The Graven Image of Growth
For those who think that the present problems of decline in the Church of England are a modern thing, a glance through the Social History of the Diocese of Newcastle will disabuse you of your error. Written to mark the centenary of the See, it charts a steady decrease from its creation in 1882 with a few moments of respite along the way.
In that time, to address the challenge, a number of new churches were built. By 1980, several had been closed and demolished (one or two being in both developments). The diocese is now contemplating the prospect of another round of redundancies in the face of continuing pressures. Coupled with this is a drive to find ways of increasing our membership and there is a policy that we should embrace a quota of growth as an aspiration for every parish.
The observations that will follow need to be set in the context of some indisputable facts. It is clearly essential to the continuance of the Church that she attracts new members. It is also true that if we fail to recruit substantially, the current demographic profile of our membership suggests that the present expectations of what the Church can do and achieve will quickly become unrealistic to the point of pure and exotic fantasy.
Having said that, we need to be cautious about making growth targets the principal driver of policy and action. This suggests that the weakness of the Church lies solely in her diminishing membership, which analysis is questionable. Many congregations, including those, which are numerically robust, are weak in terms of the contribution that is available to the life of the congregation. This limitation falls into two connected categories: first a dearth of willingness to offer the time and resources that are required; secondly, a lack of the knowledge and understanding of the Church and her work.
We should be clear that sustaining a congregation, even a small one with a simple plant, is a complicated business drawing on many disciplines: having people walk through the doors once a week (or less) is not, of itself, going to provide the necessary resources to underpin the management and development of a church. Increase of numbers is, of itself, no guarantee of strength, though it can easily mask weakness.
We, therefore, need to be aware that we need to recruit members, who will be looking to play an active part in the life of the congregation. Obviously, this does not happen all at once and there is nothing more calculated to discourage someone that placing in their hands on their second Sunday a pack of envelopes and a raft of demands on their time and skills. None-the-less, we need to be looking to establish an ethos that draws people into full participation in the life of the church as well as ensuring the acquisition of a sufficient knowledge base to equip them for future development.
This is where the challenge starts, because many, once confronted with such a proposition begin to fall away. Priests and congregations tread round this very warily, because such departures can seem like failure. Sometimes it is, but we need to remember that many could not travel with Christ as they encountered the sharp edge of His preaching and drifted away as easily as they had first come to hear Him. The Church is not a glee-club, but the Body of Christ, seeking to draw individuals into the Mystery of God and the service of the Gospel. If people are not ready to make this step, then we just have to accept this.
Obviously, the higher we place the hurdles the fewer will be able to jump and there needs to be a balance between what would be ideal and the realities of life in our modern society; but, also, we need to be prepared to endure some rejection to ensure the underlying strength of the Christian community, both in terms of commitment and also in its adherence to the Gospel values. We may, therefore, find that many who come to inquire do not find something with which, at that moment, they wish to engage.
We find ourselves in an unfamiliar mindset, since we need to recognize that the purely market-based approach, which pervades so much of our society nowadays is not appropriate in our endeavour. Medium and long-term achievement cannot be measured simply by “customer uptake” on “the product” and the apparent short-term successes will very probably come back to haunt us later on. In this hectic world of high population mobility we have to cope with fluctuating membership and, as all the financial advertisements tell us, numbers can go down as well as up.
The Collect for the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield prays for God’s guidance and blessing “whether we be many or few,” and acceptance of this provision needs to be a significant strand in our own management. Pope Benedict XVI has been reported as saying that he expects the Roman Catholic Church to experience some contraction as her disciplines discourage some from membership. Setting aside a discussion of the merits of the disciplines he has in mind, the observation is sound. The Church is not an organisation that has as its primary objective profit and market share.
I am told that Vodafone, the mobile phone manufacturer, was once a foresting company – it will be interesting to see how many can create the chain that led from that to its present activity. The point is that the company’s essential goal is the making of money and it has adapted over the years to changing circumstances and market appetite. For the Church, however, there are some inalienable aspects and qualities, which cannot be abandoned.
There will be times, therefore, when it is necessary to draw in our horns when we do not have sufficient people to staff all that once we did. Equally, we have aspirations that are ready for implementation when new resources come our way. As much as possible (and this can only be to a limited extent) we should try to organise ourselves around time-limited projects, which will be less vulnerable to the comings and goings.
There are a number of other considerations which have some relevance here.
First, big is not always beautiful, particularly when it comes to communities. Large numbers of people create all sorts of extra work with regard to communication and decision-making.
Secondly, the larger the community the greater is the risk of the fragmentation that undermines a common identity and purpose. Whilst, of course, we should not be seeking so narrow a profile that debate is stifled and only a very particular sort of person would fit in, but equally there comes a point where holding the show together leads to inertia.
Thirdly, periods of decline are an inevitable part of the life cycle of any community. Obviously, we should not just surrender to their momentum, but they do provide the stimulus and opportunity for a long hard look at who we are and what we are doing; and, thence, adjustments to address the changing circumstances.
Having said all this, it is equally true that we cannot just acquiesce in decline, blaming anyone and everything else; nor can we use it as a pretext for rejoicing in our purity in the face of worldly assault. The Gospel is not an agenda for isolation, but for engagement in the world and Jesus repeatedly warns us that if we are not up to the task, others will be found who are. However, growth alone is not the answer and when its pursuit comes to dominate our endeavours we will find ourselves sewing the seeds of future crises.
Whether we are recently arrived or long-established, the Gospel issues challenges to our lives and we cannot protect people from these simply to ensure our numbers. The promotion of membership of our congregations and the processes of recruitment must be firmly rooted in the fundamental quality of faithfully living within and as part the Christian community.
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