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TRANSFORMING PRESENCE
by the Bishop of Chelmsford, the
Rt. Revd Stephen Cottrell
What will the diocese of
Chelmsford look like in 2025?
The answer to this question
depends to a large extent on
decisions we make now.
For too long strategic planning
in the church has been limited
to time scales too short to
initiate meaningful change. We
expect too much to happen too
soon and end up either
disappointed or disillusioned.
Instead of a five year plan we
need a fifteen year plan. We
need to re-imagine what the
church could look like in 2025,
and then work back to discern
what decisions we need to make
now and in the coming years to
make this a reality.
This re-imagining also needs to
be the work of the whole church.
Of course it is the
responsibility of bishops and
synods to lead the church, but
this work is too important for
it not to be shared with the
whole people of God.
Consequently, since coming to
the diocese I have been engaged
in a listening exercise to
discern what might be the key
themes for the future mission of
God’s church in Essex and East
London, and what the levers of
change might be to enable this
hoped-for development and growth
to happen. This has involved a
visit to each of our 26
deaneries; residential
discussions with the Bishop’s
staff and with the Heads of
Department and Officers of the
diocese; an away day with the
Bishop’s Council, as well as
other meetings and
discussions with
individuals and groups. I am
also aware of the work I am
building upon. Hence the vision
for the diocese remains the
same, but how we inhabit and
develop it changes.
Four key themes have emerged. These were presented to the Diocesan Synod on March 2011 and have subsequently been the subject of much discussion and prayer across the diocese. Although these are things that have my full support, it is important to note that they have arisen from a conversation with the whole diocese, and build on the vision and priorities, particularly the centrality of proclaiming Christ and the need for a the church to be a transforming presence, that are already part of our agreed mission statement.
Inhabiting the World
Distinctively
The Christian church is the Body
of Christ in the world and each individual Christian a
member of it, each called and
equipped by God for ministry and
service.
It therefore follows that every
Christian has a ministry (more
of this later) and that every
Christian should live a
distinctive life. The way we
inhabit the world should be
different. This does not mean
that we are somehow better than
other people. It is manifestly
true that there are all sorts of
good and generous people who are
not yet part of the Christian
community. But it does mean that
there should be something
distinctive and attractive about
the way we live our lives.
Conversely, if our lives are
indistinguishable from anyone
else’s it is little wonder that
people conclude that the
Christian faith is our hobby; a
fascinating and exhausting
pastime, but not the life
changing transformation
that is evident in the lives we
lead Monday to Saturday.
By 2025 this must have changed.
Without this inner
transformation no other
worthwhile change will happen at
all, and we will simply carry on
managing our decline as
gracefully as possible.
Of course inner transformation
is the work of the Holy Spirit.
It
cannot be achieved by our
hard work alone. But just as
Elijah dug trenches and made
preparations before he prayed
that God would answer his prayer
and accept his offering (See 1
Kings 18:30-39) so there are
certain things we need to do in
order to create the fertile
ground in which the Spirit can
bring our faith to life,
enabling us to live out our
faith and give a reason for the
hope that is in us. First among
these is prayer. More than
anything else, we need to place
a new priority on becoming a
people of prayer, whose daily
lives are formed and punctuated
by our relationship with God in
Jesus Christ. This is what it
means when our vision statement
say our passion is Jesus. He is
the centre of our lives, and
this new life in Christ is
nurtured and shaped by a
life of prayer and a commitment
to
worship and the
discipleship that follows from
it.
Therefore - and before anything
else - these things must become
our priorities and must be
reflected in the work that is
done at every level of diocesan
life: in every church school, in
every parish community, in every
chaplaincy:
-
Teaching people to pray
-
Encouraging a much greater biblical and theological literacy
-
Developing a diocesan rule of life so that there is a unity between us over the sort of lives we should be leading as God’s people in this place and some sort of mutual accountability. This rule will not only be about our prayer - though it will be about this - but will encompass other aspects of Christian living such as giving, participation in worship, ministry in our daily lives and also the way we inhabit the planet itself, including issues of ecological, social and political well-being. It will form a basis of expectation about what it means to be a Christian in this diocese.