7. Fresh Expressions

The term "fresh expressions" has become very trendy at the moment, but there is still a great deal of confusion about what the term actually means. It can also become entangled with other themes and movements in contemporary church life (see Some Definitions).

The basic issue is how the church in England connects with the culture of England (see Sunday Scouts). This is not a question of style or content but of form: how should church life be arranged so that it connects with people where they are?

Part of the problem is that much of church life happens behind real and metaphorical walls. Rigid structures prevent us from sharing the hope we find in Christ. We need approaches to church which are more liquid; in which questions of in or out become irrelevant.

This was the challenge Tim Clapton raised with the LSM Project Group. It is not enough to speak about getting "out there"; we need to remodel church so that there is no "out there" to reach out to. The Christian community needs to be immersed in the community around it so that it can be incarnate salt and light...

The issue of faith in the workplace is crucial here - and in the home and in the sphere of entertainment and culture. God's people are already present in the world, although they may not realise it... This is a challenge for preachers and church leaders, but there are also structural and strategic issues...

We do need more fresh expressions in Milton Keynes - new forms of Christian community that connect with the culture of the city - alongside inherited models of church in a mixed economy church. The question is how?

The next steps undoubtedly involve the slow development of a shared vision, but there will also need to be some education and training (see Fresh Expressions in MK). We may also need to find ways of setting aside some people and resources for the task. I wonder if we may need some form of fund or advisery group to encourage the development of emergent Christian communities?

The whole issue has particular relevance and urgency in MK because of the high number of "new communities" which have been built over the years and will continue to be developed in the years ahead...

This will be an interesting area of growth in the next couple of years. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out...