John Milbank offers a biting critique of Fresh Expressions, a missional church movement in the Church of England. As ever, Milbank’s words are insightful and a helpful challenge to some problematic elements of missional praxis. I’ve embedded the article below and recommend that you take a read.
By way of a brief response to Milbank let me offer the following observations:
- Missional does mean participating in the mission of God in the world.
- Part of that mission is the establishment of particularized churches.
- These churches ought to be the base camp from which missional Christians go forth.
- These churches ought to preach the Word rightly, administer the sacraments, and equip the saints.
- The homogenous unit principle, though understandable, is not rooted in Scripture but in capitalism.
- Sacramental worship and missional ministry are complimentary rather than contradictory.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Jeff Gissing 