This book presents theological reflections on the changing nature of church mission and Christian identity within a theology of 'Blurred Encounter' - a physical, social, political and spiritual space where once solid hierarchies and patterns are giving way to more fluid and in many ways unsettling exchanges. The issues raised and dynamics explored apply to all socially-produced space, thus tending to 'blur' that most fundamental of theological categories - namely urban vs. rural theology. Engaging in a sharper way with some of the helpful but inevitably broad-brush conclusions raised by recent church-based reports (Mission-shaped Church, Faithful Cities), the authors examine some of the practical and theological implications of this research for the issue of effective management and therefore church leadership generally. Speaking to practitioners in the field of Practical Theology as well as those engaged in theological and ministerial training, key voices encompass dimensions of power and conflict, and identify some of the present and future opportunities and challenges to church/faith-based engagement and leadership arising from blurred encounters. Contributors - practitioners and theorists - cover a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary professional contexts and academic/denominational interests. Contributors of this title include: John Atherton, John Reader, Helen Cameron, Martyn Percy, Malcolm Brown, Karen Lord, Clare McBeath and Margaret Goodall.
Author(s): John Reader and Christopher R. Baker, John Reader, Chris Baker
Series: Explorations in Practical, Pastoral and Empirical Theology
Publisher: Ashgate
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 256
Contents......Page 6
List of Figures and Table......Page 8
Contributors......Page 10
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Introduction: Entering the New Space of the Blurred Encounter Between Faith, Politics and Community......Page 16
1 Mainstreaming the Edges: Reflections on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and Fair Trade......Page 30
2 Brief Engagements, Processional Encounters......Page 44
3 A Blurred InterFaith, InterCultural Experience: A Kidderminster Story......Page 62
4 Blurred Encounters in the Suburbs: Problems of Place and Problematic Places......Page 72
5 Networks – The Blurring of Institution and Networks: How Should the Church Engage?......Page 88
6 How to See the Wood for the Trees: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Dementia......Page 100
7 Kent – The Garden Of Dilemma......Page 116
8 Weightless Identity in Post-Material Communities......Page 130
9 Negotiating Identity: The Christian Individual and the Secular Institution......Page 142
10 Sanctuary and Liminality: Stories, Reflections and Liturgy Exploring the Blurred Encounters Between Mental Health and Illness as an Inner-City Church......Page 158
11 ‘Betwixt and Between’: Anthropological Approaches to Blurred Encounters......Page 172
12 Baptism as Cultural Conversation: Explorations in Implicit Theology......Page 192
13 Truth in Science and Theology: Latour, Žižek and the Theory of Circulating Reference......Page 212
14 An Experience of Rural Ministry......Page 224
15 Mapping the New Theological Space: From Blurred Encounters to Thresholds of Transformation......Page 234
Index of Names......Page 246
Index of Subjects......Page 250
