How my role is changing
I’ve been in the role of Digital Enabler with Yorkshire North and East Methodist District since September 2018 — first employed through a young people’s scheme by the Methodist Connexion, and then moving to be employed directly by the District.
For a while now my main workload has been shifting slowly away from offering basic training and resourcing directly to churches and circuits, and towards engaging with more creative pioneering initiatives. Supporting churches that are enthusiastic to try new things, offering my skills to churches exploring New Places for New People, and over the last 6 months some of my time has been released to launch a digital NPNP (fresh expression of online church) with my wife and in partnership with The Kairos Movement (a non-geographical Methodist church/circuit network).
As I’ve been discerning over the last season where the future of church and technology is going, it has become apparent to me that I am ideally placed to bring about the change I would like to see in the church. I’m not hindered by the church institution. I have the digital skills, the passion, the vision, a progressive faith, and feel called to lead us into the future.
My vision for the future
Most of my time with local churches is still spent resourcing and consulting on fairly basic digital questions.
The pandemic helped churches explore creative online solutions, but since then most have withdrawn from exploring these areas. It feels to me that we’ve slowed down with digital, with resources and time stretched, as local churches don’t have the energy, skills, or people to be really creative in doing new things online. This is understandable, but…
The explosion of AI in recent years, and before that the rapid growth in digital caused by lockdown and the pandemic, has meant that the church is as far behind the curve as ever and struggling to catch up. I’m not talking about live streaming or having a church website; I’m talking about creative fresh expressions of online church.
We have been taking small steps as a church… But I feel prompted that it is the right time for us to be taking big steps!
I can continue to support and equip the local church, but if we are to make progress with Online Church (creative expressions of online Christian community) — which for me, has an aim of connecting with an age group of people who aren’t in our buildings — then I need to lead by example.
What I’m proposing is a hybrid Methodism, which at its heart is about gathering a movement of people to receive and share (online) transformation in a modern age. Working towards a culture shift in the church that releases a network of creative people — the digital kingdom builders — to plant a new (hybrid) Methodism. Not a church, but a movement of individuals seeking and sharing (online) transformation in a modern age. Not to break away from the established church, but growing alongside, and in time feeding back into it, so that both might flourish.
How do we get there?
I’ve been given the green light for my role to start transitioning, as I take a step back from advising and supporting, so I can focus more on the doing. Helping to shape these diverse digital initiatives. Moving further along the direction of travel that we have been taking for some time — but taking big steps. This won’t be about bringing the local church with me on this journey. This will be about finding and building a network of digital revolutionaries and working with them, outside our church structures to build something new…
And so I’m beginning to take steps towards this vision, fleshing out the practicalities, as I look to my role changing from “Digital Enabler” to “Digital Pioneer” hopefully in September 2024.
My new workload will focus predominately on offering digital leadership and being at the forefront of launching and developing diverse, contextually shaped digital initiatives, in conjunction with others, that seek to reach beyond our churches. Not being afraid to experiment, take risks, and see what happens.
In the podcast Church is Changing, Michael Beck expressed this type of approach like this:
They presented the image of the church as a boat currently stuck in a thick fog. “We can’t figure out what’s going on. The world has changed, stuff we used to do isn’t working, and it’s like what’s going on? We don’t have a clue what it’s going to be like in 10 years…”
How do you do long-range planning in a fog? So, what we can learn from these fresh expression, innovator types is they use an effectual reasoning process where they don’t have everything figured out. They just kind of say, Oh, we’re going over here. We’ve got some pieces over there. Let’s follow this, and cobble this together. And through that effectual reasoning, they start with what they have and they create new things. Just like “design thinking”, it’s people-centred and it’s short-range. It’s experimental. It’s iterative. Let’s try this little experiment. Let’s head this way for a little while and see where we go. We learned from that, and don’t want to go that way, let’s try this way. And that’s what you have to do when you’re moving through the fog and you can’t see, you don’t have a long-range plan. You just, try this experiment for three months and see what happens…
What will I be doing?
I have lots of ideas in my head, some of which I’ve already begun to explore, and as part of my recalibrated role, I would be seeking to pilot some prototype projects that encourage others to get involved in making this a reality. I’m increasingly wanting to partner with passionate individuals who want to take risks rather than having the continued uphill battle with our established churches.
Change needs to happen, and fast — not to save ourselves as a church institution, but to build the kingdom of god. I’m ready to make some waves.
“Denominations have tried top-down leadership strategies to reverse decline for decades; perhaps we need to give local, grassroots revolutionaries a chance.”
Michael Beck
Join the revolution here:
www.kairosmovement.org.uk/digital-revolution/
