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This month’s news from British Religion in Numbers carries a link to an interesting mathematical study on church attendance and membership. John Hayward is a mathematician who applies statistical methods to analysing issues of church growth. As we shall see, he is well aware of the limitations of such methods, but is also convinced that they can … Continue Reading
I have spent more than 30 years giving feedback and encouraging others to do so in a range of professional, personal and ministerial contexts. These have included being a personnel professional in an FMCG multi-national, being an ordained leader working with lay and ordained colleagues, and in the context of theological education. As a result … Continue Reading
There is a great game you can play as an Anglican clergyman—I call it ‘numbers bingo’. You can play it whenever you are in a meeting with other Anglican clergyman, though it might work for other denominations too. You need to join in the conversation, and time how long it takes for someone to mention … Continue Reading
This is a guest blog post by Matthew Kirkpatrick, who teaches at Wycliffe Hall and at the University of Oxford. The Westminster Faith Debate series last autumn on ‘The Future of the Church of England’ finished with a session on ‘What does the Church of England offer the next generation?’ And no more important topic could perhaps be … Continue Reading
On Friday, Linda Woodhead expressed in the Church Times her serious reservations about the recent series of reports on change required in the Church of England (under the general heading of ‘Renewal and Reform’). Many of the responses I have read so far have been distinctly coloured by Woodhead’s previous comments and writing. This was, after … Continue Reading
Jim had learned to fly in the US Navy, and on retiring from the forces became a pilot for UPS. East Midlands Airport is a UPS hub, so Jim often found himself in Nottingham between flights. One year, he was stranded here at Christmas, and we met him at church on Christmas day and invited him … Continue Reading
Last week at our deanery synod, Mark Rodel gave a compelling presentation about fresh expressions of church and pioneer ministry in our context as a post-Christendom culture. Mark is part-time on the staff of St John’s, Nottingham, and also a Pioneer Minister in the diocese working in the Lady Bay area of Nottingham. Anyone who has been through … Continue Reading
Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn, one year in post and after having got to know the lie of the land, has warned that unless the Church reinvents itself in his own diocese, it would disappear like the region’s textile industry. I am convinced that we need to embark on radical change. We need to reinvent … Continue Reading
Here is my letter written to the Church Times this week: Dear Sir Thank you for the fascinating and insightful articles on the state of the Church. But two issues hover just under the surface and need more attention. The first is that the real need is not for greater understanding, but for greater willingness … Continue Reading
My previous two posts, reflecting on the findings on church growth, and then the particular issue of the age of selection of leaders, has provoked quite a discussion on Facebook. To put this in context, I include here some paragraphs from Bob Jackson’s book The Road to Growth which was published nearly 10 years ago in … Continue Reading
In my previous post on church growth research, I hinted at a number of issues in relation to training and deployment of full-time leaders. One particular issue surfaced in the comments, and I expand on it here: at what age should future church leaders be commissioned and trained? At one level, of course, this question … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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