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9781789591675

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The authors of Fuzzy Church describe their book as an account of qualitative field research in churches in the north of England in places of relative deprivation where something is happening. They believe that this research enables them to make broad observations on what might be distinctive about northern culture and a gospel for the north . It all rather begs the question. If this were rigorous, academic research, we would expect first of all to have some clarity about the criteria for identifying churches where something is happening. There are no such criteria, though the authors are at pains to say that they do not necessarily mean growing churches. Churches were selected by asking an unidentified group of key people and senior Anglican and Methodist church leaders to suggest churches where something is happening. We are not told how they identified these key people whose subjective judgements determined the field of research. Forty-nine churches, mainly Anglican, were selected in various locations and of varying ecclesiological types in different places across the whole of the north. Eighteen responded to a questionnaire, seven were visited, and focus groups were held in five. I would not describe such fleeting contacts as field research ; and the whole enterprise is a thin base from which to generalise about either churches or culture in the north. Even the definition of the north is unclear. One of the churches visited is in Derbyshire, which is generally considered to be in the Midlands. The authors tell us that the churches where something is happening are illustrative of God's mission in the North . They give us glimpses into what God is doing. What they have in common is fuzziness - hence the book's title. They have fuzzy boundaries - who is in and who is out of the congregation. They have fuzzy goals - clear directions of travel, but no fixed point of arrival. And they have fuzzy worship - a mixing of many elements drawn from diverse sources. The book tends to reinforce the view that it's grim up north - something that the elected mayors in Manchester and Leeds might take issue with. The impact of the corona virus pandemic is making everyone look afresh at the future of work and where we are located. They also write about the inexorable decline and even death of mainstream churches , but do not see this as something to regret. The collapse of traditional churches provides compost for future growth - though how that works is not explained. Where I agree with the authors is in recognising that numerical growth cannot be the only measure of success for churches. The chill winds of secularism are blowing strongly across all of Europe, not just the north of England, and the vocation of Christians is to stay faithful in the face of them. For Anglicans, this is about remaining rooted in the life of the parish, contributing to the building up of community - which is what the churches in this book are doing. Whether the current strategies of the national Church are helping them to do that or diverting their time and attention is a moot point. -- The Revd Dr Alan Billings * The Church Times *

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Nigel Rooms works part-time developing a process for deep cultural change in UK Christian congregations over the long term with the Church Mission Society. He also offers his skills in a variety of roles in organizations, churches and in 1:1 developmental relationships including being a spiritual director. Nigel has worked both as an Anglican Parish Priest and in training and development at all levels in the UK church for most of his 25+ years in ministry. He is currently Associate Priest at St Peter’s, Braunstone Park in Leicester. Nigel holds a Master’s degree in Mission and Ministry from Nottingham University and a Professional Doctorate (ThD) in Missiology from Birmingham University. He is a published author of books and journal articles in mission and contextual theology. He was the editor of the Journal of Adult Theological Education for six years and is now the editor of the journal Practical Theology. His research and writing interests are currently Contextual Theology in the North of England, the theology of spiritual direction and the phenomenon of liminality. Nigel was a mission partner in Tanzania for seven years in the 1990s and speaks fluent Kiswahili. He grows all his own vegetables on his allotment and worries about the fluctuating fortunes of his hometown football club, Hull City AFC. Elli Wort is a Tutor with Church Army, equipping their Commissioned Evangelists to share God’s love and transform their communities through faith shared in words and action. For her PhD she explored the theologies of culture emerging from Hull, one of the UK’s most marginalized and deprived cities, in 2017, when Hull was the UK’s City of Culture. She also holds an MA in Theology, Media and Communication from the University of Chester. Prior to studying for her PhD, Elli was communications officer for the Diocese of York, where she encouraged churches to engage with their contexts through social media, news media, websites, newsletters and church signage. She spends too much time reading murder mysteries and watching cricket.

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