Launching my digital Church Revolution — and sharing my spirituality
The church as we know it needs reshaping… I’m laying my cards down… It’s time for a faith revolution! I’m tired of waiting for the church to catch up.
In this article, I provide some context for the new ways I’m looking to explore connecting with new people. Hopefully, you’ve already read how my role with the Methodist Church is changing as I shift from “Digital Enabler” to “Digital Pioneer”.
I was grateful last Tuesday, at our Presbyteral Synod in Yorkshire North & East Methodist District, for another opportunity to share some of my vision for the future and re-shaping of online church (read my full article here). [the following is a summary of what I shared at that event]
ONLINE CHURCH?
Words are problematic. I refer to “Online Church” because that's easiest for us to understand what I’m referring to, but it isn’t about online church services or live-streaming worship. I’m talking about creative fresh expressions of online Christian community, which will inevitably be hybrid. And about new ways to explore digital evangelism, reaching out beyond our buildings. So really it is just church. The future of the church, full stop.
In my January article, I proposed that the future of online church will be about creating a hybrid Methodism, which at its heart is about gathering a movement of people to receive and share transformation in a modern age online. 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.
That word hybrid — it's not about having every meeting on Zoom. It's about offering a diverse range of grace spaces that exist online and offline. We already see this happening. Take a young family on the fringes of church, they might engage with our Messy Church, but also belong to an online discussion group, and also go to the Church of England for Christmas or life events. So you see, this isn’t just about communicating online to that family in a new way. It's about a completely new model of church. Not looking to bring them to our buildings. But meeting them where they are and journeying with them in their spirituality.
A NEW MODEL FOR YOUNGER GENERATIONS
I’ve come to realise that our online communities are not going to flourish until we have a critical mass of young people in our churches who grew up with the internet. The digital natives. So part of my vision and prompting is around how we reach a new generation. Those in their 20s, 30s and 40s who aren’t in our churches. So this new model of church isn’t just about following a pick-and-mix format and moving away from a focus on Sundays, similar to the way The Kairos Movement operate, and it’s not just about gathering asynchronously across time and geography. It’s also about re-shaping and reimagining how we talk about faith with a younger progressive generation.
I wonder how many of you have children or grandchildren who don’t go to church anymore? Yet studies show younger generations are more open to spirituality than society has been for some time. There’s an opportunity, but we need pioneers to show us the way. I’m not suggesting that the vision I’ve outlined is something local churches and presbyters need to take on! I know resources, time and energy are stretched. Digital skills are lacking or non-existent. But that is where, over the last season as I’ve been discerning this, I’ve felt increasingly called and encouraged that I am ideally placed to bring about the change I would like to see in the church. I’m not hindered by church committees or circuit ministry. I have the digital skills, the passion, a vision, and feel called to lead us into the future.
It's often like when you get one family in your church, it attracts others! Let’s utilise me, as a digital native, to connect with a new generation in a whole new way. Our District Leadership Team have affirmed this direction of travel, for my role to start transitioning, as I take a step back from directly equipping and resourcing local churches with basic skills, to leading by example and helping shape something new — moving from Digital Enabler to Digital Pioneer. It will be about partnering with other passionate digital natives, who inevitably have moved to the fringes or outside our church entirely…
So I will be striking out in all sorts of new directions as I look to connect with those people. It may be uncomfortable for some. I’m looking to be bold and take big steps — both in what these new communities in cyberspace might look like, but also in how we talk about spirituality and human flourishing in a modern age.
SHARING SOMETHING OF MY FAITH
[the following is a summary of what I shared in a video posted on my social media as I look to connect with those on the fringes of church]
I’m seeking those who might be on a similar wavelength to me. And so this is my rallying cry for you to come and help co-create this new future together. If I’m to lead this digital revolution, then I need to take my own advice and showcase to you why you might be interested, and be honest about why I’m doing this.
So I’m going to be bold. And see if my experience of faith resonates with you. A final caveat before we dive in. I’m speaking personally as me, Elliot, as an individual, not on behalf of my work. A revolution requires some disruption to the status quo, and so I’m here to try and make some waves.
I’m sharing things here about my faith that I wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable sharing in a church building. So instead, naturally, I’m sharing them publicly on the internet. If you don’t agree with my perspective, that’s absolutely fine.
THE FOUNDATION OF MY FAITH
For me, my faith isn’t built on biblical truths or church traditions.
For me, experience and reason play much more important roles in shaping what I believe in. And if you’re familiar with the concept of the Methodist quadrilateral, then hopefully, this isn’t overly controversial. But even so, I’m often very careful about where I express some of my thoughts on this.
For me, the Bible, whilst important, is man-made, written by humans, containing a variety of letters, books, prayers, poems, and all the rest of it, often with lots of inconsistencies and contradictions, and it doesn’t form the cornerstone of my faith. I often question everything that it says. I think that’s quite healthy, to be honest. I believe a fair amount of it is metaphorical rather than literal.
The central question for me is not “is it biblical?”
The central question is, “does it lead to human flourishing?”
Another way of saying that: it’s not, is it biblical? But, does it bring spiritual and social transformation across our land? That’s the heart of Methodism, isn’t it?
And so that forms the foundation of my faith. It’s a set of values and beliefs and uncertainties that I’ve built up over my lifetime as I explore and question everything around me. It’s not static, it’s constantly evolving. I’m not afraid of change or trying new things.
Just because the church has done it for hundreds of years, does that really mean it’s definitely the path that leads to human flourishing? So questioning the fundamentals of the bible or the church, those things don’t shake my faith, those are the things that help my faith grow. I’ve not had to deconstruct, I was born into a faith that has always questioned the fundamentals.
EXPLORING THE UNCHARTED WATERS
Those who are deconstructing faith often use imagery of the wilderness and wilderness pilgrims, so I asked AI if it could suggest an appropriate setting to use as a metaphor for this type of faith that I’m experiencing, and it suggested talking about the sea.
So let me apply this sea metaphor to how I view some of my faith. For me, I don’t start with the Bible, but I search the sea. I try to find the most challenging questions and uncertainties I can, and I direct myself at them, and I plough straight into that wave.
And I see what happens, see if it shakes the foundations of my faith. Will the boat that I’m travelling in survive? Will my faith come tumbling down? How exciting! Or maybe, my faith won’t come tumbling down and I’ll be reaffirmed. Well, that’s perfect, I’ll mark a little plot down on my navigation map for now. And plough onwards to find the next crashing wave that’s going to challenge me.
If you’re still with me… Hopefully, I’ve expressed something of the fact that a nice little hymn sandwich on a Sunday, where we explore a nice little Bible passage, that doesn’t do a lot to challenge me and help me grow in my faith.
My faith is very personalized. I question traditional teachings and practices as I question everything. I challenge historical interpretations and seek fresh understandings of faith. I think I have a strong emphasis on social justice, aligning my faith with real-world societal issues that are taking place. Inequality, climate change, the list could go on. I have a great openness to finding common ground with other faiths and beliefs. I like to try and embrace modern culture as part of my faith. I’m not fighting against it.
WHAT ABOUT GOD AND JESUS?
When I shared this video online, several responded with the observation that I haven’t mentioned God or Jesus so far… So here’s how I responded to that:
Whilst God/Jesus is the language I use, the reason I haven’t mentioned it is because words are important, and I recognise that others might not relate to those words. Mother nature, the universe, higher power, Allah, divine presence, our souls… I see it as all describing the same thing (this is possibly controversial for some). The article as a whole describes how I follow Jesus today, although recognising that there are other sources we draw from too…
I love the way that The Kairos Movement articulate it:
“For those hungry to live differently, aching for a transformed world and seeking a more balanced, life-affirming way to be.”
“Kairos is unapologetic, in that our ideology, and spirituality is inherently based on Christianity and the way of Jesus, and draws on our roots as Methodists. That being said, we recognise the wisdom, and values of other faiths and ideologies, and that many who follow the way of Jesus, also draw on some of the ideas, practical disciplines and spiritual practices that we have in common. We also recognise sometimes, our previous experiences have left us wounded and in need of healing. Our spiritual forefathers drew on a breadth of both Christian and non-Christian spiritual teaching and experience and we feel that deepened and sharpened their faith and its outworking. We hope in Kairos, you’ll find a place where we can all share in meaningful conversation together, with respect, and a shared yearning to discover a faith that draws us closer to the divine, and produces positive fruit in all our lives.”
DOES THIS RESONATE?
As someone who has an open-minded worldview that doesn’t fit comfortably within our churches, it can be lonely. So part of this is to encourage us, why don’t we congregate together? Form a little fleet and journey, separately but together, each in our own unique boat, but mapping the uncharted waters of our faith.
But really what I’m saying is let’s stop getting frustrated with the church and let’s build something new together. Will you come and join me in building that new thing?
The waters are rising. There’s an urgency to this. I think change needs to happen fast. Faster than our church buildings can transform into boats. But for those of us that are already there, let’s go and explore, and map those oceans and build something new. If you’d like to be a trailblazer with me in this digital revolution, or even if you’d just like to come along for the ride, and be a passenger on one of the boats, that would be amazing.
I’d love to connect with you, get in touch and let’s chat:
