theories of theological reflection on practice, Pattison suggests deploying the method of critical conversation as a fairly simple way of trying to understand the complex relationship between life situations, theological analysis and engagement with 29 See for example Elaine Graham, Heather Walton and Frances Ward, Theological Reflection: Methods (London: SCM Press, 2005); Patricia O’ Connell Killen and John De Beer, The Art of Theological Reflection; Paul Nash and Sally Nash, Tools for Reflective Ministry (London: Society for Promoting Christian Literature, 2009); Heather Walton, Writing methods in Theological Reflection (London: SCM Press, 2014). 30 Pattison builds on the work of Don Browning, Laurie Green, Leslie Houlden, Robert Schreiter, Michael Taylor and Melanie Williams. See Stephen Pattison, “Some Straw for the Bricks: A Basic Introduction to Theological Reflection” in James Woodward and Stephen Pattison (eds.), The Blackwell Reader, 144-145. 31 Pattison, “Some Straw for the Bricks,” 135-145; Pastoral Care and Liberation Theology (London: SPCK, 1997), The Faith of the Managers (London: Cassell, 1997); Thompson, The SCM Studyguide on Theological Reflection, 61-62. 16 other ideas and theories. Pattison suggests that “people who wish to engage in creative theological reflection might see themselves as being engaged in a three-way conversation or dialogue between their own ideas, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions; the beliefs, assumptions, and perceptions provided by the Christian tradition; and the contemporary situation which is being considered.”32 Each participant in this three way conversation will have questions to ask of the others and each will need to get to know the others through constant dialogue and interaction with one another. Pattison suggests that it may be helpful to personify these conversations and imagine them as people who come together to converse.33 I have developed and utilized the characteristics of critical conversation outlined by Stephen Pattison’s method of critical conversation to my own work, and building on his advocacy for this model, I will briefly note the merits of such an approach. Critical engagement with other voices allows the identification of diverse starting points and perspectives and considerable energy and effort may have to be extended to try and understand the relevance or importance of another participant’s contribution. This model recognises therefore that the dialogue itself changes, often leading to new conversations and discoveries that need to be explored further. This further ensures that the participants in a conversation are also transformed, both by what they learn and by the process itself, through conversing critically with other participants. Although participants may end up seeing themselves and others from new angles and in a different light, this does not necessarily mean however that participants will end up agreeing at every point. Critical conversations will therefore help identify both commonalities, that is places where voices agree and converge, but they will also 32 Pattison, “Some Straw for the Bricks,” 135. 33 Pattison, “Some Straw for the Bricks,” 139. 17 identify gaps and missing voices that will need to be brought into the conversation to provide insight into what may be missing. Such conversations can be conducted at many different levels from that of preliminary conversation, to focussed conversations around a single or a series of conversations, and may take place over different periods of time, from a single or occasional conversation, to a more long-term dialogue. The long-term dialogue provides the potential for more complex and sophisticated engagement. Finally, critical conversations are based on questions of theological enquiry, that is questions that emerge in, and from, real life context and experience. The theological questioning that arises from an engagement with practice motivates and drives the practitioner to converse with sources that can help bring wisdom, insight and understanding to the situation.34 However, the method of critical conversations is not without its potential problems. Conversations may open more questions than they answer, and this may not lead to the construction of adequate theological responses to everyday life situations. Indeed, there is a risk that the conversation may reveal more about one’s own views and opinions than contribute more positively to the wider theological discussion. There is an equal concern that conversational approaches may not sufficiently be critical or theological and if reduced to a remote topic, there is a danger its contribution may have limited validity and relevance. Further, conversations may intentionally or inadvertently exclude key voices that impoverish the dialogue and its outcomes: “Limiting the circle of conversation partners in advance, whether due to prejudice or ignorance, is always the theologian’s loss. That makes it the church’s loss as well.”35 34 Pattison, “Some Straw for the Bricks,” 139-141. 35 Stone and Duke, How To Think Theologically, 5-6. 18 The method of critical conversations has therefore both its merits and drawbacks but is adopted as the primary method in this research because it provides a unifying approach to the diversity of components comprised in the portfolio and thesis, and critically underpins, strengthens and demonstrates the dialogical nature of Practical theology I have advocated for in my approach and methodology. However, in responding to the challenges outlined above, I have sought therefore to explicitly offer theological responses and insights to the key issues raised in this work. I have also attempted to converse critically throughout and to ensure that there is sufficient theological analysis and evaluation. Further, although I have chosen to reflect theologically on church planting practice, I have resisted writing a church planting theology per se and related church planting to broader theological themes in order that it may have a wider reach and contribution beyond its own field. Finally, I have attempted to conduct critical conversations with voices that are beyond my own circle of friends and sphere of influence, and in the thesis have chosen a number of conversation partners that are beyond my own evangelical Protestant theological tradition to help broaden my own missional theology. In this study the method of critical conversations is therefore demonstrated throughout. In Part Onethe Portfolio, the literature review in Chapter One gives a comprehensive synopsis of church planting material, particularly in the United Kingdom from 1990-2008. The review converses and critically engages with the key voices, themes, traditions and contributions to the field that emerged out of the resurgence of church planting initiatives in this period. In the publishable article in Chapter Two, I address the question raised by Walter Klaiber, “How evangel-like is evangelism?” In response, through a critical conversation with the Synoptic Gospels, I offer theological perspectives on the nature of the gospel and its implications for missional practice. In 19 Chapter Three, I explore, through a research project, the nature, role and practice of theological reflection in church planting. Through qualitative interviews I have engaged in conversations with missional practitioners from various church planting traditions beyond my own denomination. Through these in-depth conversations, I have critically reflected on the dialogue, synthesised particular themes and issues that require further examination, with the aim of making praxis more effective. Further, I outline how the process of theological reflection throughout this study has challenged and transformed my own thinking and practice. In Part Twothe thesis chapters, I have drawn upon different dialogue partners that do not always share the same Trinitarian perspectives or models. These dialogue partners, chosen because of their theological and contextual diversity, offer significant contributions to a shared theme. The similarities and differences are noted, critique is made where appropriate, and an attempt to synthesise shared concerns are made in the chapters that have more than one dialogue partner. I have attempted to create a Trinitarian framework for church planting in relation to the themes of creation, context and community that brings an overarching unity, without minimalizing or trivialising genuine and important differences. In Chapter Four therefore, Trinity and Creation sets out to describe the current interest in the doctrines of God the Creator, creativity and church planting. By building upon embryonic themes that are suggested in church planting literature, I dialogue with Jürgen Moltmann as a critical conversation partner drawing on his Trinitarian creation theology which I argue offers further fruitful insights for church planting. In Chapter Five, in Trinity and Context, I briefly describe the purpose and nature of contextualisation and its importance to church planting before outlining Trinitarian approaches to contextualisation that point us in helpful directions for the development 20 of theological approaches to contextualisation. I converse with the Trinitarian contextual missiologies of Lesslie Newbigin and Timothy Tennent and through synthesising their work, I advocate for a Trinitarian framework for contextualisation with theological and practical implications for church planting. In Chapter Six, in Trinity and Community, I note the renewed interest in Trinitarian ecclesiology before exploring how these perspectives are beginning to shape and inform church planting theology and practice. Through a critical conversation with, and synthesis of, the Trinitarian ecclesiologies of Miroslav Volf, Leonardo Boff, and Catherine Murray LaCugna, I extrapolate theological and missional implications for church planting. The study concludes by summarising the key 

Darrell L. Guder, Called to Witness: Doing Missional Theology; Tim Lomax, Creating Missional Worship: Fusing Context and Tradition

Rooting the practice of evangelical Protestant church planting within a Trinitarian theological framework : with particular reference to creation, context and community

Enabling the Bury Methodist Circuit to Focus on Being a ‘Discipleship Movement Shaped for Mission’ John Illsley Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2018 The goal of this doctoral project is to lead the Bury Methodist Circuit in the United Kingdom into a restructuring of leadership and oversight to enable the circuit and its fifteen churches to better serve the contemporary age in discipleship and mission. This is in line with the tag line of the British Methodist Church—“a discipleship movement shaped for mission.” The author serves as superintendent minister of the Bury Circuit and is due to retire in August 2019. Serving previously in two other circuits in the United Kingdom and nine years in Hong Kong reveal how the Bury Circuit needs to be reoriented for mission to its local community and to embrace a priesthood of all believers by encouraging and enabling lay ministry. The Methodist Church is in decline and there is a shortage of ministers. In the likely event that ministers leaving the circuit will not be replaced, the traditional solution of spreading ministerial resources over an increasing number of churches has been shown to be a recipe for accelerated decline. This project will facilitate a better alternative that will focus on mission and not maintenance. The project is divided into three parts. Part One will include an introduction and will share the context of the British Methodist Church and the Bury Circuit, including the development and importance of lay ministries within the Methodist Church. Part Two will present a theology of biblical leadership and spiritual gifts, pointing to the priesthood of all believers, drawing on the works of Paul Bradshaw, Martyn Atkins, Malcolm Grundy, and Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. Part Three will present the alternative thinking arising, the process to restructuring, and the outcomes expected and will establish the target audience, the leadership and training, and the process of implementation and evaluation. Content Reader: Terry Walling, DMin Words: 293 To my wife, Jean, who has travelled with me for so many years in pursuit of the call of Jesus Christ

https://digitalcommons.fuller.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1332&context=dmin

Enabling the Bury Methodist Circuit to Focus on Being a ‘Discipleship Movement Shaped For Mission’

Study of nature of deities & religious beliefs

Darrell L. Guder, Called to Witness: Doing Missional Theology; Tim Lomax, Creating Missional Worship: Fusing Context and Tradition

Citations

Rooting the practice of evangelical Protestant church planting within a Trinitarian theological framework : with particular reference to creation, context and community

Enabling the Bury Methodist Circuit to Focus on Being a ‘Discipleship Movement Shaped For Mission’

References

Rooting the practice of evangelical Protestant church planting within a Trinitarian theological framework : with particular reference to creation, context and community

Enabling the Bury Methodist Circuit to Focus on Being a ‘Discipleship Movement Shaped For Mission’