n his Preface, the Bishop of Coventry notes that that the report is offered as a resource for theological reflection that can “inform the improvisations the church will continue to require in its practice of leadership and anchor them in faithfulness to the gospel”¦. How do the dynamics of Church life and leadership in the New Testament apply to the Church today? How might we draw faithfully and creatively on the rich traditions of the church over two millennia around authority, responsibility and service? How can we talk constructively about ambition in church life and deal with the realities of disappointment and the experience of failure? These are not just issues for those who exercise senior leadership in the Church of England. We hope this report can contribute to fostering serious thought and prayer about them.”
Professor Loveday Alexander, one of the members of the Faith and Order Commission, comments: “What we are offering, as a gift to the Church and as the result of many years of collective reflection, is a theological contribution to practical thinking about leadership development in the Church. We have tried to set out some of the deep spiritual roots of the Church’s understanding of what it means to exercise leadership within the body of Christ.”
This link leads to a talk given by Paul Perkin, vicar of St Mark’s Battersea Rise and Chairman of FCA-UK, a few months ago: http://gafcon.org/news/global-challenge-the-uk-situation
It gives an excellent overview of the positive and negative aspects of the situation in the Church of England, and I encourage anyone interested in this topic to read it. It certainly accords with my own observations and conversations with friends and family over the years.
We mustn’t lose sight of the positives: “There are many flourishing local churches, people coming to faith in Jesus Christ, young leaders being raised up, and new members being added to the church.”
But nor should we cease to pray that the Lord will sort out the negatives – many clergy are very worldly and these tend to be in the highest positions, church planting and church renewal efforts are frequently blocked (despite the well-known exceptions), and the success stories are really only “pockets” within a church that is generally declining.
Much room for prayer, and the fact that our God is Lord of All gives us reason for the greatest optimism.
Apologies – the talk was given at Nairobi in 2013, so 15 months ago, more than just “a few”! Time flies.