The experience of pioneers

Jonny Baker reports:

There have been a couple of pieces of research recently into the experience of pioneers and pioneers in training [in mission]

One isn’t yet in the public domain so I’ll come back to it when it does appear. But this piece of research by Beth Keith on behalf of Fresh Expressions is excellent. It was conducted through a series of small group gatherings of pioneers round the country. The information has then been collated into a series of themes raising a number of points and offering some recommendations. You can download the report from here on the Fresh Expressions web site.

Jonny then goes on to give a brief overview of the research - some interesting insights on sustainability, finance, over-optimism, lay workers and more.

Church in the Present Tense

Church in the Present Tense: a candid look at what’s emerging - authors: Scot McKnight, Kevin Corcoran, Peter Rollins, Jason Clark.

The book includes a DVD with interviews with the authors, as well as Rowan Williams, Brian McLaren and Jonny Baker.

Jonny Baker has written a lengthy post/review of this scholarly book in which he discusses many of its features and points out some things that are missing (such as women authors and interviewees). The book offers different stances on theology, mission and church, some of which disagree with each other. There are critiques of the church cultures as well as the cultures churches ‘live’ in, of institutionalism and emergence.

By the look of the reviews this is an important book on the current state of ‘church’ in its various forms (though not all of its forms).

At the end of his review, Baker quotes Rowan Williams: Church is what happens when people encounter the risen Jesus Christ; institution is something that comes much later...
Brazos Press 2011.

Curated communities

Jonny Baker has written before about curated worship, a concept that is only beginning to filter through in NZ, I think (though there may have been some exponents of it under a different name a decade or so ago: Mike Riddell and Mark Pierson, for example).

However, the idea of curating is a concept that's visible in the world apart from the church - as happens so often, something that the church is picking up in the culture is what the culture is either already doing, or thinking about.

Jonny points towards an explanatory blog post on the subject, written by Nathaniel Whittemore. He's looking at it in regard to the world of TED. Here's a paragraph Jonny quotes from the piece; it's worth reading the whole article for the way in which such thinking could impact communities in the church.

The explosion of curated membership communities is an attempt to create the shared experiences which bring us into contact with those people, giving us access to the amazing world which we can see, if not fully yet grasp.

Common Monasticism

Jonny Baker writes in his blog about receiving a copy of a 'brand new fat hardback' called 'Common Prayer - a liturgy for ordinary radicals'. He notes that it has nothing to do with the well-known Book of Common Prayer from 1662 - except of course, that the intention is similar behind the two books.

This book has come out of the new monasticism movement in the USA, and its authors include Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro.

Baker writes: "it's delightful - laying out liturgies and readings for communities or families (or an individual, though it's clearly a book for communal prayer) in the morning, midday and evening along with some songs and occasional prayers and reflections." He points out that the book is laid out in such a way as to give those to whom this daily liturgy approach is very new some explanation as to why the church has certain feast days and periods of time (Lent, Advent) in its year.

It also introduces the reader(s) to saints from across the two millennia, as well as presenting Psalms in everyday (but reasonably formal) language. You can check out three consecutive pages online here in order to get a taste of the Book's flavour.

More on curating worship

About a month ago I quoted from Jonny Baker's book, Curating Worship. Looks like this idea is on a roll, as now New Zealander, Mark Pierson, has put out a book with a similar title.

At this point I can't tell you much about it, but Mark has provided some info himself: I have recently had published a book that may be of interest to you, or to those you know who put church worship events together on either a regular basis or in occasional missional and public-space contexts.

Its a very Kiwi perspective on developing a new vocabulary and language for talking about public worship and ways of strengthening our worship whatever the style might be.

The product description on Amazon is a little skimpy, but there is one review on there: Mark Pierson doesn't just talk about what it is to curate worship. This well written and thorough book blends theory, theology, practical advice, ideas, examples and challenges in a very humble and vulnerably honest way.

It is a very personal book, written by a very wise and intuitive man of God. He shares thoughtful stories illuminating the process of creating significant, transformative worship experiences. He asks critical questions. He leaves room for exploration, imagination and reflection.

Mark has written this book the same way he would curate a worship event that allows the participant to encounter and draw into a deeper relationship with God. This book is Christocentric. It is inspiring, encouraging and will have a profound effect on your ministry.

Every church leader, pastor, worship leader/curator, and church member that aspires to participate in an authentic community of Christ should read this book. [The reviewer is Red Livingstone.]

Resources for Youth workers

There's a post on the Sophia Network (written, I think, by Jonny Baker - nope, by Jenny Baker [see the comment below]) which begins: Had a fantastic weekend at Youthwork the Conference where the theme was surrender. It was great to have lots of time to linger and talk to people over the weekend, after sessions and in coffee breaks. And wonderful to see so many gifted women contributing to the programme - Danielle Strickland, Rachel Gardner, Vicky Beeching, Abby Guinness, Helen Millward among others.

Hmm, that's interesting, you say....NOT! But wait, there's more. In the rest of the post 'Jonny' provides various resources for youth on such issues as:


Eating Disorders
Rites of passage for boys (based on the life of Jesus) and some contact names regarding ministering to boys.
Toxic relationships between boys and girls
Body image.


All of these have an underlying mission focus, and are worth following up on.

Worship as a possible circus

In many church circles the only gifts that are valued for worship are musical ones (and even then of a small range of music) or the ability to speak well (preferably in a good English accent). This attitude needs shattering, and opening up so that poets, photographers, ideas people, geeks, theologians, liturgists, designers, writers, cooks, politicians, architects, movie-makers, storytellers, parents, campaigners, children, bloggers, DJs, VJs, craft-makers, or just anybody who comes and is willing to bounce ideas around, can get involved.

Jonny Baker, from his recent book, Curating Worship

Some more about the book here.

Jonny Baker course

Jonny Baker is a well-known blogger, and photographer (his pictures appear in flickr.com). But he's far more than that. He's a leader/pioneer in mission training in the UK, and has just developed a new approach to training pioneer/mission leaders.

He and his team are using a foundation degree through Oxford Brookes University as the framework. You can read the latest newsletter-cum-prospectus online. This outlines the work required for the three-year course.

As Jonny notes, 'it's a pilot year so we'll be learning loads but it is still the real deal for those people who have signed up with us.' (Jonny doesn't like to use capital letters or much in the way of punctuation more than full stops in his blog posts, but don't let that put you off.)

He adds, 'if you are a pioneer mission leader, involved in a mission project or church planting, and yes even if you are selected as an ordained pioneer do get in contact if you're interested for next year.' The course is in modules, and you can do individual ones if you wish.

Mission in Walthamstow

Jonny Baker writes about an Australian Anglican priest, Tony Cant, who's working in the town of Walthamstow in England.

Jonny tells how Tony and his small church community have taken church out of the building and into a farmers' market, which Tony manages. This happens on a Sunday morning.

Not only that but the church community joins in and makes free cups of tea and coffee for those attending the market, spends time talking to the people around them, and passing out one of three postcards:

churched - welcome to st lukes on the high street your local anglican church

dechurched - disillusioned with church? you're not alone

unchurched - not interested in church? neither are we in the ways you are probably thinking about church

The congregation get together on a Wednesday night for worship and fellowship. Does the thought of shifting away from-always-in-church-on-a-Sunday-morning scare you?

The god of the market

Why is it that people who praise downsizing for its salubrious effect on the economy are invariably people in no danger of being downsized themselves? The market is now our supreme power. It is a god that requires human sacrifices to keep it pacified.

Russell Baker: The Market God. First published in the New York Times in March, 1996, but extraordinarily relevant to the current financial climate. The whole op-ed piece is worth reading for its wisdom in regard to the Wall Street mentality.