think the impact and contribution of this quadruple shift needs to be particularly noted and that is with the growth and leadership of Messy Church. The 2013 Church Growth Study data (strand 3b) showed that 75% of Messy Church initiatives were led by women. At the same time the study showed that 67.7% of women who were involved in leading Fresh Expressions (including Messy Church) did so in their “spare time” compared to 32.3% of men.

Whilst this is great I do wonder, in an age when we are becoming increasingly aware of the need for clergy to take regular time off to avoid burn out, whether we are ignoring the wellbeing of many women (and lay men) in our congregations. The reason I focus on women is because disproportionately they are likely to be women because they are more likely to be within our churches (as this recent PEW research on The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World yet again highlights).

My own research, a few years ago now, was into single parents in evangelical churches. This noted how as most single parents with caring responsibilities are women for their situation to be noted and the issues of invisibility around them to be met there needs to be a focus more upon the laity. In addition to single parents I believe this kind of focus may also help carers, who are also more likely to be women.

For this to happen though there needs to be both a focus on the contribution of the laity but also the demands and issues outside church which the laity, particularly, face and which often have an invisibility within church. I am not so certain the latter will happen.

The reason for my concern that this new focus on the laity will not be as positive as it might be is twofold. The first reason is that I am not sure what the agenda behind this focus is. Is it a real concern for the laity or is looking in an age of increased cost-cutting in churches at how the resource of the laity are being and may be better harnessed and used?

The second reason for my concern is that I worry this push for the recognition of lay women may be coming for an academic or professional elite whose privilege means they are seeking for their “professional” contribution to be recognised.

Now I hope I am wrong, but perhaps I have been around the church too long and so am naturally cynical when I should be hopeful. I understand the system of gatekeeping which exists and who has the entry in the first place to get these types of discussions on the table.

The other reason for my cynicism is the fact I know it is often voices, such as my own, who use their DM’s to kick at doors asking for the recognition of the contribution of the laity.

I have done it a lot over the last few months as a lay chaplain. I am a member of the laity who has entered the “professional” world. I am there asking for my place as a professional to be recognised when people are saying that through initiatives like Chaplaincy Everywhere the role of lay chaplains as “part-timers” or more often “volunteers” is being recognised and valued by the church. I am there saying, yes and so it should be BUT for some of us lay ministry is our vocation and professional career and we want to be recognised on an equal basis to ordained people doing similar roles. We are not the same in one sense because we have taken a different route into this work but we want parity of esteem to exist and our training, experience, calling and the actual work we do to be acknowledged appropriately.

However, as we live in resurrection hope I am going to try and be less cynical and end by celebrating the signs of new life and the new recognition of lay people which is taking place this spring. 

Holy Habits by Andrew Roberts Reviewed and Set in Context

There is a growing argument that there is an increasing need for people to develop good quality religious literacy in order to navigate the late modern world. This was one of the core themes of the four public lectures Grace Davie gave as part of the Birmingham University Cadbury series. For Christians that means not only understanding other religions and wider culture but also developed more nuanced literacy about their own faith and the different forms of language and communication that religious literacy should take within it. For those who missed the lectures the think tank Theos is going to reproduce the lecture content within a publication.

This increased religious literacy involves going back to basics and examining in an intelligent way the central concepts of discipleship. It also involves coming alongside people to help them learn how to reflect on their faith and actions arising from it in an intelligent way individually, corporately and globally. To do help people do this in a form which is easily accessible and can appeal both to the academic or “religious professional” and the average lay person is not an easy task. Yet, it is a task which Andrew Roberts (Methodist Learning and Development Officer for Bristol and the West Midland) succeeds in with his new book Holy Habits.

The book comes in two halves. The first talks about the “nature of discipleship” and puts aspects of charismatic and Pentecostal renewal as well as the Fresh Expressions movement into a wider context. The second half focuses upon the “nurture of discipleship”. It goes through a set of ten practices which are at the core of discipleship using Acts 2 as the passage to identify these practices.

It is a book which shows a real skill in bridging a series of complex fault lines within contemporary Christianity and I wonder if Roberts is one of the few who could write a book like this because of his unique set of experiences. He seems to some extent aware of this as he draws on these experiences to at times use autobiographical examples. These include his experiences of being a student at York and going to one of the churches which was recognised to be at the centre of the charismatic renewal of the period. They also include reference to his role within the Fresh Expressions movement and also his early life as a financial analyst within the motor industry.

In addition to these experiences this Methodist also brings in a narrative deeply rooted in the theology and thinkers of this denomination but not restricted by it. Anybody familiar with Methodist theologians will see what on one level amounts to a roll call within the book (Jane Leach and Francis Young seemed to be amongst the few obviously missing).

What shines through in this book is vulnerability and authenticity as well as intelligent thought.

It is a book that the individual should not rush, unless like me they read it to get the initial feel and then intend to go back to slowly work through the book. It is not a book which seeks to give the reader the right answer but rather to help them think, reflect and act both individually and corporately.

I read this book a few days after watching Robert Beckford’s excellent BBC documentary The Battle for Christianity. The programme which was an excellent production featuring a number of top theorists and churchmen (including Grace Davie, Linda Woodhead and the Archbishop of Canterbury) as well as  grass roots street pastors. As somebody interested in the local context of Birmingham I was interested to see Tim Hughes and the new Gas Street initiative featured as well as Birmingham Street Pastors. 

Both the programme and the Roberts book reflect that there is no longer one size fits when it comes to Christianity in the UK now and that we need to recognise this. In addition to the impact of immigrants there is also an increasing diversity in style of worship and theological outlook. There is also, as Woodhead explained in the programme, differences in the level of commitment that people want to give towards religion based upon whether they see it as a primary part of identity or not. One of the strengths of Roberts’s book is that whilst it puts an emphasis on community it also allows for individualism within that. That is to say we all have our own styles which help us develop personal discipleship whilst at the same time we will also have to at times move beyond our own preferences to benefit the whole community.

This way of looking at things which takes the important principles of faith and looks at how to apply them in the contemporary mix of contexts not just through Fresh Expression type is refreshing. It helps develop that good quality religious literacy but it also is contributing to some new and exciting discussions around church growth. This includes the work of David Goodhew and his team but also goes beyond it including the initiatives such as the forthcoming Rethink Church conference.  

Of course we cannot just look at these things in an ethnocentric bubble and part of our increased literacy has to be understanding how religion and faith are operating and changing globally. This is where the work of the International Panel on Social Progress which Davie highlighted during her Cadbury lecture series and of which she is a key part of the panel on religion is important. The work of the panel is due to be opened up for public consultation and discussion in July of this year and I believe that it will give us a clear picture of what some of the global aspects to be borne in mind are.

Happy, Hopeful and Rejoicing about LGBT Spiritual Growth

Over the last couple of months there have been a few things which have occurred which have made me pause, reflect and rejoice about the way the church in the UK in the widest sense is developing with regard to LGBandT Christians and the Spirit seems to be moving. It has been like seeing the buds emerge on the trees at the beginning of Spring.

One of those things was the announcement of Diverse Church which is a sister organisation to the Two:23 Network. This is a supportive organisation for young people aged 18-30 who are within evangelical churches. It has a closed Facebook page and as I understand it has a focus on discipleship and mission as well as support. Seeing the welcome this new group received on Twitter this week, from people with differing positions with regards to LGBandT issues, was heart warming.

Another bud of hope was the announcement of the Two:23 network they are having an extra meeting in June. In May they have respected Sociologist Dr. Kristin Aune, co-author of Reclaiming the F Word and Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith amongst other books. The development of this network over the last couple of years into a space for Christians to come together to worship together and grow in understanding and discipleship has been important. Aune is speaking in an earlier meeting than planned as Bishop Alan Wilson has had to reschedule. Bishop Alan has recently spoken at the Changing Attitude Unadulterated Love event.

Additionally this week I read on Twitter that two figures who have had a significant role in helping try to move the dialogue on LGBandT issues forward in evangelical circles met together for the first time. This may seem like a small step forward but I regard the way in which people with particular giftings seem to be coming together as another sign of hope. One of these figures was Vicky Beeching who also tweeted this week she will be speaking on the topic of LGBT Theology at Greenbelt this year.

The announcement by Accepting Evangelicals that they have now launched a YouTube channel is another small but significant step forward. Amongst the videos is one with a couple who have also been involved in leading Affirming Baptists, a network which has been going for over a decade and which appears to have a new, much more visually attractive website.

As I decide to take a look around the websites of various organisations to assess what the current situation is I was pleased to see on the Inclusive Church website that Dartman, Longman and Todd are publishing a series of books on inclusion; the first two being one on Disability by John Hull and the second on Mental Health by Jean Vanier. The series also includes one on Sexuality by Susannah Cornwell. The Quest site for Catholic LGBT Christians in the UK had an interesting review of Faithful to the Truth: How to be an orthodox gay Christian on their site.

On the subject of books Queering Religion; Religious Queers edited by Yvette Taylor and Ria Snowden is launched in June. Linked to some of the material referred to in this book The Weeks Centre based at Southbank University is putting some of the material collected during their Making Space for Queer Identifying Religious Youth project together for an art exhibition.

With regard to Outcome the organisation which exists to support LGBT people (but primarily has it's focus on L and G) within the Methodist Church it is good to see that they have the President of Conference joining them to lead worship at their forthcoming Annual Public Meeting.

It has also been good to see the growth of the recognition of the T within many of these groups and so the support for that group is available more widely. It has also been good to see the start of a wider recognition of the B (bisexuals). One of the key figures who has helped the recognition and integration of the T is Rachel Mann a trans, lesbian, Anglican priest who is also an author and speaker. Her book Dazzling Darkness has helped take recognition and understanding forward in a significant way. Mann has been one of the first speakers for LGBT Christian Fellowship Hull and East Riding, one of a number of new regional groups emerging. Another aspect, highlighted on the Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship (QLGF) site is the openness the new head of Stonewall has shown to working with the Trans community. 

With regards to other established groups MCC continues to grow as a denomination. LGCM I note has Prof Robin Gill speaking at their forthcoming Annual General Conference. The blurb on the LGCM website quotes Gill as saying, "From my study of the Synoptic Jesus I have concluded that four virtues are especially important and distinctive, namely: compassion, care, faith and humility (together with a strong condemnation of hypocrisy). I would plan to talk at some length about these four virtues and one condemnation which I believe are crucial for all interpersonal relationships, including sexuality".

One of the things I find so exciting about all this is the way in which LGBT Christian events are now not ghettos where the politics or pain are exclusively focused upon. It's not about sharing sad stories and getting angry now, although support is still there and the fight for equal rights and recognition does continue. What has happened is a shift to worship, theological reflection and discipleship building as the core themes. There is also a greater support from straight allies and blurring of the lines between who is gay, straight, bi or trans. Speakers are speakers who are good and relevant their orientation is no longer an issue, the focus is now on the content of their message.
*Note in preview the last paragraph is showing up in a different font, no idea why it is doing this and can't seem to fix it so apologies.