A METHODIST tutor at my theological college defined Anglicans
pithily as people who wanted there to be an active, local church,
so that they did not need to go to it.
His words stuck. They left me with an abiding interest in people
who say that they belong to the Church of England, but only rarely
appear in its attendance figures. I want to understand them better,
and to encourage them to deepen their faith and sense of
belonging.
Four different dimensions of belonging have emerged as I have
studied churchgoing. I have named them activities, events, people,
and places. The central idea is that all four are present in each
of us but, for most individuals, a particular one is dominant. I
have grounded this theory in two large statistical surveys, and
tested it in a series of published academic papers. I am now
submitting it for a doctoral degree.
My own nature is to belong through activities: they are things
we commit ourselves to doing regularly. Sunday churchgoing is a
prime example. Most people who turn up expect to come again fairly
soon, and they sense that both the priest and their neighbours
along the pew expect them back, too.
People like me sit on committees, attend study groups, and join
planned-giving schemes. It is a biblical pattern, reflected in the
synagogue worship that Jesus shared, and in the weekly eucharistic
gatherings of the first disciples. We are the backbone of any
organisation. But the backbone is not the whole body - especially
if it is the body of Christ.
Event-belongers are much more comfortable with one-off
occasions. They are wary of being drawn into a regular time
commitment. Midnight mass, carol services, harvest festival, church
fairs and social nights, baptisms, and weddings are fine, as is
going to a normal Sunday service when on holiday.
My research suggests that, when they come, they are genuinely
seeking spiritual refreshment and closeness to God, not just a
cultural experience. Moreover, event belonging is also a biblical
pattern, as is evident in initiation rituals such as circumcision
and baptism, but also through special occasions in the Jerusalem
Temple.
People-belongers identify through relationships. I have found
that even ones who only rarely come to church often declare that
the vicar knows them well. In one parish, my churchwarden, Mavis,
who had lived in the village and taught at its school for many
years, played a crucial part: people felt close to God when they
were close to Mavis.
When we hear phrases such as "Children of Abraham", look at the
importance of Moses in the scriptures, or read Paul pressing his
personal credentials on the recipients of his epistles - here we
are deep into people territory.
The final dimension is that of place. Whether it is the iconic
building that gives the village its identity, or the place where I
made my marriage vows, particular locations heighten our awareness
of God. Biblically, we can think of the Temple, of the city of
Jerusalem, of the River Jordan, and of the Old Testament
shrines.
SEVEN years of studying belonging has taught me that a
preference for events, people, or places above activity is not a
proof of nominal or weak faith - at least, no more than is a
preference for Evangelical or Catholic styles of worship. It
reflects a different way of engaging with God.
To the extent that it can be shallow, then the same is true for
regular churchgoing. Whichever dimension of belonging motivates it,
the engagement with God can be real and profound. And it is there
in the Bible as much as in the present day.
I suspect that the reason why we do not take belonging more
seriously is because churches are mostly run by the activity set;
so there is a tendency for leaders and councils to assume that good
mission is about more and better activities. It is a strategy that
makes sense if the purpose of mission is restricted to growing
those dimensions of Christian faith that look good as part of
attendance statistics, or if we are doing mission primarily to
improve levels of regular, direct giving.
But if mission is, as I hope it is, about calling people into a
deeper relationship with God through Christ, then to focus
exclusively on activity-belonging is to write many of our brothers
and sisters out of the script. Put bluntly, if we are serious about
being mission-shaped, we should be looking to build fresh
expressions of mission, not just of church attendance and
finance.
TO BE part of the Anglican Communion is to affirm the holistic
vision that is captured by the Five Marks of Mission: evangelism,
nurture, justice, care for human need, and sustaining creation.
Armed by the marks, it becomes possible to translate them into a
programme for mission that reaches out to all four belonging
types.
It is a vision where activity-belongers take regular shifts for
the local foodbank; where place-belongers support efforts to help
the building be a focus for meeting needs; where people-belongers
cook the meals for the nurture group, because that special
individual took the trouble to invite them; where event-belongers
run a stall at the fête, or join a procession of witness.
Sitting, standing, or walking side by side as mission co-workers
in these kinds of engagements, people naturally reflect on why they
are doing what they do. When the task is demanding, they are
especially drawn to share and deepen each other's faith. It does
not matter that they may belong in different ways.
So, with five marks of mission, and four styles of belonging,
there is a rich agenda for any church to get stuck into.
My former tutor's acerbic comment contained more than a grain of
truth, but then and now, I take it as a grain to work with, not
against, as we reach out into our parishes and communities to help
each other grow in God's love.
The Rt Revd David Walker is the Bishop of
Manchester.