Who needs congregations?

A growing number of people in the UK consider themselves committed Christians but are not part of any congregation. It's not just because they can't find one they like, but because they believe that traditional congregational life actually impedes faithfulness.

We had lunch with Mike Love and Tim Jones who both work for the Leeds Christian Community Trust -- a non-profit organization that provides seed funding to new initiatives, some Christian, some not. Mike was once a pastor, but became convinced that 99% of what was happening in his church had very little to do with the Kingdom of God or with forming disciples. British churches launched a "Decade of Evangelism" in the 199os, the the result was that church attendance delcined from 14% to less than 10%. In other words, the church as it has existed for so long has lost the ability to connect with people -- in fact, is a barrier to people hearing and living the Gospel. So, he basically shut his church down and released his congregation to live lives of dispersed faithfulness. Both he and Tim see their Christian witness in almost entirely incarnational terms, being expressed through the relationships they form and the groups they are a part of. Neither "goes to church," but both regard themselves as committed Christians.

I have to admit I was challenged by their radical vision of Christianity. But we both had some misgivings. We've observed that the "post-congregational" people we've met have all been shaped and formed in a congregational setting. They have picked up the narratives, practices, core beliefs and "ethos" of Christianity. The question is, without a gathered, discipling, teaching church, how with the NEXT generation even know what the Gospel is?

Rowan Williams has coined the phrase "mixed economy" to describe what is going on in the church today -- traditional forms and fresh expressions co-existing side-by-side and each influencing the other. That's what we're spending a lot of time reflecting on -- what that "mixed economy" will look like in this time of great ferment and transition.