1. Fishing nets
or safety nets

3. Need to start outside the
church culture

4. What are the differences
in life between 1950 and 2010?

5. Going out Coming In.
Christendom Spirituality
Authority Authenticity
Conforming Choosing
Community Self reference
Sunday Time Chaos
Organisations Networks

6. Changing culture ‘What is taking place is not merely the
continued decline of organised
Christianity but the death of the culture
which formerly conferred Christian
identity upon the British people
as a whole.’
Callum Browne
Death of Christian Britain

7. “ create a linguistic community which speaks to itself but gives up
responsibility to put the gospel in a
language which is understood by
the whole of society.”

8. Five implications
for the church
in Australia

9. A decline in religious affiliation
Christian
% %
No religion
% %
NCLS

10. A decline in Church Attendance
% attend at least monthly % %
NCLS

11. “ this majority (66%) presents a major
challenge to churches. Most of them are
unreceptive and closed
to attending church; churchgoing is
simply not on their agenda.”

12. “ this research helps us to understand
that the further people are from church,
(in terms of churchgoing) the less likely
they are to attend in the future.
Mission opportunities are very different
when to step over the church
threshold is an unknown experience…..”

13. 40+, female, with a University degree, in first marriage,
The absence of the younger generation
The average age of a
churchgoer is 53
Typical churchgoer is
40+, female, with a University
degree, in first marriage,
employed or retired.
NCLS

14. The rising influence of spirituality
“ The world today is as furiously
religious as it ever was and in
some places more so than ever.”
Rise in Wiccas from
in Australia was 373%.

15. Are People Searching and why?
73% of people are searching
70% of people are searching because of either the credit crunch, concern about personal finances or job insecurity

16. Changes in the church culture
Increased openness to new initiatives
NCLS

17. “ we understood mission one way and organised life to
accomplish it. We have
awakened to find out the
mission moved on us. To
keep focusing on mission, we
have to turn the furniture
around and face a different
direction. We may even have
to move into another room.”
Loren Mead. The Once and Future Church

19. 7 principles for remodelling church

20. Public worship probably isn’t the best starting point1
Public worship probably isn’t
the best starting point

21. Loving Service Forming Community Evolving Worship Evangelism and
Prayer and Support
Loving
Service
Forming
Community
Evangelism and
Disciple-
Making
Evolving
Worship
Listening and
Following God’s call
Connection

22. “ The foundation of being Christian is being community centred around
Jesus. Public worship is the
consequence of this reality, not
its creator.”
George Lings

23. There is no return address2
There is no return address

24. Half the picture
Ends of the Earth
Samaria
Judea
Jerusalem

25. The eccentric effects…
The ends
of the earth
Samaria
Judea
The centre and the Acts story shift
Samaria is not a return ticket
story moves from a focus on Peter to Paul
the Church goes west
church is done differently among Gentiles

26. “ cultural diversity was built into
church for ever when so early in the
church’s life the decision was
taken to abandon the
Jewish proselytite model.”
Andrew Walls

27. 3
Mission not models
shape the church

28. assume that we can automatically
‘The reality is that mainstream culture no longer brings people to the church door. We can no longer
assume that we can automatically
reproduce ourselves, because the pool of people who regard church as
relevant or important is decreasing
with every generation’
Mission shaped church report p11

29. “ it is not the church of God
which has a mission
but the God of mission
who has a church.”
Tim Dearborn

30. 4
This might change US

31. Dying to live “ I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat
falls to the ground and dies, it remains only
a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds.”
John 12; 23-6

32. TOGETHER TO GOD’S FUTURE
‘…do not try to call them back to where they were, and do not try to call them to where you are, beautiful as that place may seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have been before.’
Vincent Donovan
TOGETHER TO GOD’S FUTURE

33. “Safe, who said anything about being safe. Course he isn’t
safe. But he is good. He’s the
King I tell you.”

34. Welcome the three eccentrics5
Welcome the three eccentrics

35. The 3 eccentrics Who are the Philips? A Dangerous Deacon?
Allow space for the unknowns
Discover Cornelius
who evangelizes who
Pray for Pauls
Eccentrics will do it differently

36. The challenge of discipleship6
The challenge of discipleship

37. Relational in its emphasis Transformational in its outcomes
Simple in its nature
Relational in its emphasis
Transformational in its outcomes

38. The Pattern of Jesus Life7
The Pattern of Jesus Life

39. Incarnation
Cross
Resurrection

40. Which of these principles do you find most helpful? Why?
you find least helpful? Why?
Any questions/comments.