Bishop’s Charge to 2008 Diocesan Synod

Published: Wednesday 12 March 2008

In his first address, or ‘Charge’, to the Aberdeen and Orkney Diocesan Synod, on 8 March 2008, Bishop Bob outlined some of his objectives as Bishop:

I never thought I would ever arrive at the stage when I would become old enough to start saying to myself such things as: ‘I’ve seen it all before’ or ‘We’ve already tried that’ or ‘don’t do that because such and such will happen’”. Well, just to let you know, I have arrived at that stage in life.

I’ve seen and lived through all the various programmes of church growth and evangelism that has come from the Province over the last thirty years. When I was a curate we had ‘Gossiping the Gospel – telling little stories of salvation’.  Then there was ‘Spring to Life’, ‘Purpose of Your Church’ and ‘MISSION 21’.  Even earlier there had been ‘To serve Thee well.’

And in my last two years in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane the Bishop had set up a professionally run ‘Strategic Review’ for the Diocese as the prelude to a deliberate programme of mission.

And surprising as it may seem through ‘having seen it all before’, programmes of church growth still excite me!

I say this because, as those of you who were electors last year will recall me saying, I have yet to work in churches that are declining. I have seen church growth at local level and can verify how scary it is once you set yourself on the path of deliberately planning for it and working towards it.

It is scary because as congregations we have become all too easy at the pain-free management of decline. Various of you have heard me say those words before. I repeat them now, and will repeat them again and again because we need to find ways of escaping from the presumption of decline. My former college principal, Alistair Haggart, a man who I revere greatly, said to us as ordinands that we were being prepared to serve in a church in decline. Factually that was a correct statement, but we must not accept its inevitability – ever.

So, somehow, the task before us is to reverse the presumption of decline and change the mindset of ourselves individually and of our congregations corporately towards the reality that churches can grow.

I read a PhD thesis recently about the MISSION 21 programme. One of the arguments laid out in that thesis was that a programme of church growth will only be of limited success if it deals with peripherals and does not change the whole ethos of the congregation. A few congregations have responded markedly well to MISSION 21 but many have only done so marginally.

My aim with you will be to create conditions whereby each congregations begins to identify how it can begin to sow the seeds of local growth. If your congregation is tiny and dispirited, before it can grow it needs to rediscover confidence in its faith in the Lord who saves. The first move in growth is from a disheartened congregation of three to a buoyant congregation of three. Then there might be the chance of a fourth coming along.

Prayer is crucial for church growth. Prayer, on its own, won’t make a congregation grow, though it is a necessary precondition of growth. If people individually and collectively don’t pray, then growth that does take place will lack deep rooting and will risk drying out in heat or being frosted away.

My initial priority for church growth amongst you will be to find ways by which local congregations can set their own priorities for enabling, firstly, the possibility of church growth and then, secondly, for nurturing and encouraging its reality. That won’t come quickly, nor will it come at the same speed for everyone. I will deliberately use some places as testing grounds and as time moves on, develop and share models of good practice between locations.

In other words, I am not reinventing a Diocesan Model of Mission that is imposed top down. Rather, individual congregations must be encouraged to identify local and achievable models of growth that can be put into place in the churches and communities where we are. This is where good leadership and secure levels of trust are paramount.

The position of the clergy and wider church leadership (including Lay Readers, Elders, Religious and so forth) will be vital. In the clergy and lay readers conferences later this year I will be working to discover how diocesan resources and personnel can assist local church growth initiatives. Vestries too will need to play their part and will be crucial in each place for what lies ahead.

In all this we must harness the energies and the treasures we have been gifted by the Holy Spirit. Clearly some of these are deep within each of us, as our soul is touched deeply. Some are external and, although it may not seem immediately obvious we must harness and multiply the physical treasures that our predecessors have handed on to us.

I am distressed, if I may add this point, that so many church properties have been sold in recent times. I saw this happen in my former Diocese especially the sale of rectories and parsonages. A short-term windfall led to long-term financial loss in every case.

Amongst the outcomes of this deliberate orientations towards growth will be the following:

• Raised confidence in one’s own identity as a Christian, both in your neighbourhood and workplace.
• Raised confidence in your local congregation as a community of people working to make the Father’s kingdom come on earth as it has in heaven.
• Raised confidence that looking inward personally and around into the community generates the imperative of looking beyond our shores to Christ’s mission in the wider world beyond.