Why is this important for pioneers?

Are fresh expressions proper church? what is at the heart of church?what is at the heart of church? what must always happen in church?what must always happen in church? what can change?what can change? how can we preserve our identity?how can we preserve our identity? SHARE website

Distill the essentials of the churchDistill the essentials of the church Describe the richness of the churchDescribe the richness of the church Discern and define the presence ofDiscern and define the presence of the church the church Derive the practices of the churchDerive the practices of the church Develop the maturity of the churchDevelop the maturity of the church Ecclesiology

Church as spiritual societyChurch as spiritual society All Christians are one in ChristAll Christians are one in Christ Church as repository of true teachingChurch as repository of true teaching It gathers the faithful togetherIt gathers the faithful together

Holy “UP” Apostolic “OUT” Catholic “OF” “IN” One Enduring Marks Four linked Journeys Jesus focus Jesus followers Church is any expression of the life of Jesus in communal form OHCA

Organised Organic One Diverse Holy Charismatic Catholic Local Apostolic Prophetic Howard Synder, Decoding the Church. Baker Books

“ The great confession and the great identification constitute biblical ecclesiology. The church is born out of the koinonia of the Spirit, the identification with Christ. Identification with Christ through the Spirit, issues in the great community and the great commission.”

Dialoguing with- binding and loosingDialoguing with- binding and loosing Sharing with- Eucharist mealSharing with- Eucharist meal Transcending prejudice- baptismTranscending prejudice- baptism Valuing one another- multiplicity of giftsValuing one another- multiplicity of gifts Listening to one another- open meetingListening to one another- open meeting Five practices of the church John Howard Yoder, Body Politics. Herald Press

Unity in freedomUnity in freedom Catholic in partianshipCatholic in partianship Holiness in povertyHoliness in poverty Apostolic in sufferingApostolic in suffering J. Moltmann, The Church in the power of the Spirit. SCM 1977

“ The missionary church will not aim to spread its own form. It is not a subsidiary of the old one. It is a ‘new church’ of the same apostolate. It preserves its unity when it fulfils Christ’s apostolic mission to its own historical situation.”

Open before God before humankind before humankind before the future before the future Three dimensions

“ the theological doctrine of the church cannot be simply expressed in abstract terms about the churches timeless nature. It will have to provide points of departure for reforming the church, for giving it a more authentic form. Faithfulness and the fresh start are not antitheses in the history of the Spirit.”

“ And so from the start, where Jesus is, there is the church, the church is the assembly of those who are finding their relationships, their lives transformed by the presence of Jesus.”

Anglican ecclesiology It did not start in 16 th CenturyIt did not start in 16 th Century There is no definitive AnglicanismThere is no definitive Anglicanism It is globalIt is global

“ The Church of England is part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church worshipping the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It professes the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, which faith the Church is called to proclaim afresh in every generation, lead by the Holy Spirit, it has borne witness to the Christian truth in its historic formularies, the 39 Articles, the BCP and the Ordinals of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Preface to the Declaration of Assent. Canon C15

“This seems to be a mandate for some reinterpretation, re-expression and making the faith relevant, provided that this exercise, imperative as it is, remains faithful to the Scriptures and the creeds.” “ one that is full of vitality and manoeuvrability and which has the flexibility to make contact with the contexts of our pluralistic world. Paul Avis, The Identity of Anglicanism, T&T Clark,2007

“ The Church has to worship incarnationally, separated from the world by the offence of the cross, not by any alien character of the culture.” Lambeth Conference 1988

3 key marks catholic and reformedcatholic and reformed episcopal oversightepiscopal oversight baptism and eucharistbaptism and eucharist