Abstract
The New Parish Movement is not something I have come across so I read this book with interest and a little surprise. The Anglican tradition from which I come is rooted in the local parish, and Martin Robinson’s critique of the place of the parish in the church planting movement in England provides some timely reminders. The term ‘parish’ can of course be applied to secular and ecclesiastical settings in a variety of ways. Robinson acknowledges this in the Introduction and leaves it to the reader to interpret in their own context, which at times confuses the early chapters. Here, Robinson provides a brief background to the consideration of place in the life of the Church, including the Fresh Expressions initiative. Much as this movement has come to see, Robinson argues for the Eucharist to be the focal point of a church community. He challenges churches to live out this sacrificial story of being the body of Christ, a means of ‘redemptive costly love in our relationship with our community’ (p. 130). I was therefore disappointed by his passing polarization of mission and pastoral endeavours, which appears unaware of the successes of Hope Together and other Christian agencies working with churches to build relational bridges into local communities.
The framework behind Robinson’s critique oscillates between mainstream practical theology and church planting theory. His connections between these different worlds are influenced by church experience in the UK, North America, Europe and Australia. For readers beginning to explore the developing church planting movement, he provides a useful perspective. A wide variety of theological thinkers are quoted, from Bonhoeffer, Newbigin and John Inge to John Hull and Bob and Mary Hopkins. Robinson proposes resource (minster) churches, a concept that may be familiar to many readers, and I would have liked further development of the notion of intercultural churches as opposed to multicultural churches as continuing places of hope in the inner city. He emphasizes the stability that the presence of a local church can provide but stops short of describing faithful capital as proposed by Ann Morisy and others in Faithful Cities, a follow-up to his reference to the Faith in the City report.
Eight elements are set out for the creation of a healthy community in Chapter 3; I was reminded of Robert Warren’s much used The Healthy Churches’ Handbook. It was heartening to see here under ‘community connectedness’ that Robinson points churches towards looking for places where God is at work, a reminder of David Bosch’s concept of the missio Dei. Listening to God in the world and to the other is a vital approach to mission across cultural barriers. There are tools for this in the model of Theological Action Research proposed by Helen Cameron and others which speak to Robinson’s desire for ‘the renewal of theology’ (p. 128) from the margins of secular culture, the academy and the Church. I hope this book serves to strengthen connections between this wing of the Church and the developing field of practical theology. All in all, this is a book that could be helpful in broadening the debate of church planting into local communities in the UK today. My prayer is that the community listening it promotes will strengthen relations with sister Churches that are already present and not compete with them.