What is it about?
This article explores the trinitarian basis for a three-dimensional understanding of what it is to be an authentic church in an urban context.
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Why is it important?
An understanding of authenticity as it applies to the difficult context of an inner-urban context is important for ministers who cannot aspire to leading a church that looks successful in terms of any of the usual criteria that people use more widely to determine whether a church is 'successful' or not. The article proposes that a church is authentic - and therefore successful - if it is attending faithfully to those aspects of its life that mirror the nature of the Trinity, namely its physical context, its human beings and its spirituality, in a balanced way that echoes the perichoresis of the Three.
Perspectives
When I wrote this article it was the fruit of theological reflection on more 15 years' work as an ordained minister in inner-city Salford in Greater Manchester. Pressure of work has since made it impossible to progress the thinking, but I remain convinced that it is needed to support ministers who are trying to serve God in this difficult context, and to help the wider Church understand what ministry in a deprived context is all about.
Ms Lisa K Battye
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: In Three Dimensions, Practical Theology, January 2013, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1179/1756073x13z.00000000016.
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