Naish, Annie~For such a time as this

‘For such a time as this’; experiences of women in leadership in the Fresh Expressions initiative of the Church of England.

Annie Naish Cranmer Hall, St John’s College

September 2008

M.A. in Theology and Ministry

This dissertation is the product of my own work, and the work of others has been properly acknowledged throughout.

Acknowledgements

Without the encouragement, support, and advice of a number of people this dissertation might not exist.

I would like to express my thanks to Steve Croft who gave the idea for this research and pointed me in the direction of my interviewees. Many other staff members at Cranmer Hall, both past and present, have offered advice and practical help to keep me going during this project; Alan Bartlett, Val Stickland, David Clough and Mark Bonnington in particular.

I am grateful to my Bishop, David Atkinson, training incumbent, Tony Ward, and the people of St Andrew's Church who allowed me space away from the parish to write.

Most of all my thanks go to the eight women who generously gave me their time, and willingly shared something of their lives journeys. It has been both a privilege and a responsibility to reflect on these stories; I hope that I have been true to them in this process. They have all inspired and challenged me by their commitment and passion for fresh expressions of church, growing disciples of Jesus Christ in today’s culture.

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CONTENTS Introduction

Page 3

Chapter 1 Context of the Study

Page 5

Chapter 2 The Research Method

Page 9

Chapter 3 Evaluation of the Research Method

Page 11

Chapter 4 Analysing the Results

Page 13

Chapter 5 The Eight Women

Page 14

Chapter 6 Reflection on their Stories

Page 16

Chapter 7 Experiences of Church

Page 20

Chapter 8 Leadership Matters

Page 24

Chapter 9 Invisible Women

Page 30

Chapter 10 Theological Reflection

Page 34

Chapter 11 Gender, Leadership and Fresh Expressions

Page 43

Chapter 12 Outcomes

Page 53

Conclusion

Page 57

Bibliography

Page 58

Appendix A Appendix B

The Interview Questions Eight Women’s Stories

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Introduction ‘In pioneering contexts, where leadership is perceived as missionorientated rather than pastoral, women have often emerged as effective leaders.’1 So writes Stuart Murray in his book on church planting. He then goes on to ask, if this is true then where are the women church planters today?

This dissertation seeks to be a response to such questions; an exploration of women's leadership within fresh expressions of church in the Church of England. Whilst the title of this project is remarkably broad, with a focus on the experiences of women, the quote ‘for such a time as this’,2 implies that women might having something specific to offer leadership in the current context. This therefore, is the tentative hypothesis of this study, to discover how women are leading fresh expressions to determine what we can learn to empower and equip future women leaders.

My research is based on eight women currently leading different fresh expressions of church. Using qualitative interview methods we shall listen to their stories to allow their experiences to be heard. Our analysis requires careful attention to the data, to be true to these women in pioneering ministry, growing communities of faith and nurturing disciples.

Women, leadership and fresh expressions are all complex subjects of their own, and so in this research we are only beginning the conversation, not providing all the answers.

1

Stuart Murray, Church Planting: Laying Foundations (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1998) p.246 2 Esther 4:14

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We shall first explore the context of cultural change in society and the Church, before examining the research methods used and the limitations of this project. Analysis of the data is begun with drawing out categories of meaning from the interviews. We shall then turn to scripture and investigate the narrative of Jesus and the woman at the well to enrich our understanding of the theology discussed. Our primary focus for analysis is an exploration of leadership styles and gender and finally we shall highlight some learning outcomes for the life and ministry of the Church.

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Chapter 1 Context of the Study The cultural and spiritual context is crucial to this research project in our exploration of the experiences of women leading fresh expressions at ‘such a time as this’. We therefore begin this study with a brief overview of the current situation in both society and the Church.

Changes in Society It is widely acknowledged that we live in a time of rapid change; since the 1960’s Britain has undergone immense shifts in every aspect of society.

Two of the most important features of this transition are post-modernism and post-Christendom.

Postmodernism is a reactionary movement critiquing and rejecting the previous certitude of the modernist worldview.3 Whilst sometimes viewed as a philosophical stance, it resists definitions and is best revealed through the consequent cultural climate of post-modernity.4 Post-modernity is suspicious of reason, claims to truth and attempts for coherence. It creates a pessimistic, relativistic and fragmented society which searches for meaning not in science or reason, but in personal experience.5 It is generally agreed that in Britain today ‘we inhabit post-modernity’,6 the cultural condition of our time.

3

Graham Johnston, Preaching to a Postmodern World (Leicester: IVP, 2001). See p.2329 for a clear contrast of these two worldviews.

4 John Drane, Cultural change and biblical faith (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2000). p.9495 - Discusses the difference between postmodernism as a system of philosophical thought and post-modernism as a sociological and cultural condition.

5 Gerard Kelly, Get a Grip On the Future (London: Monarch Books, 1999) p.128-146 6 Stuart Murray, Post-Christendom (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2004).p.13

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Alongside post-modernism runs the related but distinct concept of postChristendom,7 starkly demonstrated by the massive decrease in church attendance since the 60’s. In The Death of Christian Britain, Callum Brown argues we are experiencing not just church decline, ‘but the death of the culture that formerly conferred Christian identity upon the British people as a whole.’8 Christianity is no longer at the heart of our nation and ‘the church as an institution has lost its privileged position and increasingly occupies a place on the margins of society’.9 Organised religion has largely been rejected in the quest for spirituality and meaning.10 Whilst some people are still living in the old modernist paradigm, postmodernism and post-Christendom have essentially taken over to become the worldview of British society today. This cultural shift has massive implications for the Church as we seek to tell the Christian story afresh to our generation. Gibbs and Bolger comment that, ‘the church must embody the gospel within the culture of post-modernity for the Western Church to survive the 21st century.’11 How is the church responding to this challenge?

Changes in the Church The decline in Sunday attendance has been so rapid over the last 30 years that the Church has struggled to find a response. People like Lynda Barley12 have begun to analyse statistics to glean hope for the future from the patterns and trends in spirituality and church-going.

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Murray, Post-Christendom p.12 argues that whilst they are connected, post-Christendom and post-modernism should be not be confused as the danger then is that the challenge of post-Christendom gets ignored.

8 Callum Brown, The Death of Christian Britain (London: Routledge, 2001) p.193 9 Eddie Gibbs & Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches (London: SPCK, 2006). p.17 10 See Murray, Post-Christendom p.178-216 11 Gibbs& Bolger, Emerging Churches p.17 12 Head of Research and Statistics for the Church of England

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In 1994 church planting was the subject of a Church of England report13 recognising the need to establish new churches in communities and locations not being reached by the current parish system. Ten years later the Mission-shaped Church report14 built on this foundation to explore not just traditional church planting, but also the phenomenon of new or emerging churches, given the name ‘fresh expressions’. Throughout the nation they identified 12 different categories15 and made extensive recommendations for the Church to develop and grow such initiatives alongside the existing pattern of inherited church life.16 This concept of a mixed economy of church has now become an accepted model for the way forward, ‘it is more than a very good thing: it is an essential part of our life and witness within British society at the present time.’ 17 As a response to the Mission-shaped Church report the two Archbishops and the Methodist Council commissioned a team of people to ‘gather news of what is happening, support new growth, and develop appropriate training.’18 This movement is now in its fifth year and has played a significant role in encouraging new mission initiatives across the country.

As the team is called Fresh Expressions I shall use capitals and italics to differentiate this from individual fresh expressions of church.

Outside of the Anglican and Methodist denominations the phrase ‘emerging church’ is often used to describe ‘communities that practice the way of Jesus within post-modern cultures.’19 Whilst Fresh Expressions includes such communities, they also recognise other mission initiatives still rooted within the inherited church. Team leader Steve Croft defends this, explaining they have sought to maintain the diversity found in the Mission13

General Synod, Breaking New Ground (London: CHP, 1994) Mission-shaped Church Report (London: CHP, 2004).

15 Mission-shaped Church p.43-83 16 Mission-shaped Church p.145-149 17 Steven Croft, Mission-shaped questions: defining issues for today's church (London: Church House Publishing, 2008) p.4 18 Bob Jackson, The Road to Growth (London: CHP, 2005) p.94 19 Gibbs& Bolger, Emerging Churches p.44 14

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shaped Church report which ‘preserved an intentional ambiguity between the establishing of new communities and existing congregations shaping things differently for the sake of mission.’20 For the purposes of this study we shall accept the team’s own definition that ‘a fresh expression of church is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.’21 The women I have interviewed are all leaders of fresh expressions of church, either emerging church communities or other mission initiatives, seeking to engage people in ways that are congruent with their culture.

Therefore this study emerges from pioneering ministries attempting to bridge the gap between church and society and ‘absolutely timely for the present context.’ 22 With a clearer understanding of the background, in the next chapter we begin to explore the research methods before looking at some of the limitations.

20

Croft, Mission-shaped questions p.9 http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/section.asp?id=3547 22 Croft, Mission-shaped questions p.4 21

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Chapter 2 The Research Method The original proposal was to undertake a quantitative study of women leading fresh expressions, gathering primary data through a questionnaire, but after some reflection I realised that this was not a suitable research method for this project. There are few such women identifiable and so the sample size would be small, a problem quite likely to be exacerbated by the generally poor response rates to questionnaires. The resultant shift from quantitative to qualitative research was also clearly appropriate given that the main aim of this study was to focus on the experience of women leaders, and ‘in order to access these experiences, it is necessary to engage in forms of deep conversation that will elicit this knowledge.’ 23 One of the key tools for gathering qualitative research data is to interview a selected sample of participants. My first concern was to identify some suitable candidates so I approached the national team leader of Fresh Expressions, who gave me about sixteen possible names. There were a number of contrasts I wanted to include in my research to explore a rich variety of stories, so my sampling was deliberate and purposive.24 I decided to have a mix of lay and ordained women, with differing family situations and in leadership in diverse types of fresh expressions. I contacted ten people, of whom two were unable to take part.

Interviews are ‘a means for exploring and gathering experiential narrative material that may serve as a resource for developing a richer and deeper understanding of a human phenomenon.’25 They offer an adaptable 23

John Swinton and Harriet Mowat, Practical Theology and Qualitative Research (London: SCM Press, 2006).p.63 24 See Swinton and Mowat, Practical Theology for the different types of sampling p.204206 25 Max van Manen, Researching lived experience (Ontario: New York Press, 1990). p.66

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technique, where the interviewee has the opportunity to talk widely around the subject and the researcher can follow up responses and probe for further information. I decided to adopt a semi-structured style of interview with a few standardised questions to help guide the conversation, whilst allowing space for variation and digression. (See Appendix A).

The first two interviews I treated as pilot interviews, where I asked the interviewees for feedback on the process; however neither participant made any recommendations for changes. After the first pilot interview I decided to ask some background information, to help put the conversation in context. I also altered the phrasing of a couple of the questions to make them clearer and added two more general questions about other women leaders within the fresh expressions world..

All the interviews took place in a location chosen by the participant, mostly at their house or place of work. One interviewee chose to come to my house and maybe unsurprisingly this proved to be the shortest interview.

The interviews lasted between 56 minutes to 1 hour 34 minutes.

Each conversation began with my explanation of the purpose and scope of my research. I obtained their verbal permission to record the interview and use the material for this project only, on the understanding that at every stage every effort would be taken to preserve confidentiality.

Due to the wide-ranging narrative nature of the interviews, they were all typed up into full transcripts to assist with analysing the interviews more thoroughly. All my references therefore refer to the page numbers of these transcripts.

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Chapter 3 Evaluation of the Research Method For any research to be reliable and valid there must be a perceptive evaluation of the methods used, making explicit any limitations and possible bias. Within this qualitative research project there are three main aspects which require such scrutiny – the sample, the interview process and the role of the researcher.

1. The Sample One important limitation of my method of sampling was that in approaching the team leader of Fresh Expressions for advice, the research was limited to those known and officially recognised by the national Church. This created a significant bias against women from outside this institutional network. My sample was exclusively white, middle class women, and all from broadly the same open evangelical church tradition. This lack of diversity was unintentional, but it did help to create points of comparison.

In deciding not to interview men as part of this project, the findings of this research are biased to one gender. Any exploration of gender issues is therefore limited by the inability to compare and contrast responses.

2. The Interview Process A crucial aspect of semi-structured interviews is the experiential nature of the data gathered. As one interviewee commented, “every day I’d probably answer that question slightly differently because every day you sort of feel slightly differently about it.”26 Therefore each interview can be easily skewed by such things as the questions, the location and of course the role of the researcher.

26

Mary p.4

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On reflection I feel that the questions could have been clearer on the issues of gender. I neither defined what I meant by gender, nor asked them to describe their understanding, so there is an ambiguity about what definition we are working with. I found the narrative style of the interviews demanded great flexibility, and as a result sometimes the order or even the wording of the questions was changed. This meant the questions were not as standardised as they might have been and the results are less comparable.

I allowed each participant to decide on the location for the interview and in consequence they seemed relaxed and comfortable about telling their story. Going onto their ‘territory’ gave the respondent more control and helped to reduce the power imbalance inherent in such situations. During the one interview at my house, the interviewee seemed more apprehensive than the others and was more succinct in her answers.

3. The Role of the Researcher All research is affected by the involvement, values and prejudices of the researcher, but the more explicit these factors are, the less hidden the bias.

My hypothesis that women might have something to offer leadership within fresh expressions makes this a value-laden piece of work, and in danger of manipulation to achieve the results I desire.

I was aware of my lack of experience in qualitative research throughout this project, resulting in ill-defined questioning, poor interview techniques and unwieldy quantities of material for analysis. As Roberts Burns comments, ‘the interviewer must refrain from expressing approval, surprise or shock at any of the respondent’s answers…. and be careful not to suggest or give hints about possible responses.’27 Listening to the recordings of the interviews I fell into these traps and therefore biased the data.

27

Robert Burns, Introduction to research methods (London: SAGE, 2000).p.582

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Chapter 4 Analysing the Results When I began to analyse the data, I was hoping to gather the responses around the specific interview questions, but in reality found the themes and connections interwoven throughout the interviews. I created a coding list to draw the information together and reach ‘that point in the research process where the mass of data that has been generated begins to be formed into meaningful units which will illuminate the complexities of the situation.’28 A key purpose of this research was to listen to the experiences of women in leadership in fresh expressions. Two of the interviewees separately described such women as “under the radar”,29 and it was very noticeable that even the women who participated in this research were not aware of each other. “I’m sure there are women out there pioneering new stuff…. I just don’t know of any others” was quite a common type of observation. I therefore decided it was important to retain something of the wide ranging nature of the interviews as we explore the data, to allow silent voices to be heard. Therefore this study offers an overview of the issues and brief insights into the subject, as a possible starting place for further research.

From the coding list I identified fifteen themes, gathered around four broad categories; the individual stories, their experiences of church, matters of leadership and why they are not visible in leadership. In grouping the data this way I have exerted my influence as the researcher, and consequently there is a danger of bias towards my values and prejudices. I rely on thorough immersion in the material to help ensure that the emerging categories are derived from the data rather than imposed upon it.

28 29

Swinton and Mowat, Practical Theology p175 Mary p19, Sarah p7

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Chapter 5 The Eight Women Before we explore the data, it is important to gain some idea of who the participants are. Appendix B contains much richer descriptions of these women; here we give just a brief overview. They are identified using pseudonyms to maintain confidentiality.

For the last 18 years Helen has been leading an ‘alternative worship’ fresh expression linked to a large city church. She has recently been ordained NSM as the community themselves fund her salary. She is married with no children and is age 41.

Nicky is team rector to six rural parishes and has started a cell church alongside these. She was involved in the Mission-Shaped Church Report.

Age 38, she has been ordained for 11 years and is married with one child.

Katherine is a Church Army Officer who has been working full time as a night club chaplain for the last eight years, exploring what it means to be church for clubbers. She is 36 and married with no children and has recently been accepted to train as an Ordained Pioneer Minister.

Sarah is pioneering a small fresh expression community in a city context.

This is based on the networks of friends and others who are searching for a new expression of church for today’s culture. She is not ordained, is married with no children and has two part time jobs, one running a pioneering training course and the other in re-generation work. She is 30.

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Carol is the leader of a fresh expression reaching out to families and children. This is part of the ministry of a parish church in a small town. She is 41 and a lay person, married to the Vicar and has two children. Her paid employment is with a national Christian agency, inspiring and resourcing children’s work across different churches.

Mary is co-leading a city centre fresh expression of church, based on networks and passionate about inclusive community. She is 31 and employed full time in the Arts. Mary is a lay person and is married with no children.

Fiona is in training as an OPM attached to a church in a small town parish.

Prior to her training she was leading a fresh expression for young people based in a secondary school. Aged 25, she is not married.

Lizzie has been ordained for four years and at 35 is pioneering a network church reaching out to professionals in a city centre. She is paid part time by the diocese and is married and has two children.

These very brief summaries remind us that each woman has a unique story and that we are handling real lived experience and not just impersonal data. Now we proceed to a fuller description and exploration of the results of this research project, to draw out both contrasts and shared themes.

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Chapter 6 Reflection on their Stories Our first cluster of themes falls loosely into the category of reflections on the personal material discussed by the participants. Clear answers to specific questions such as, “who has been your inspiration”, form much of this material, but hidden away in these recordings, at a deeper level, are also insights into subconscious perceptions and nuances of meaning.

Here, therefore, we will seek to bring the two together to explore five themes pertinent to our understanding of women leading fresh expressions.

1. Christian Background All of the interviewees describe how “church was a really big part of growing up.”30 Five come from Christian families, and the three that do not were sent to Sunday school or Girls Brigade, and all eight became Christians whilst still young. Every single one of these women talks about having experience of leadership or a sense of God's call by the age of 20.

Fiona comments, “at the age of eleven they left me in charge of the Sunday school”31 and Helen remembers that at the age of four she felt challenged to serve God and told her Dad, “I want to be a nun!”32 All except one woman mention that university was a time of spiritual growth and Christian involvement, and both the two priests felt called to ordination whilst still students.33

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Sarah p.1 Fiona p.1 32 Helen p.17 33 Lizzie p.1, Nicky p.3 31

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2. Understandings of gender Here we will explore how these women understand gender and in chapter 11 examine the influence of gender on leadership. It is clear from the recordings that there is a wide range of opinions on whether, and how, men and women differ. Both Mary and Sarah use almost identical words to say, “I don’t think there is a, women are better at that, men are better at that thing”34 and these two interviewees are the most hesitant to accept gender difference. Mary makes the point that she can’t separate her gender from her personality and experience, and therefore who can say what role gender plays.35 She rejects the stereotype of women being more pastoral 36

, whilst at the other end of the spectrum Katherine accepts this stereotype

and talks of men and women as very different. She feels men tend to be stronger characters and often are the visionaries and pioneers, whilst women are more emotional and not naturally leaders.37 There is a suspicion of stereotypes as generalisations which are unhelpful.

Sarah comments that, “I do think the stereotypes we grow up with make it harder…” and Carol notes that, “it’s difficult to know what’s a stereotype of women and what is a reality.”38 But whether they accept stereotypes or not, most of the women are very clear about the fact they don’t fit them.

“My brain is wired differently,” “I’m not a girly girl,” “I’m…an unusual woman,” “I don’t fit,” are all strong statements revealing that here are women who perceive themselves as different to gender expectations.

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Mary p.16, Sarah p.13 Mary p.15 36 Mary p.4, Katherine p.7 37 Katherine p.7 38 Carol p.19 35

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3. Self Confidence Five of the women directly mention that “self confidence for women is always a bigger issue than it is for guys.”39 This is linked to women not feeling good about themselves,40 women feeling guilty for everything and even having a sense of “God hates me.”41 Sarah talks about a theology which damages women,42 and Helen describes her realisation that the exclusive male language so often used in the church is an offensive injustice.43 Some of the interviewees had experienced churches where women are not allowed to lead or even speak, another origin of female low self-esteem.44 When we look below the surface of these interviews there are nuances of this same lack of confidence. Lizzie, one of the most pioneering of all, mentioned moments of self-doubt and questioning,45 and Nicky, a successful team rector with six rural parishes, talks about her cautiousness, doubting and tendency to shrink.46

4. Role models One of the questions was, “what and who has been your inspiration,” leading most of the participants to discuss the issue of role models.

Comments such as, “it’s very hard for someone to be your role model if you can’t identify with them”47 and “I don’t see me reflected in the guys,”48 expose the complete lack of female role models for women leading fresh expressions. Many of the women did not even know of other women

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Fiona p.16 Lizzie p.16 41 Sarah p,15 42 Sarah p,15 43 Helen p.5 – she was encouraged to explore this by her male feminist friends.

44 Sarah p.15 45 Lizzie p.11 46 Nicky p.13 47 Sarah p.16 48 Fiona p.5 40

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pioneers. “I’ve got nobody to compare with”49 and “Who is there?

Umm…”50 are two such observations.

There was real diversity in how important the interviewees thought role models are. Whilst Nicky says, “I don’t feel the need to have female role models”,51 Fiona mentions she has been keen to find other women to learn from, but says, “now I don’t think I will.” 52 With no obvious role models many of these women have found inspiration from “people who cheer you on,”53 and those “who have been involved with my faith journey over my lifetime.”54 Church leaders and work colleagues are the most frequently mentioned.

5. Family and children Three of the women interviewed have children, but three of the others also remark on the challenge that having children can be for women in pioneering positions. Lizzie was a full-time stipendiary priest, but now with two children has chosen to work part-time, and Carol with a slightly older family works in term times only. Two of the women feel quite certain that with children they would be unable to sustain their present commitment to pioneering 55 As a Fresh Expressions Associate Missioner, Carol contributes her passion and experience of children’s work to the team, commenting that, “a lot of Fresh Expressions thinking is quite adult orientated.”56

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Helen p.9 Nicky p.18 51 Nicky p.19 52 Fiona p.5, 53 Sarah p.16 54 Mary p.17 55 Katherine p.8, Mary p.19 56 Carol p.7 50

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Chapter 7 Experiences of Church Having looked at various themes which arise from stories of these women themselves, we now turn to their experiences of church, both inherited and fresh expressions. In today’s culture the Church of England is learning what it means to be a mixed economy of church; here we explore the stories of eight leaders whose lives reflect something of that same journey.

1. Committed to the Church One of the possible surprises from these interviews is how committed most of the women are to the Church. Six of the interviewees are clear that their experience of church has been essentially good. There are frustrations along the way, such as Helen’s struggle to be licensed to her alternative worship community,57 and Carol’s sense of ponderous clericalism58 but they generally agree with Mary that “the overwhelming majority of my experience would be very positive.”59 The other two women have more painful stories to tell of churches where women are not allowed to speak, of facing discrimination and of supporting the victims of sexual abuse. It is interesting to note that both these women perceive gender as a big issue for the church in contrast to the others who are not so concerned.

The interviewees have had different experiences, good and bad, but there is a deep-rooted commitment to being connected to and under the authority of the Church of England. “There’s something that has always been a part of me which makes me believe in the Church and love the Church,”60 speaks Sarah, who has probably had the most negative experiences of all.

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Helen p.7 Carol p.15 59 Mary p.5 60 Sarah p.16 58

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These women are all committed to see fresh expressions and inherited church flourishing together, for the mutual good of both.

2. Part of Fresh Expressions Most of the women interviewed have been involved in the emerging church scene for at least four years and have been keen witnesses of the growth of the Fresh Expressions within the Church of England. What are their observations? A common perception is that Fresh Expressions provides an umbrella for many things that were happening before.61 Six of the women were already in the process of starting or leading their fresh expression of church before the movement was launched, but they generally acknowledge that the organisation has been helpful in giving permission, a shared language and institutional recognition for their work.62 Sarah makes the point that “Fresh Expressions is basically all the ministries that the women of the Church have been doing for years and years”63 and Carol observes that children’s workers (who are often women) have always been Fresh Expressioners.

There are concerns expressed about less mission-focused fresh expressions64 and the broadness of the initiative, “when something is so very wide it can get confusing.”65 Four of the women observe that their dioceses seem to have reservations about the Fresh Expressions agenda.

“The jury is still out” says Sarah, but Lizzie talks enthusiastically of wanting to give her diocese “mega mega points” for their attitude to pioneering mission.

61

Eg Katherine p.16 Eg Fiona p.6, Helen p.19-20 63 Sarah p.14 64 Eg Nicky p.9-10, Lizzie p.6 65 Helen p.20 62

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3. New Forms of Church All eight of the fresh expressions of church we are studying are rooted and grounded in the experience and personalities of the leaders. This is summed up by Katherine’s remark, “what I’ve done for the last seven or eight years has been perceived as on the edge, which I find really bizarre ’cause it’s just normal to me. I was a clubber anyway.”66 Lizzie is passionate about the relationship between faith and work and her fresh expression seeks to tap into work networks to build relationships. Helen is a trained musician interested in the arts and culture, so leading an alternative worship community seems natural. These women have been called to establish and lead initiatives that have grown out of who they are, their interests and their passions, and whilst part of that may be influenced by gender, it does not seem an important factor.

One perceived distinction between fresh expressions is whether they have grown from a specific context in a ‘bottom up’ way or have been initiated by the institution ‘from above’. We could categorise six of our sample fresh expressions as grass roots, and two as more institutional models.67 Sarah and Helen both express concerns that diocesan funding and support is being unfairly distributed, going overwhelmingly to the fresh expressions started by the hierarchy. Mary acknowledges a significant factor in the growth of her community has been the efforts of the two full-time workers appointed by the Methodist and Anglican Churches.

66

Katherine p.13 Such categories are often more complex than might appear. Carol’s after school club could count as grass roots arising from the community, but then she is a trained and employed children’s worker.

67

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4. Sacramental Ministry within fresh expressions A common theme within the interviews was the issues surrounding sacramental ministry within fresh expressions. None of questions remotely touched on this topic and yet six of the women discussed it. Fiona ‘desperately wanted to be able to offer the sacraments to those young people and was told again and again that if I did I was breaking some law,’68 and Lizzie was wrestling with what it meant to have communion as part of a confirmation service where most people were un-churched. 69 Along with other interviewees Carol expressed her frustration at the current lack of authorised, creative liturgy for sacraments with the un-churched, and as a lay person raised the problem of celebrating communion without a priest.70 For Helen communion had been difficult without a priest in the alt worship community, but she recognised a surprising fact that having to invite visiting clergy to come and celebrate encouraged positive relationship building across churches and traditions.71

68

Fiona p.8 Lizzie p.10 70 Carol p.10 71 Helen p.7 69

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Chapter 8 Leadership Matters As the proposal for this study specifically focused on women in leadership, at the heart of the research interviews were two key questions on leadership style and the influence of gender, and so in the next two chapters we come to explore the central theme of the research. In this chapter we shall begin by looking at the participants’ own descriptions of their leadership style and whether they perceived this to be affected by gender. We shall then examine the question of ordained leadership in relation to pioneering women and fresh expressions of church.

Leadership Style As we have seen the women interviewed are eight people with very different interests, personalities and experiences, and they are leading a diverse range of fresh expressions of church and yet they all describe their leadership style in remarkably similar ways. I have chosen to focus on the most commonly discussed concepts of being collaborative, relational and flexible, but there are other shared themes such as integrity, generosity and vision.

Collaborative All but one of the interviewees perceives their leadership to be very collaborative; a strong commitment to shared leadership is a thread that runs through all the recordings. In many cases this is not only with a specific team or group, but with the whole community. Mary says, “all three of us working together have a kind of joint approach and we balance each

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other out,”72 and Helen’s community makes all decisions corporately “because the power lies with the group”73. The images used to portray this range from, “being alongside people,” “taking people with me,” “backstage” and “down at the back end of things, bringing up the rear.” The participants define themselves as not ‘charismatic’, or up-front leaders and the collaborative leadership style is often described in terms of what it is not. “It isn’t heavy handed from the top,”, “its non-hierarchical, not controlling” and “not holding the reins too tightly.”

Whilst discussing their commitment to working collaboratively, the interviewees also acknowledged the need for a recognised leader who sometimes had to take decisions on behalf of the group. Helen describes how, in theory all the decisions are made corporately by the group, but in reality “I end up making decisions and sometimes have more authority than I’m comfortable with.”74 Like Helen, Sarah has been surprised to realise that the community naturally look to her for direction and guidance and both identify this as a priestly role.

The exception to this collaborative style is Katherine who admits with insight and honesty, “I prefer leading from the back, but recognise that I tend to lead from the front.”75 She describes how she has been seeking to create a team, but in her current context this has not been possible and at present there is no strong team to work with.

72

Mary p8 Helen p.10 74 Helen p.4 75 Katherine p.9 73

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Relational The concept of empowering and nurturing others is crucial for all these leaders; the eight participants depict a leadership style that puts people at the centre. Nicky and Lizzie use very similar words to talk about “one of the things that really sets me alight is seeing other people grow in discipleship and leadership.”76 Fiona speaks of her leadership as relational and identifies that “part of my role is building up the team aspect of stuff,”77 whilst Katherine feels she will always use the people orientated route.78 This commitment to relationships and seeing others grow is revealed in the generous and permissive way the interviewees lead. Lizzie says, “I love seeing things happen that I wouldn’t have thought of,”79 and in a whole year of meetings she has only led once, preferring to let others learn and grow by doing it. Carol describes how she deliberately takes on other work commitments so her team are not dependent on her.80 When Nicky was searching for a word to describe her leadership, I stepped in as the interviewer and put the word ‘relational’ in her mouth.81 Here is a true case of bias – it was my last interview and I simply gave her the word I wanted to hear.

Flexible There is a clear acknowledgment in these interviews that leadership styles change and are adaptable to the context. Many of the women talk about how they have led their team or community in different ways at different times. Lizzie says, my leadership “has gone through different phases actually. Certainly it’s facilitating now quite strongly, at the beginning it was 76

Nicky p.15 Fiona p.10 78 Katherine p.12 79 Lizzie p.13 80 Carol p.14 81 Nicky p.12 77

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more directive.”82 Nicky has six rural parish churches as well as the cell church to lead and clearly states, “I do deal with different people in different ways….. it’s quite a lot of flexibility really.”83 There is a sense that some of these leaders make a deliberate choice to lead in the ways they do. “I’m not very directive and purposely so,”84 says Sarah, whilst Lizzie remarks, “not that I can’t lead up front, in some ways that gives me more control……but my experience is you get so much more from people through this sort of relational stuff.”85

Perceptions of the Influence of gender Each interviewee was asked how their gender affected their leadership style, which most participants found difficult to answer. There was a real hesitation to be specific about what could be attributed to gender and what was about skills or personality or the context. Mary was the most reluctant to define the possible influence of gender saying, “I don’t think (gender) really does make any difference.”86 The most commonly perceived link between gender and leadership is in the concept of an empowering, nurturing style. Two of the women use the analogy of motherhood to talk about helping “an individual to grow into who they are and to not control the direction of that, but to give them the tools to grow.”87 Helen observes, “there’s a mirroring I can see in other women's leadership styles of this empowering and trying to find out what other people want.”88

82

Lizzie p.18 Nicky p.12 84 Sarah p.9 85 Lizzie p.11 86 Mary p.4 87 Sarah p.13 88 Helen p.12 83

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Leading in ways that are relational and non-hierarchical are also identified as being possibly more feminine. Nicky talks about, “that female instinct for collaboration” and Helen says, “I think leading from the back and that whole corporate thing and trying to draw other people in ….. I think is quite a feminine style of leadership.”89 Fiona recognises that “I do think that (women) are doing it in a much more relational manner, there’s much less structure.”90 Three of the women make striking comments about women being natural leaders for fresh expressions. Fiona says, “I think all of the emerging church is relational and organic, but even more so in the ones I’ve seen run by women,”91 and Lizzie also identifies the organic style of growth in fresh expressions suiting a female way of working.92 Sarah comments that, “I think the style of leadership that is needed in…fresh expressions, I have this suspicion that women tend to find it easier.”93

Ordination Throughout the interviews there is a clear sense of ambivalence towards ordination. Both the pioneers accepted for training and Helen, who was recently ordained, comment that “being in the system” has at times been a frustrating and negative experience, and Katherine feels that ordination will make her gender more of an issue.94 Mary can’t understand why anyone would want to be ordained, “you must be called or bonkers”95 she says. “I think I get a lot more freedom not being ordained, if I was, I’d be so much more likely to be tied into the establishment.”96 Nicky feels that when it comes to a fresh expressions agenda, “lay people understand better than 89

Helen p.5 Fiona p.16 91 Fiona p.16 92 Lizzie p.4 93 Sarah p.16 94 Katherine p.6 95 Mary p.14 96 Mary p.15 90

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the clergy”,97 but Carol talks at length about the challenges of having a lay ministry in what she perceives as a very clerical diocese. She feels excluded by “the sort of inner club….that is the ordained.”98 On the other side of the argument is a strong sense that for women particularly, ordination can give greater authority, recognition, confidence and permission to do fresh expressions. Lizzie describes ordination as more than just about leadership and feels it has empowered her for ministry and Helen appreciates the better communication with the diocese and says with “the whole permission giving thing it is so much easier to do things.”99 As a lay leader Sarah observes, “my suspicion is that within that institution there does seem to be a lot more openness once you are ordained.”100 Some of the key issues surrounding the question of ordination are identified as funding, training, and time. Some of the participants perceive that, especially for women, being ordained can potentially opens doors to paid positions and so release time and finance for them to lead pioneer ministries and access training and networking opportunities. However Helen expresses great concern that the opposite might be true and women who are ordained within fresh expressions are largely expected to minister as NSMs.101

97

Nicky p.17 Carol p.15 99 Helen p.9 100 Sarah p.12 101 Helen p.9 98

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Chapter 9 Invisible Women In analysing the data it became clear there was a wealth of material on why women are often not recognised for their leadership in fresh expressions.

Women can be under the radar, clearly acknowledged as the leader within the group, but outside of the community they can be ‘invisible’. Here in this chapter then we explore five possible reasons for this phenomenon.

1. Different Leadership Style It is evident from the interviews that one of the main explanations as to why women seem to be less visible in leading fresh expressions, is that their style is so different from that of traditional leaders that it is not often recognised as valid leadership. Over the centuries the inherited church has developed a model of charismatic, up-front, directive male leaders and therefore is now struggling to accept women who lead with a more ‘feminine’ style which is relational, collaborative and non-hierarchical. Mary comments, “there are problems with the establishment… and their expectations for what real ministry looks like,”102 and Fiona also observes, “I think there’s a question of (the institution) being able to recognise these leaders, just because they haven’t fitted to a model they’ve grown up with or feel comfortable in.”103

102 103

Mary p.16 Fiona p.16

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This mindset of ‘male’ charismatic leadership as the norm is demonstrated in a number of different ways. Lizzie and Sarah have found that their nondirective style has been judged “as a sign of weakness rather than a sign of either strength or appropriateness.”104 Katherine and Nicky have both had their leadership qualities questioned, and faced criticism for showing their emotions.105 Sometimes this lack of discernment about leadership means those outside of the fresh expression look for the obvious candidate; for Sarah and Carol this means that their husbands are often assumed to be the leader.

2. Publicity Shy Lizzie observes that, “I’m a bit publicity shy, because you know, I think that it can be a female thing. You do it down as well.”106 This reluctance to talk about their ministry and advertise their fresh expression to outsiders is acknowledged to be a key reason why women leaders are less visible than men. Fiona deliberately decided not to publicise their growing fresh expression in schools on the Fresh Expressions website, “because I didn’t want the hassle of it.”107 It was not Carol, but her husband who added their family outreach to this website. It was through this that subsequently, they were filmed for the DVD. Instead of celebrating this as an achievement Carol comments, “the DVD was very much landed on us…If anything, in a way it’s been a bit of a handicap, because now we’re seen as experts.”108 Lizzie also is hesitant to broadcast what her community is doing, saying, “I don’t want to generate a lot of spiritual pilgrims who come and see it.”109 Helen talks of her leadership as “not pointing people towards you, or you pointing towards you, the self promotion thing.”110

104

Sarah p.9, Lizzie p. 12 Nicky p. 6, Katherine p.4 106 Lizzie p.12 107 Fiona p.16 108 Carol p.19 109 Lizzie p.11 110 Helen p.16 105

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One of the questions in the research proposal was, “how did these women become leaders of fresh expressions?” It is striking that most of them came into leadership positions through the encouragement and direct involvement of others, usually men. With remarkable consistency they do not seem to have promoted themselves and their gifts to gain recognition or advancement. Mary remembers that her co-leader, “just saw a potential in me and invited me to go along on the journey with him,”111 and Nicky remembers being invited onto the Mission-shaped Church working group because George Lings had read her dissertation.112

3. Just getting on with it Linked with a tendency to publicity shyness, many of the women interviewed expressed diffidence about their status in the church structures outside of their fresh expression. Mary remarks, “the community know (I’m a leader) and that’s the most important thing to me” and she is content to let the other male leaders take national recognition for their community.

Even Katherine describes that particular fresh expression as an example of prominent male leadership.113 Carol, who is one of the more widely known leaders, says, “in terms of fame and glory I don’t think I’m interested.”114 Fiona makes connections between not seeking status and a more female way of networking. She comments that women’s “reasons for networking are about support and identity….and they don’t seem as interested in recognition in the national scene.” Women are “just getting on with it,”115 she observes.

111

Mary p.3 Nicky p.4 113 Katherine p.16 114 Carol p. 19 115 Fiona p.6 112

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4. Patriarchal Roots Throughout the interviews there are numerous reflections on how fresh expressions have grown out of, and often away from the inherited church structures. For several of the interviewees a great frustration is that some of the cultural and theological baggage that has not been left behind is that of patriarchy. Mary believes these attitudes and poor theology have held women back from becoming leaders, though sometimes inadvertently. She observes that many men leading fresh expressions are sons of evangelical vicars with a conservative heritage, who have kept the traditional understanding of women's roles. Sarah remarks: there’s a lot of talk about equality in emerging church, but it’s not reflected in the leadership structures…I don’t think it’s an intentional thing, but I wonder whether…even after years and years of fighting, the structures are still based within an institution that doesn’t recognise women leaders.116 5. Technology Much of the communication amongst leaders in the emerging church is through blogging, chat rooms and social networking sites and within many fresh expressions of church mass media plays a vital role. Five of the women interviewed discussed whether a perceived lack of interest and confidence amongst women to use such technology is a crucial reason for their invisibility in leadership roles. Both Helen and Fiona are convinced that technology is a strong factor. Fiona comments that, ‘a lot of the national stuff is very techie in terms of the blog scene…..and that’s not where (women's) first networks are.’117 Mary, Sarah and Lizzie disagree.

Mary says passionately, ‘anybody who says women don’t lead emerging churches because they can’t operate a laptop is talking bollocks!’118 She argues that their community doesn’t always use technology in their services and in some fresh expressions, for example café church, technology would be even less important.

116

Fiona p. 5 Fiona p.5 118 Mary p.15 117

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Chapter 10 Theological Reflection We come now to analyse at greater depth the insights revealed by our research, and so we ask, “what resources can we bring to this material to enlighten our understanding?” As practical theologians our task is to begin with theological reflection where, ‘the data with all its challenges, contradictions and surprises is taken into constructive dialogue with scripture and tradition.’119 My purpose in this conversation with theology is to reflect on the findings from my research rather than on the overall subject of women leading fresh expressions. Having allowed these women to speak out, I feel it is crucial to listen attentively and explore the issues of theology that the women themselves raise.

The original proposal was to consider women in scripture and church history, but this has proved beyond the scope of this project. For a more incisive analysis we shall narrow the focus to one passage of scripture, John 4:4-42, which is also used by John Drane as a model for mission in post-modernity.120 This passage is not only a popular one for emerging church discussions,121 but as we shall see many theological threads which emerge from our interviews run through this story. In Roles of Women in the Fourth Gospel, Raymond Brown wrote, ‘I have chosen the Fourth Gospel because of the perceptive corrective that the evangelist offers to some ecclesiastical attitudes of his time – his should be a voice heard and reflected upon when we are discussing new roles for women in the church today.’122 119

Swinton and Mowat, Practical Theology p.81 John Drane, Faith in a Changing Culture:(London: Marshall Pickering, 1997). p208-217 121 See for example http://www.the-next-wave.org/stories/storyReader$9, http://emergentpadre.blogspot.com/2006/05/women-and-emerging-church.html 122 Reprinted in Raymond Brown, The community of the beloved disciple (New York: Paulist Press, 1979). p.186 120

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In recent years discussions of women in Scripture have often focused on the story of the Samaritan woman, and feminists have sought to recover this passage from androcentrism and patriarchy, adopting a hermeneutic of suspicion in their interpretation of both text and traditional readings. ‘This work of retrieval has for the most part been fruitful, challenging the narrowness of previous interpretations and reversing the invisibility of women.’123 Therefore I believe these feminist writers offer important material in our theological reflection on the voices of women today.

Our aim here is to create a dialogue between the research data and the text; therefore our primary concern is neither historical nor textual criticism but more literary and narrative criticism. Within post-modernity ‘story is central to the contemporary quest for meaning’124 and so here we explore the riches of the narrative, the characters and the plot and offer limited engagement with other aspects of the passage.

Whilst there is much discussion over who the Gospel writer is, for simplicity we shall call him John.125 It is debated whether this story is an account of a real event, or a myth, or was written to affirm the position of the Samaritans in the later Johannine community.126 My intention here is not to dwell on such questions, but to explore the narrative as it is presented to us.

Throughout the interviews four main theological themes emerge, and these shall form the foundations for our theological reflection. The key issues discussed by the women were that of Jesus’ relationship with outsiders, of the need to break the bonds of patriarchal theology, of the gospel of grace and of the calling to mission.

123

Dorothy Lee, Flesh and glory : symbol, gender, and theology (New York: Crossroad). p.3 124 John Drane, The McDonaldization of the church : spirituality, creativity, and the future of the Church (London: Darton Longman & Todd, 2000). p.133 125 See George Beasley-Murray, John, (Milton Keynes: Word Books, 1991). p.lxvi-lxxv for an overview of the debate 126 See C.K. Barrett, The gospel according to St John (London: SPCK 1978). p.175 for overview of the arguments

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1. Jesus’ relationship with outsiders The most frequent theological concept raised by the interviewees is that of Jesus’ relationship with outsiders and the churches calling to be good news for people on the margins. Katherine says, “Where would Jesus have been? If he mixed with tax collectors and whores, then would he be partying in nightclubs? I hope so!”127 For Carol part of her motivation for fresh expressions has been, “Jesus’ love of people on the edge; the way that he chose to spend time with them and not with people at the centre.”128 John chapter 4 describes a dramatic dialogue between Jesus and a Samaritan woman, which offers profound insights into the radical relationships that Jesus developed with people on the margins. The woman in this story is not named, which is sometimes thought of as an example of patriarchal influence, but it may also be a device of the author to denote a symbolic character.129 In this case she then becomes not only an individual, but also representative of the Samaritan race and religion.130 Whilst many feminists focus on her gender, which we shall explore presently, her part in the story is even more significant than that. She comes from a people hated by the Jews, tainted with idolatry, and so is doubly unclean – a woman and a Gentile. She is possibly even an outcast from her own community for her immoral behaviour; many commentators interpret her solitary arrival at the well at midday as a symbol of her rejection. Neyrey observes that, ‘gender stereotypes work in the narrative to label the Samaritan woman as the ultimate outsider: non-Jew, unclean, sinner, shameless. The author has created a stereotype of the ultimate outsider and the quintessential deviant…’131 Looking more profoundly into the nature of this woman reveals just how radical this story is. Jesus’ conversation with her breaks all the codes and societal expectations.

127

Katherine p.14 Carol p.16 129 E.g. the mother of Jesus, the beloved disciple, 130 E.g. Barrett, St John p.229, Mark Stibbe, John (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993) p.66 131 Jerome Neyrey, What’s wrong with this picture? in Amy-Jill Levine (ed.), A Feminist Companion to John, (London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2003) p.124 (his italics) 128

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Many commentators discuss whether the literary form of this narrative takes a pattern which deliberately follows that of betrothal scenes in the Old Testament and other Jewish literature.132 There are possible clues in the fact this is Jacob’s Well133, in the context of marriage symbolism in the previous chapters,134 and in the discussion of marriage in v.16-18. If we accept this interpretation then we have an even more extraordinary picture of the Saviour of the world ‘wooing’ such an offensive bride. By using nuances of betrothal imagery and language the author creates a scene which has the potential to shock and challenge attitudes to outsiders, both for its original readers and today.

The flow of dialogue in this story takes many twists and turns as Jesus and the woman debate the deep theology of living water and worship, but the crucial journey here is the movement from exclusion to inclusion. ‘The story narrates her transformation from a Samaritan and outsider, who knows little and misunderstands much, to that of a privileged insider who comes to know important secrets and revelations.’135

2. Breaking the bonds of Patriarchy Some of the participants in my research passionately expressed the need for fresh expressions to embrace a theology which empowers women.

Sarah talks of the need to “critique the patriarchal theology” which “does a lot of damage to women” and “binds them up,”136 whilst Mary describes women in fresh expressions who have been “undermined and made to feel powerless and deliberately excluded.”137

132

Stibbe John p.68-69., Jerome Neyrey, The Gospel of John (Cambridge: CUP, 2007) p.91, See John Painter, The Quest for the Messiah (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993). p.200 for arguments against this view 133 Genesis 29:1-20.

134 John 2:1-11, 3:29 135 Jerome Neyrey, The Gospel of John (Cambridge: CUP, 2007). p.89 136 Sarah p.6 and p.15 137 Mary p.18

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In all the Gospels we read stories of Jesus breaking the laws of conduct between men and women, but John 4 is an extreme example. Here, he not only engages a women in conversation when he shouldn’t even notice her in public, but even asks a Samaritan woman for a drink, thus becoming unclean through contact with someone considered ‘a menstruant from the cradle.’138 In his day this was scandalous behaviour, so shocking that text emphasises it twice. First the woman herself says, “How can you ask me for a drink” (v.9) and then the narrator remarks that the disciples ‘were surprised to find him talking with a woman’ (v.27). Elaine Storkey comments, ‘Jesus contextualised gender relations, sometimes stripping away centuries of patriarchal distortions……The construction of race and gender in that society meant that communication between Jesus and the woman would have been taboo.’139 In the story of the woman at the well, not only is Jesus setting women free from patriarchy by his actions, the author too is subverting this system through his writing. Many of the commentators agree140 that this passage is in deliberate contrast with the narrative of Nicodemus in chapter 3:1-21.

He is a male Jew and a Rabbi, who comes to Jesus in the city at night, whilst she is a female ‘heretic’ Samaritan who meets Jesus at a remote well at midday. (Thus the reference to noon is probably a literary device rather than an allusion to being rejected by the community.) This contrast would not be so striking were it not for the outcomes of these different conversations. Nicodemus fades into silence and misunderstanding and it is the woman who perseveres on the journey to faith to become ‘a fullyfledged disciple portrayed as a model to the Evangelist’s audience.’141 Here is another example of the woman being released from gender stereotypes to fulfil her potential as ‘one who knows the gift of God.’142 138

Niddah 4:1 quoted in Barrett, St John p.232 Elaine Storkey, Created or Constructed (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2000) p.118 140 Eg Sloyan, John p.52, Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to John l-XII (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1971). p.185, 141 Ben Witherington, Women in the earliest churches (Cambridge: CUP, 1988)p.176 142 Neyrey, John.p.91 139

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3. The Gospel of Grace One important theological theme discussed during the interviews was the abundant grace of God which sets people free. Katherine comments, “it blows me away, that sense of what God's grace is really about, I think it knocks your socks off,” and Lizzie talks at length of how she has come to know the love of God in her life and wants to share that with others. Sarah is convinced that women especially need to hear the truth about God loving them and that this ‘truth will set you free.’143 We have explored the imagery of the outsider becoming accepted and patriarchy being overturned in the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, but under-girding both of these is the grace of God. Although the woman is probably a representative figure, she is also portrayed as a real person; here ‘we find a true to life characterisation of the woman.’144 From the beginning of the dialogue when Jesus asks for a drink, right through to his final revelation of “I am He”, Jesus listens to the woman, offering her the respect of taking her questions seriously. Sandra Schneiders remarks: ‘nowhere in the Fourth Gospel is there a dialogue of such theological depth and intensity. .... in this extraordinary scene the woman is not simply a "foil" for feeding Jesus cue lines. She is a genuine theological dialogue partner gradually experiencing Jesus’ self-revelation even as she reveals herself to him.’145 It is not just the feminist theologians who stress Jesus’ positive attitude to this woman. Beasley Murray talks of his ‘compassion and patience’146 and Barclay says, ‘it seemed the most natural thing in the world to talk to Jesus.

She had at last met someone who was not a critic but a friend one who did not condemn but who understood.’147

143

John 8:32 Raymond Brown, John l-XII, p.175 145 Schneiders Sandra, A Case Study: a feminist interpretation of John 4:1-42, in John Ashton (ed), The Interpretation of John (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1997)p.247-8 shton p.249 146 Beasley-Murray, John p.66 147 Barclay, John p.149 144

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In the course of this conversation Christ reveals just how much he knows about this woman and understands her through their dialogue regarding her five husbands (v.16-18). There are some who interpret this as a symbolic allusion to false Gods or the books of the Pentateuch, but most commentators take this literally.148 From this mention of her marital situation, there has been a significant tradition of considering the woman a profligate sinner whom Jesus challenges about her lifestyle. Feminist writers describe this interpretation of the woman as a typical patriarchal device reducing her to ‘a duplicitous whore whom Jesus tricks into self exposure.’149 However in the text there is little emphasis on the morals of her situation; to the contrary Jesus even comments on her truthfulness.

There is but a slight hint of condemnation or challenge150 and any conviction of sin is surely found in the acceptance and love Jesus demonstrates.

4. The Imperative of Mission For many of the women interviewed, mission is central to their faith and practice and so much of the theology raised was around this topic. Lizzie talks of being motivated by a passion to reach the lost,151 and Carol comments that part of the motivation for beginning her after school church was an awareness that “we’ve got this wonderful story to tell.”152 Nicky describes her experience of mission where she realised “the answers we were pedalling had nothing to do with the questions people were asking.”153

148

For contradictory views see Schneiders, A Case Study p.247-8 (symbolic) & BeasleyMurray, John p.61 (Literal) 149 Schneiders, A Case Study p.242 150 v.18 151 Lizzie p.6 152 Carol p.3 153 Nicky p.15

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In his commentary Lindars argues that John 4 ‘is a little model of the future missionary work of the Church….where the idea of mission is brought to the surface. It is part of the fecundity of the new life that springs from Jesus.’154 Much of the narrative of this passage focuses on the growth of faith in the Samaritan woman, and the seeming climax of the story is Jesus proclamation that “I am He.” Having encountered the Messiah the woman at the well cannot keep this good news to herself and she brings the people of the town back to discover the Saviour of the world (v.42).

There have been disagreements over the precise role of the woman.

Some theologians argue that her testimony is rather weak, “Could this be the Christ?”155 is thought to imply she has not decided yet and others maintain that the Samaritans believe through Jesus’ words and not her words (v.42) and so her part is minor in the process of conversion.156 However the majority of commentators do accept that she displays the attributes of a true disciple and witness to Christ.157 The fact that she brings people to Jesus saying, “Come and see”158 does have clear echoes of both Philip in 1:46 and Jesus himself in 1:39. Other writers argue that the Samaritan woman is more than just a disciple and should be accepted as an apostle or even church planter. John Chrysostom wrote that ‘she exhibited all the actions of an apostle, preaching the gospel to all, and calling them to Jesus and drawing a whole city forth to Him.’159 In the Orthodox tradition the woman is given the name Photina (Greek) or Svetlana (Russian) and takes the Gospel to Carthage before being martyred in Rome.160

154

Lindars, John p.173 v.29 156 Eg Neyrey, John.p.96 157 Schneiders, A Case Study p.251, 158 v.29 159 John Chrysostom, Homily XXXII, in Philip Schaff (ed.) The Nicene and Post-Nicene Father(Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1996) 111-115.

160 http://orthodoxwiki.org/Photine_of_Samaria 155

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The story of Jesus and the woman at the well has brought together four strands of the theology woven throughout our qualitative research. There are many powerful resonances here for women in leadership of fresh expressions that have helped us to reflect on some of the issues they raise.

Here is revealed the astonishing truth of Christ's compassion for the marginalised and outcast, and his radical rejection of the expectations and patriarchy of his day. In his conversation with this woman, Jesus breaks down the barriers of race and gender, listening to her questions and gently leading her to realise the love and acceptance of one who knows her completely. She may not have all the answers to who Jesus is, but she knows her life has been changed through this encounter with him. “Come and see,” she says. “Join me on this journey of faith, to encounter ‘God so loving the world, not in theory, but in action.’161” Going deeper into this story has revealed a pattern of mission which is almost post-modern in style. Some of the themes of John 4 speak powerfully of how we can engage with today’s culture. Evangelism which begins in lived experience, a focus on belonging rather than behaving, genuine dialogue and journeying with those on the edges; here we find much to portray what fresh expressions are all about.

161

Barclay p.151

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Chapter 11 Gender, Leadership and Fresh Expressions

In the process of analysing the research, thus far we have explored from the interviews a number of key themes and then reflected on some of the issues of theology the women raise. Here we turn to other resources and disciplines to further enrich our understanding of the subject. With so many potential themes to consider, our first task is to discern what the pivotal topic is, as ‘we cannot reflect on experience in its entirety. We need manageable pieces of experience in order to reflect, so we take a single event or issue and focus on that for reflection.’162 As identified previously, the hypothesis behind this research asks whether women have something particular to bring to leadership in fresh expressions within the Church of England. This directs us to the key issue of women's leadership style, a primary concern of the interviews, so we take this as our focus and explore what women have to offer ‘for such a time as this’. To reflect on this question requires wider consideration of the effects of gender, of leadership for today’s context and of the nature of fresh expressions themselves.

162

Killen O’Connell. & J De Beer, The Art of Theological Reflection, (New York; Crossroads; 1995) p.58-59

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Gender and Leadership As we explored in chapter 6, the women interviewed revealed very mixed perceptions of gender and its influence, and yet the relationship between gender and leadership is central to our study. The debate about sex and gender difference spans many years and offers very diverse views, from the fixed identities given by nature, to the constructions of gender by socialisation. 163 Elements of all the different understandings can be identified in our society today, leading to confused perceptions of gender and difference. Within the Church, possibly we find an even greater complexity as all these issues then become theological concerns too,164 and therefore it is important in our research to acknowledge this lack of clarity. As the researcher, my view of gender as, ‘a complex and multidimensional relationship between biology, social conditioning and individual consciousness’,165 reflects something of the ambiguities of these debates, as indeed does the confusion of the interviewees.

As we seek to explore what difference gender has on leadership style, secular research becomes a key resource. There have been prolific studies and meta–analysis on whether women lead in ways which are different to men.166 Qualitative and quantitative methods, real life observations and laboratory conditions have all been applied to this subject. Women's leadership has been scrutinised in many ways, for example for their effectiveness in achievement, from the perceptions of their subordinates and from the perceptions of their superiors.

163

See Elaine Storkey, Created or Constructed (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2000).

Elaine Graham, Making the difference: (London: Mowbray, 1995).p.35 She argues that within the Church implications of gender go largely unexplored.

165 Graham, Making the Difference, p.91 166 For an overview of research - Jeanette Cleveland et al, Women and men in organizations (London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000). p.303-312 Peter Northouse, Leadership (London: SAGE Publications, 2007) p.266-268 Fiona Wilson, Organizational behaviour and gender (London: McGraw-Hill, 1995).p.172178 164

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The studies have generally agreed that women are just as effective leaders as men,167 but that they ‘were more effective in leadership roles that were congruent with their gender.’168 Here we see a significant impact of stereotypes as research seems to show that when women lead in what is perceived as masculine ways (strong and directive) their leadership was rated as less effective by subordinates. Whether women generally have a distinctive style of leadership is less proven than their success as leaders.

Some research has been unable to verify any identifiable differences between the ways that men and women lead.169 Other research seems to conclude that ‘the only robust gender difference found across settings was that women lead in a more democratic, or participative, manner than men.’170 There has also been research which identifies greater differences in leadership styles, such as the work of Judy Rosener. In a number of studies she suggests that women are more collaborative, empowering, flexible and better at negotiation.171 As Rosie Ward points out, ‘we need to look carefully at the small print in these studies’.172 Much of the research is from America and may not be directly transferable to a British context. Any outcomes can only be offered as generalisations; all leadership is dependant on personality and situation, and as we have seen definitions of gender is a very complex issue. There is also a need to be cautious as there is a possible bias; most studies proving women lead differently are by female researchers, and most proving no difference are by men.

How does this research correspond with the perceptions of the women interviewed on their own leadership? They certainly speak of a style which matches Rosener’s observations of collaborative, empowering and flexible.

167

See Cleveland, Women and men p.310, Northouse, Leadership p.267-268 Northouse, Leadership p.267 169 See Gary Powell quoted in Cleveland, Women and men p.311 170 Cleveland, Women and men p.308 171 See Rosener quoted in Cleveland, Women and men p.311 172 Rosie Ward, Doing leadership Differently? at http://www.cpas.org.uk/womeninleadership/resources/index.php?category=82 p.4 168

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These women leading fresh expressions could also be described as democratic and participative. Therefore we can offer the tentative, generalised conclusion that these women are leading in a style congruent to their gender, which is therefore likely to be highly effective.

Leadership in Today’s Context Having briefly looked at secular research on gender and leadership, our second question concerns what styles of leadership are relevant for today’s context. Here we focus first on leadership in the business sector and then examine leadership in the Church.

Leadership in Business Whilst the world of business is very different to the Church, both are having to adapt and adjust to the changing world of postmodernism, and in this context ‘there are many good things we can learn from the secular leadership traditions’.173 In recent times there have been widespread shifts in the leadership of companies and organisations; John Adair remarks that, ‘the cultural changes around us have forced theories of management to give way to models of leadership where the focus is on providing direction and not maintaining the status quo.’174 This shift in style is now an accepted phenomenon both in British and American businesses and institutions and is in part a response to rapid developments in communication and media. ‘Networked technology takes power from the head of an organisation and distributes it among those who comprise the hands’175 and so leadership has moved towards a more democratic and flexible model rather than the old paradigm of a top down, command-and-

173

Croft, Steven, The Future of the Parish System (London: Church House Publishing, 2006) p.78 174 John Adair, Creative Church Leadership (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2004).p.5-6, see also Northouse, Leadership p.9-11 on the differences between management and leadership.

175 Sally Helgesen, Leading from Grassroots, in Hesselbein, Francis et al, The Leader of the Future:(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996) p.21

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control.176 There is increasing agreement that effective leaders need to empower others, to build good relationships, and to focus on networks rather than hierarchy.177 Having explored some research on how women lead, we can observe that the current leadership models, with the emphasis on participation and collaboration, could be described as a more feminine style. In 1995 Sally Helgesen wrote that, what business needs now is exactly what women are able to provide and at the very time when women are surging back into the workforce. But even more important…. is the fact that women are just now beginning to assume positions of leadership, which give them the scope to create and reinforce the trends towards change.178 Certainly within America there has been some recognition that women have much to offer this new business climate. It is seen as an opportunity for women to lead in ways that are congruent with their gender rather than having to adopt a more masculine style. Recent publications such as Enlightened Power, gather insights from the women who have ‘made it’ in this new business climate, many of whom testify that their style of leadership has been welcomed and accepted.179 Whilst we might hesitantly accept this hypothesis that models of leadership have become more feminine, yet we must also acknowledge the danger of this being an over simplified generalisation. The complexities of gender should make us wary of defining things as categorically feminine or masculine; men too have proved themselves as collaborative and empowering leaders. Bass and Avolio write that ‘this strategy should not 176

Esther Wachs Book, Why the best man for the job is a woman (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001). p.9-11 contrasts the characteristics of the old and new paradigms.

177 Cleveland, Women and Men, p.298-9, Gary Yukl, Leadership in organizations (Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006). p. 424 178 Helgeson, Sally, The Female Advantage (New York: Doubleday, 1995) p.39 179 Linda Coughlin et al, Enlightened Power: how women are transforming the practice of leadership (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005). But such books from the States may not reflect the British scene.

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be recognised for being more feminine but rather for the fact that it comprises the most appropriate leadership behaviours to develop followers to achieve their highest levels of potential.’180 In fact research seems to demonstrate that the best leadership style is one that shows a blend of traditionally masculine and feminine skills.181 The shift to less hierarchical leadership may have created opportunities for women to lead in their way, but it is clear there is still an unbroken glass ceiling preventing significant numbers of women rising to senior positions.182 Women leaders in the business world are still a long way from equality with men.

Leadership in the Church For a number of years the Church of England has also been reflecting on the changes needed in leadership for today’s context, not too dissimilar to the world of business. There has been a renewed recognition that a crucial function of the clergy is to empower and release the laity. Books such as Transforming Priesthood 183 and Priests in a People’s’ Church, 184 argue for a return to the understanding of ministry as ‘the work of all the baptised’185 and they advocate this shift in focus is essential in our current culture.186 Expressions of this change include the development of ministry leadership teams, an emphasis on adult education and discipleship within Dioceses and the growth of Local Ordained Ministry. Bob Jackson comments that ‘the era of the omni-competent clergyperson may need burying.’187 The change in focus towards the empowerment of others for ministry has been

180

Bernard Bass and Bruce J. Avolio, Shatter the glass ceiling: in Keith Grint (ed.), Leadership (Oxford: OUP, 1997) p.208 181 Wilson, Organizational p.171 182 See Yukl, Leadership p.428 for the possible reasons for this 183 Greenwood, Robin, Transforming priesthood (London: SPCK, 1994).

184 George Guiver (ed), Priests in a people’s church (London: SPCK, 2001).

185 Greenwood, Transforming, p.153 186 See for example Greenwood, Transforming Chapter 2 187 Jackson, Bob, Hope for the Church (London: Church House Publishing, 2002).p.128

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reflected in the new Common Worship Ordinal. The commentary by the liturgical commission states, ‘the need for the ordained to work in closer collaboration with one another and with lay people is more strongly emphasised now, not simply as a practical advantage but as a theologically necessary way of expressing the unity of the Church's ministry.’188 More relational and collaborative ways of working have been explored in the establishment of team ministries where clergy share the responsibility for a number of parishes. However research has shown that this approach has not always been a success; such teams can create more problems than they solve, and can even restrict the involvement of the laity.189 One of the major changes in Church leadership has been the ordination of women as priests. Before 1994 there were great expectations that women would bring a whole range of experiences and skills to the priesthood.

Many hoped that women priests could ‘remain confident about being women, and not succumb to the temptation to dredge up so-called masculine qualities in order to conform to a pattern of ministry that may be alien to them.' 190 This concern that women would not be free to be themselves was proved accurate; only a few years later one study revealed ‘women priests felt they were uniformly being negatively changed by the church establishment. Some felt that the system was putting pressure on women priests to conform and not challenge.’191 In-depth research both five192 and then ten193 years after the ordination of women as priests offers helpful insights that these expectations might be very slowly changing.

Whilst holding conflicting views on whether women’s leadership is naturally

188

Ordinal p.121 Jackson, Road to Growth.p.17-20 190 Una Kroll in Walrond-Skinner, Sue, Crossing the Boundary (London: Mowbray, 1994). p. 165 191 Bagilhole, Barbara, ‘Prospects for Change? Gender, Work and Organisation Vol.10 No3 (June 2003), p.373 192 Helen Thorne, , Journey to Priesthood, (Bristol: CCSRG Monograph Series 5, 2000).

193 Ian Jones, , and priesthood in the Church of England (London: Church House Publishing, 2004).

189

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collaborative and relational,194 both studies agree that women have brought something distinctive to the priesthood, and enriched the life of the Church.

The most recent shift in leadership in the Church has been the introduction of Ordained Pioneer Ministry. This has developed from a recommendation made by the Mission-Shaped Church report to select and train church planters.195 Two of the women interviewed for my research have been accepted for this ministry and commented on the paucity of women in training. However in these first few years the number of women on this training route seems to be steadily increasing.196 What insights do we gain into our research from these reflections on the changes in leadership in business and the Church? Firstly there is a clear commitment in both sectors that today’s context demands a collaborative, empowering approach to leadership, such as is modelled by our interviewees; whether instinctively or deliberately these women are demonstrating a leadership style which connects with culture and the needs of ministry. Secondly, both women priests and women in business have faced the pressure to conform to the male ‘norms’ when they first broke into leadership, and now seem to be finding more permission and space to be themselves. This is a huge encouragement for women pioneers within fresh expressions; whilst the structures might seem resistant to allow women to lead, there are signs that this will change.

Leadership in Fresh Expressions Finally in this analysis we come to explore other reflections on the perceived characteristics of leadership within fresh expressions more broadly, to bring this into conversation with our research. Gibbs and Bolger spent five years collecting data on emerging churches and interviewed fifty 194

See Thorne, Journey, p.102-105, Jones, Women p.82-90 Mission-Shaped Church report p.147 196 1 women in 05-06 and 7 in 06-07 (22% of total) 195

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leaders to produce a clear picture of the current emerging church scene both in Britain and the US.197 Two of the fresh expressions from my research are included, and one leader. In total they interviewed twenty three leaders in Britain of whom only two were women. These researchers attribute the scarcity of women in leadership to the influence of the inherited churches they are emerging from;198 at least seven of their participants were vicar’s sons from evangelical charismatic backgrounds.

Comparing my study with theirs reveals striking similarities. They identify nine characteristics of emerging churches, most of which are congruent with my research. The themes of holistic spiritually, community, creativity, collaborative leadership and welcoming the stranger particularly correspond. 199 This brings us to a possible conclusion that the gender of the leader has little affect on the either the nature of the fresh expression or on the leadership style. The twenty one male leaders interviewed here, mostly seem to display a collaborative, relational, flexible style; such leaders ‘are opposed to any hierarchical understanding of leadership out of the conviction that it inevitably stifles people and creativity.’ 200 In a creative discussion of the style of leadership required for today’s culture, Brian McLaren contrasts the Wizard of Oz with Dorothy from the 1940s film.201 He uses these characters to compare the style of ‘corporate hero’ leadership with the compassionate, vulnerable, ‘accompanying’ leadership modelled by Dorothy; his choice of a female character is deliberate, commenting that she is the ‘wrong’ gender for leadership. The Wizard is described as an apologist, a solo act, a problem solver and a knower, whilst Dorothy is a spiritual friend, an includer, a quest inspirer and a team builder. Whilst this analogy may go too far in drawing distinctions between the two, it does help us to understand much of the potential 197

Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches p.11 199 The others being roughly: christocentric, servant-hearted, participatory, and mixing ancient and modern.

200 Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches p.194 201 Brian McLaren & Tony Campolo, Adventures in missing the point:(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).p.141-151 198

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dissonance between the old and new paradigms of leadership, and therefore how difficult it might be for Church hierarchies to recognise and embrace the leadership style of the women interviewed. McLaren goes on to remark he finds in Dorothy’s way ‘many echoes of our Lord.’202 Here we might be reminded of Jesus and the woman at the well, where he shows similar characteristics of spiritual friend, includer and quest inspirer, and possibly in the Samaritan woman herself, someone vulnerable and on a journey, yet inviting others to join her.

‘For Such a Time as This’ In this analysis we have engaged in three dialogues with different material to test the hypothesis that women have much to offer as leaders of fresh expressions at this time in the Church. The secular research data does seem to imply that generally women have a leadership style which tends towards democratic and participatory, and is possibly collaborative, relational and empowering. Changes in the understanding of leadership in both business and the Church have been dramatic in recent years, with models of management being replaced by what could be described as a more feminine style. In the Church, women priests have had to face both expectations to bring change and pressures to conform, and have played a pioneering role of their own. These reflections do imply that the time might be right for women to come into their own in leadership and be set free to lead in ways congruent to their gender. If this is true, we must encourage their leadership in many different ways - in inherited Church, as ordained and lay ministers, in the workplace - as well as within fresh expressions.

However the research of Gibbs and Bolger, and reflections of Brian McLaren, seem to indicate that leadership in fresh expressions might allow women particular opportunities to use their experiences, skills and personalities, as well as their gender, to build new communities of faith, as they invite others on the journey to know the Saviour.

202

McLaren & Campolo, Adventures p.148

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Chapter 12 Learning Outcomes The original research proposal asked, ‘What can the church learn from women leaders in fresh expressions of church today, to empower and equip more women as pioneer leaders for the future?’ Having explored thoroughly the experiences of the eight participants in this study, we come now to some tentative suggestions for women pioneers in the Church.

Throughout the interviews particular issues the Church might address were discussed. Many of these are relevant to women's ministry generally, such as concerns surrounding motherhood and family, so it is our intention here to focus on some of the issues more pertinent to fresh expressions. From the participants and from our research emerge at least five ministry outcomes for the Church to address.

1. Developing the potential of young women as pioneers.

From the faith stories of these women, it seems clear that the Church must seek to inspire and encourage girls at a young age, offering opportunities to grow spiritually through ministry and leadership experience. Quality children’s and youth work is a vital training ground for pioneer ministry as these youngsters are already immersed in post-modern culture and are the best witnesses to reach their peers. We must also pay attention to our gendered images of God and language we use in order to encourage and include young women in the journey of faith; recent research has shown that amongst the 15-19 age group in the Church, young men actually outnumber women.203

203

Aune, Kristin, “Why women don’t do church anymore” Church Times, Friday 22 August 2008, p.8

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nd

The world of further education is another important time to nurture women as leaders. Churches, chaplaincies and Christian Unions can offer student ministry that affirms their gifts and develops their potential. Internship programmes and gap year opportunities need to be pro-active in encouraging women, who as we have recognised, may be less selfconfidence in applying. The influence of an increasingly conservative theology within some student organisations, unions and churches is a concern here in not allowing women to lead.

2. Access to training In her interview Mary remarked that “I think there are issues about things like‌.access to trainingâ€? and Carol told the story of not being invited to a Fresh Expressions training event she would liked to have attended. Lizzie felt very positive about her experiences of residential training for ministry, but statistics reveal that there are far fewer women training in colleges than men.204 Therefore one outcome from this study is that the Church must ensure pioneering women are offered the same opportunities and access to training as their male colleagues. This is true at every level, from the Mission-shaped Ministry course, to networking days and ordination training.

Training events need to be offered at a variety of times to suit those in employment or with families. Right from these early days, pioneer ordination training needs to consider its appeal to women, paying attention to such things as suitable training incumbents and placements. It is encouraging to see the development of the Call Waiting campaign,205 targeted at younger people and including a good proportion of testimonies and photos of women.

204

Goddard, Andrew, Anvil editorial, Volume 23 Number 1 (2006) at http://www.anviljournal.co.uk/Editorials/23_1.htm In 2006 only 30% of women were training in colleges.

205 http://www.callwaiting.org.uk

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3. Role models As we have explored in chapter 6 the interview participants were generally unable to identify role models of pioneering women, despite looking for some. ‘Behavioural scientists tell us with rare accord that modelling is one of the primary ways in which people learn,’206 and so this lack of role models is a significant issue for women leading fresh expressions.

If we are seeking to encourage and equip more women as pioneers, we need to creatively address the need for role models. It was interesting that only two of the women interviewed implied that they might be potential role models for someone else, so a crucial task is to encourage and empower the present generation of women leaders to consider this role. There is potential that relationships could be formed between women leaders in fresh expressions and inherited church for the enrichment of both, and as Ruth Perrin has incisively shown, female Biblical characters can also become helpful role models.207

4. Changing attitudes to Leadership Styles In this study we have focused on the leadership of the women interviewed and tentatively described their commitment to a collaborative, relational and non-hierarchical style as a generally more feminine way of working. We have also suggested that as this is not what the outside institution expects, fresh expression leaders can be overlooked, for more obvious ‘charismatic’ males. In order to change these attitudes we need to work towards an ethos of acceptance by the whole church of more empowering, nondirective styles of leadership. The traditional model needs to be replaced by a wider understanding of appropriate styles for today’s culture.

206

James Dunn, The Effective Leader (Eastbourne: Kingsway 1995) p.161 Ruth Perrin, How might the evangelical church use neglected female biblical role models as a method of discipleship and empowerment amongst young women?

Unpublished dissertation (Durham University, 2007).

207

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This is particularly true for ordination training. There needs to be opportunities for all ordinands, but especially OPMs, to explore and experience genuinely collaborative and non-hierarchical styles of leadership, allowing space to develop personal styles and gifts.

5. Pro-active Recognition and Encouragement Throughout the interviews there was a clear theme of the encouragement of others playing a significant role in bringing these women into positions of leadership, and both Fiona and Mary highlighted this as a vital outcome of this study. Fiona observes that “I think there is a question on a local level of people just recognising (women's leadership) and appreciating it a huge amount more”208 and Mary comments a number of times that it is no good just talking about gender equality, “if you believe (women's leadership) is ok then you have to do something about it. Otherwise it will never change and its not enough just to pay it lip-service, it has to be about encouraging and supporting.”209 Being pro-active in recognising and encouraging women implies that men need to be more deliberate in giving women a higher profile. David Wilkinson writes, ‘we need... for those already in power to be prepared to make space for others to lead and grow very different kinds of congregations.’210 Creating opportunities for women to lead fresh expressions, giving them a voice on a national level and inviting them to speak and write on their experiences of leadership are all vital openings for women to become visible and emerge from ‘under the radar’.

208

Fiona p.16 Mary p.12 210 David Wilkinson, in Croft, Mission-shaped questions p.111 209

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Conclusion We have explored the context of our society today, the twin paradigms of post-modernity and post-Christendom, and have examined how new types of church are growing from within today’s culture. This research project was based on a qualitative interview method which revealed fascinating insights from the experiences of the eight women participants. We have sought to listen to their voices and reflect with integrity on the wealth of data, investigating key themes both from their personal journeys and from the new communities they are leading.

The story of the woman at the well shines out as an example of Jesus’ compassion as he broke down the barriers of gender and race, listening to her and accepting her, and showing his love. This model of gentle conversation offers much for today’s culture, with its suspicion of certainty and objective truth.

The main focus of our research has been to explore if women have specific gifts to bring to leadership ‘for such a time as this.’ In dialogue with secular research and the business world we have tentatively identified that women do have much to offer leadership in today’s culture.

An article about women pioneers in the US comments that, ‘only time and patience will reveal if the emerging church in all its forms….will come together to jointly reflect the power and innovation of women's unique leadership.’211 This study proclaims that a ‘wait and see’ response is not good enough. The Church needs to pro-actively encourage, empower and equip women to become leaders within fresh expressions of church, releasing them to use their God given gifts in His service.

211

Jan Lemen, Emerging women at CBE Website http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/pdf_files/free_articles/EmergingWomen.pdf p.6

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Wright, Verena, Maid in God’s Image : in search of the unruly woman (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2008).

Wright, Walter, Relational Leadership (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2000).

Yukl, Gary A., Leadership in organizations (Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006).

Websites Call Waiting http://www.callwaiting.org.uk/home.aspx http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/cofe.campaign.targets.young.people. for.ordained.ministry/20078.htm Emerging church and John 4 http://1peter315.wordpress.com/category/emerging-church/ http://www.the-next-wave.org/stories/storyReader$9 http://orthodoxwiki.org/Photine_of_Samaria http://emergentpadre.blogspot.com/2006/05/women-and-emerging-church.html Fresh Expressions Statisitics http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics/churchstats2005/freshexpression0207 .htm Fresh Expressions http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/section.asp?id=3547 Lemen, Jan, Emerging women: are women leaders finding a place in the postmodern Church?, at Centre for Biblical Equality Website http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/pdf_files/free_articles/EmergingWomen.pdf Ward, Rosie, Doing leadership Differently? at http://www.cpas.org.uk/womeninleadership/resources/index.php Lings, George, What is Emerging Church?, at http://emergingchurch.info/reflection/georgelings/index.htm Moynagh, Mike, How is emerging church different? at http://emergingchurch.info/reflection/michaelmoynagh/index.htm Women and Training Goddard, Andrew, Anvil editorial, Volume 23 Number 1 (2006) at http://www.anviljournal.co.uk/Editorials/23_1.htm

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APPENDIX A Interview Questions Background Questions Name

Age

Marital Status

Children

Lay/Ordained

Diocese

Background

Church Tradition

Employment Past FE experience (and context) Current FE involvements (and context) 1. Describe the journey to your involvement with Fresh Expressions.

2. How has your gender affected that journey?

3. What has been your experience of the church – both institution and people – on this journey? How have you been empowered and supported, or hindered and discouraged?

4. Describe your present leadership within Fresh Expressions.

5. What effect do you think your gender has an affect on your leadership style and the Fresh Expression itself?

6. What and who has been your inspiration and motivation?

7. Tell me about your call and gifts. How would you describe yourself?

8. What has been your experience of other women leaders within Fresh Expressions?

9. What do you think are the issues for women leading Fresh Expressions?

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APPENDIX B Our Stories Mary’s Story I am 31 and I had a Christian upbringing. Before going to university I was involved in some excellent youth groups and an alt.worship type service which set me thinking on the “how to do church differently” line. Getting married just after university, my husband and I moved to a city centre location where we spent two years looking for a church to join. We tried many different traditions and styles, but nowhere fitted and eventually we found ourselves creating an informal community meeting around our dining room table. When the Church Army commissioned an officer to start something new in the city centre, our community became the nucleus and I became a leader of this fresh expression.

I am self employed and lead the community as an extremely committed lay person. My two male co-leaders have been fabulous in encouraging and supporting me as a leader. We work very closely together and have a joint approach to leadership, swapping styles and functions as necessary. As these other two are paid by the Church of England and Methodist Church they have much higher profiles within the fresh expressions networks; most of the time I like being ‘under the radar’212, enjoying the freedom this gives to be radical and get on with the job. I think my gifts are in communication and creativity, and I have been described as contributing a certain prophetic ‘edgy-ness’213.

212 213

Mary p.9 Mary p.13

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Helen’s Story I think I have always had a calling to lead worship; at the age of four I was singing in the church choir and had some sense of a vocation to serve God. I had a mixed church background both Catholic and Church of England, and as a young person went to church where I’m based now. In 1988 a group of us experienced the Nine O’Clock Service at Greenbelt and from there began my involvement in the alternative worship scene. After university I returned to my church and our group decided to experiment with night club style worship and eventually we started a regular evening service in 1992. It’s been going ever since and I am employed by the community as the co-ordinator.

Some years ago I realised that ordination might be right for me and after training part-time was ordained last summer. Officially I am an NSM curate, but leading this fresh expression is part of my licence. The diocese and our parent church have largely been very supportive and permission giving. We operate with a collaborative leadership style and technically the power always lies with the group, but in practice there are times when I have to make the decisions. Everyone is encouraged to take part in planning and contributing to the services. I am passionate about worship – equipping, empowering and releasing other people to worship God. Now aged 41, I am married with no children.

Lizzie’s Story When I was 11 I became a Christian on a camp, but my family background was not Christian. Mostly I went to Anglican churches through growing up and university, being on the PCC, church treasurer and getting involved in preaching and leading worship. I felt called to ordination whilst still quite young but wanting to do a secular job first I joined the management training scheme of a multi-national company. A few years later I trained for the ministry and was ordained four years ago.

My husband and I moved to this city and I took a curacy in a UPA parish.

After a couple of years I had my first child, and then asked to go part-time.

The diocese has been incredibly supportive and it was the archdeacon who suggested I applied for a grant to start up a fresh expression. I have always been interested in the relationship between gospel and culture, and so now I am pioneering a network community of city centre people meeting in a bar in the evenings. It took almost a year to establish a team of eight people and now we lead this initiative together. I have used many different leadership styles but mostly I would describe myself as a facilitator. I have teaching gifts and seem to be used to do new things in a sort of apostolic way. I’m 35 and about to have my second child.

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Nicky’s Story Now age 38, I am married with one son. My family were not believers, but I became a Christian through attending church Sunday schools and youth groups. When I was 18 I joined a year-out scheme doing city based missions work, and this experience raised huge questions for me about how we relate the gospel to culture. I studied theology at university and went forward for selection for ordination but was turned down. After three years teaching I applied again and this time was accepted to train, during which time the subject of my research was "St Paul's missionary methods and incultutation of the gospel".

I did two rural curacies and am now a stipendiary incumbent of six rural parish churches. After a successful Alpha course we started cells and now have a cell church meeting alongside the other more traditional congregations. It’s fantastic that these cells can reach people who might never be attracted to our parish churches. Because of my thesis and experience in rural work I was invited to join the working party on the Mission-Shaped Church report and have just written a book on missionshaped rural ministry. I feel a definite calling to rural church planting. My leadership style is quite relational and collaborative but as a vicar I have learnt to be more directive when needs be. I am analytical and pragmatic and enjoy thinking outside the box.

Katherine’s Story I grew up in a Christian family and have a wide experience of different denominations. At the age of 18 I felt that God was calling me to work in nightclubs but at the time people told me as a young girl I was too vulnerable. Later on I did work in clubs as a volunteer, before being selected for the Church Army. When I finished training I was surprised to have a renewed sense of that same calling and I worked in a particular town developing an outreach project in the clubs there. Now I am in my second job as a night club chaplain working in three different clubs across another small town. I am 36 and married with no children.

My present job has been made particularly difficult through clashes of understanding with my management group. My passion is to create a fresh expression of church for clubbers within their own culture, but I think the committee expected me to start bringing people into the existing churches.

That’s just not going to happen in today’s scene and it’s not my style. My gifts are evangelism, discipling and hospitality and I believe my calling will always be to ministry on the edge - I’m a pioneer by nature. Recently I’ve been accepted to train as an Ordained Pioneer Minister which has taken me rather by surprise so I’ve delayed the training process for the moment .

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Sarah’s Story As a kid we went to a very conservative church where women weren’t allowed to do anything and yet I think I felt called into leadership from the age of about 7. After school I took a year out, that turned into three years working with an Anglican church and youth mission organisation. We did lots of work in schools and planted a youth congregation which started my thinking about different ways of doing church. Then I did a six month cross cultural mission placement in Africa and was involved is setting up youth congregations in schools.

Back at university in England I found myself supporting some people who had been sexually abused in the church. With all this going on I began to question the role of the institutional church and went on a massive faith journey exploring everything I believe in. Over the last few years my husband and I have attracted an informal community of people who what to explore faith together and now we meet regularly for food and meditation or discussion. I am the leader but my style is very non-directive. We are linked to our big ‘parent’ church and are in discussion with the diocese about whether this is an official Fresh Expression. I am employed part-time with a Christian pioneer training course and part time for a regeneration project. I am 30 and we are expecting a baby soon.

Fiona’s Story When I was five I joined the Girl’s Brigade and had to go to church, and eventually I became a Christian but my family were not. I was the only young person in the church, so at the age of 12 I was in charge of the big Sunday school. At university I did a Christian youth work course and ended up working on a rough estate in a big city. I was asked to lead the follow up from a YFC mission in a local school and we had loads of kids coming along to an Alpha course. I thought they’d be able to join the churches around but the culture was just too different so we ended up discipling them in groups at school. It was obvious this became a fresh expression of church but we decided not to register on the website as we were concerned about the institution to interfering.

I am now 25 and in full-time training as an OPM. My placement church is fairly traditional but I am looking forward to planting something new. I don’t know what yet as I want to spend the first six months building relationships; I would say my style is very people-focused and relational. My passion has always been mission and evangelism stuff and I’m happier when mixing with real people outside the church.

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Carol’s Story I grew up in a Christian family and from quite young was involved in the church – singing in the choir and then helping with Sunday School. After university I became a teacher, got married and then had two children. I am now 41 and work full time for a Christian children’s work organisation writing resources, doing schools work and training around the country.

About five years ago some of us at church began to think about how we could reach out to families and children. There were lots of creative people around so we got them involved and started an after school club. The parents come with their kids and we do crafts and a Bible story and singing, then all have tea together. Most of those who come are not Sunday service folk, so this is their mid-week church. It’s a whole different congregation and we even had a couple of young people baptised recently.

We have a planning team of four and I’m the leader, but if my husbands around sometimes people assume he runs it because he’s the vicar.

Through the Fresh Expressions DVD this model is being used successfully in other churches round the country. I’ve written a book about it and I’m now also an Associate Missioner with the Fresh Expressions team.

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