Yesterday (Wednesday, November 20th, 2024), I had the privilege of participating in the Tri-Territory Webinar series for The Salvation Army. Along with colleagues from New Zealand (Captain Steve Molen) and Australia (Captain Natalie Frame), we discussed what is distinctive about faith communities and the creative edges of mission and ministry in our countries and contexts.

It was a wonderful opportunity to talk about faith, communities, and contextual mission together. Some interesting topics came up during our conversation.

This blog post reflects on some of the points raised during the conversation and attempts to develop some of them more fully.

It represents only my thinking and does not represent the opinions or views of the other members of the webinar. Without their thinking and comments, what follows would not exist, and I owe thanks to my colleagues for sharing their experiences and thinking.

There are three main areas which emerged from the conversation.

1. The necessity of a thick and complex theology of place.

2. The need to centre covenantal relationships.

3. The importance of transformation within a community.

Community is Central to Everything

A central element of the conversation was the recognition that how a faith community works is more important than what it looks like. Whether the community is a ‘traditional’ corps or a decentralised, hyper-local community plant, if the underlying principles are appropriately grounded, then the possibility of radical transformation is opened up.

I believe that when we can create a community that is grounded in a shared covenantal commitment to the Gospel and to each other’s good, we can reclaim and transform the abandoned places in our locations.

The reclamation of space is part of developing a thick and complex theology of place which in turn needs time, consideration, and understanding of the local context. Together, the development of a covenantal community, grounded in a deep understanding and commitment to a place, transforms the faith community into a community of resistance.

A community of resistance comes together to demonstrate the justice of God by standing against the powers and principalities, creating practices that de-centre the self, and teaching how to take loving responsibility for our neighbours.

Covenantal Communities – Taking Responsibility for Our Neighbours

The starting point is covenantal communities.

What is a faith community?

A faith community exists not because of shared interests or beliefs. A faith community is more than an association or club. It is formed through the work of the Holy Spirit, uniting us together in union with Christ. The members of a faith community belong together because they all share a relationship with Christ. They are all siblings together because they all share in the body of Christ as children of God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

But that is only the beginning. The foundation of a faith community is the shared relationship in Christ. What comes next, the development of that community, is the creation of covenantal partnerships. Steve Molen’s comments particularly influenced this.

The importance of covenant partnerships

A faith community has the unique possibility of creating and supporting the establishment of covenant partnerships.

At its most basic level, a covenantal partnership is where a few people get together in the name of Jesus and in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to work together for the transformation of their local community.

It’s worth defining what we mean when we talk about faith communities for a moment. I think this phrase can be used at three levels.

At the broadest possible level, the faith community, which is Christianity as a whole, the universal Church, which is Christ’s body on earth, is the faith community to which every Christian belongs. This community is defined not by ideology or practice but by allegiance to Christ.

Then there is the faith community which is formed through a shared socio-cultural form grounded in ideology, doctrine, and shared practice. These are the denominations or independent communities. People can belong to these faith communities whilst maintaining a negotiated and sometimes critical relationship with the structures and polity of that community. Equally, some people will find a sense of belonging and identity within that faith community. For many, they provide the form and structure of mission and ministry.

The smallest faith community is the ultra-local, task-focused small group. These can be formed by people from multiple denominational faith communities or a subset of a local expression of a denominational faith community. They often look like a few people coming together to seek justice for a particular issue, a new community project, a prayer meeting or Bible study, or other locally grounded expression of faith in the community. An example is the Base Ecclesial Communities developed by Liberation Theology in South America.

It is in these small, local faith communities that covenant partnerships can be formed.

What is a covenant partnership?

A covenant partnership is where two or more people come together for the sake of the Gospel through a commitment to transforming their local community.

This could be from within one local expression of a denominational faith community, or it could be members of multiple faith communities coming together to make a new, small faith community. It is a partnership because the members have agreed to come together and are committed to a purpose.

It is not a club or hang-out group. They are coming together to do something, to achieve something, and to do it together. These partnerships are covenantal because they are united together through a shared commitment to the Gospel.

A covenantal partnership could be three people starting a book club in the local coffee shop, which provides a place where people can feel safe, can start to develop relationships and find a place where they can start to know Jesus. It could be a dozen people starting a community pantry to share clothes, food, and household items in an area of poverty and poor resources.

A covenantal partnership could be two people walking the streets of an estate every week and praying for people. It could also be an employment club that works to build people’s self-esteem and wellbeing and points them towards Jesus, who can transform their lives.

The covenantal partnership is the basic church unit.

A healthy church is formed out of these partnerships coming together to form a larger network. If we start to see local churches as a network of covenantal partnerships coming together to form a larger covenantal partnership, we will move away from an inward-looking community, protectionist in its membership and competitive in its social action, and towards a community that is committed to its local community.

The commitment to the local is a central aspect of forming covenantal partnerships. They come together in a particular place, at a particular time, for a particular purpose. To develop our understanding of covenantal partnerships as the base church unit forming the networked community of the local expression of a denominational group, we need to consider our theology of place.

Reclaiming Space – A Renewed Theology of Place

For me, the starting place for a theology of place can be seen in Genesis 28:16, “Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” We need to be more aware of how God is at work where we are.

This is the start of transforming a space into a place. How different would the world look to us if we were constantly aware of God in the places we occupy?

Reinterpreting Space and Place

I think that the work of Roger Belk is particularly helpful in understanding the link we have between places and identity. Belk argues that our sense of self partially exists beyond our interior self and extends to the objects, people, and places that help to form our identity.

There are places that are significant to us because we identify with them, because they have formed who we are, or because we react against them. Place is important. Place forms identity. Place shapes and affects and informs who we are and how we know ourselves. When we are torn away from our place, when we do not know where we belong, then we are homeless, even if we have somewhere to live.

There are places in the world which have become destructive and harmful to us. Not necessarily because they are bad places, but because they think that they are, treat them like they are, and as such, they negatively inform the identity and sense of belonging of the people in those places.

Where I work, there is a housing estate. It was once a thriving and supportive community. Then, the demographic changed. This, on its own, was not an issue. But the people who lived in that estate, and the people in the local town, started total about it as a place which was dangerous, a place which wasn’t nice to be after dark, a place where ‘others’ were threatening. This meant that those with the economic capacity moved out of that estate, and the people who remained were the ones who couldn’t leave.

The local authority then moved people with complex and complicated lives into that estate. The support was not available, so the complexity of the people living in the estate was compounded by complications from their neighbours. Which, in turn, continued to affect the way that the estate was viewed and impacted the narrative about that place and, therefore, also the people who lived in that place. The whole place was transformed through a changing narrative and not actual facts.

The stories we tell about a place help to inform the way a place is known which then informs and impacts on a community’s sense of belonging and identity.

Shared stories turn space into place

People and place cannot be separated. But God is right in the middle of this. We cannot abstract God out of these places and communities. Which means if we want to understand a community we have to understand the place that it occupies. To understand a place, we need to understand its history, its architecture, and its geography.

The Architecture of a place is often more significant than we might think. Winston Churchill said, “First, we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us.” The buildings that we live and work in have an impact on us.

This is where psychologically informed environments can be helpful for a faith community seeking to transform a space into a positive and transformational place.

By paying attention to how our buildings are set out and decorated, how they are arranged and formed, makes a difference to how a community is formed and how individuals know themselves. But the buildings that surround us also have an impact on us.

When the buildings and streets and parks are damaged and in need of repair, when they are dirty and obviously uncared for, then the people who live their will struggle to feel valued. Its why community projects to transform the shared spaces are really important for developing a positive sense of place.

The geography of a place similarly informs how community is formed. Whether that is the simple geography of where towns and villages are situated, how they are connected by transport links, or what natural features are nearby, the geography of a place will shape the identity of people within that place. There is less that can be done about the geography of a place by a small group. However, a covenantal partnership could be formed to campaign for improved transport links.

History is perhaps the most important aspect of the formation of a place. The stories we tell about a place are part of its history, often reflecting a particular understanding of that place in time. What has happened in that space over the years has formed a particular understanding of place?

Where I live, the area was once the heart of sheep farming. Then, it became heavily industrialised. Now, it is a mixed economy of farming, industry, and new technology. Where I work has been a place where theological radicalism has been located for centuries. Reformers, radicals, Methodists, and Puritans all thrived in the local area. This radical religious history goes alongside an equally radical social history of peasant rebellions, marches on London, strikes, and protests.

Faith communities are not abstract or idealised groups of people. They happen in a particular geographical, cultural, and social context, at a particular time, in an historically informed location. Our faith communities are formed in a place, but when they work well, they can also form that place.

When our covenantal partnerships form in a place, we need to understand that they will be informed by that place. But, we should aim to also help to form and develop and transform those places.

Where do we find God in space?

The foundation of a theology of place is that people can encounter the presence of God in those places where they are, not only in some special place somewhere else. It is in places that have been abandoned and overlooked by people, agencies, authorities, and governments that the faith community can be most powerful at work.

There is a note to be made here about the use of the term incarnational in relation to ministry. I think incarnational ministry is incredibly important. The sense of being with another person, of sharing their context and being in community together, is foundational to the work of the Gospel.

But, there is a danger that when the phrase is used uncritically and without proper nuance, it can become paternalistic, coercive, and colonial.

The power imbalance in entering a place

I would suggest that someone deciding to go into a community and become part of it for the purposes of supporting it and transforming it is not incarnational. The person who chooses to enter a community and who has the capacity and freedom to leave that community when they want to is not really part of that community in the same way as the other members of that community.

This is especially the case where belonging to a place is not something that is chosen but is a result of contingent circumstances outside of that person’s control.

If the community and place that I am committing to is one where the other members are there not through their own choices but because they have been placed there or because they do not have the economic capacity to leave that place, then I always going to be in part separate from that community. I can be with them, share in their lives, live and work and participate in that place. But the place will inform me in a very different way than the others in that place. I have a much greater sense of agency over that place because it does not have power over me. I can leave if I want to. I am there through choice.

That does not mean it is not incarnational. Christ who is the very example of incarnational ministry, chose to enter our world and chose to endure the place of crucifixion, when he could have done otherwise. We cannot escape the relative power imbalance when we enter someone else’s place with the intention of transforming it. But, incarnational ministry doesn’t have to be that way. Again, this is drawn from the comments that Steve Moren made.

Perhaps the best way for a faith community to inform and transform a destructive place into a place where an encounter with the Holy Spirit is possible is through facilitating the formation of covenantal partnerships from within those communities and places.

Rather than planting into a community, it is better to plant from within a community. This does not have to be traditional planting of establishing a new worshipping community. As said earlier, it can be as simple as doing a prayer meeting or a community pantry or a recovery group. However, the key point is that it should be done by people who are part of that community and who share that place.

This also has an impact on what we mean when we use the language of mission, especially within Salvation Army officership.

Mission, Place, and Itinerant Officers

An officer is sent to a place to serve there and to carry out mission. But I think sometimes it is better to think of the role of an officer, especially in relation to the idea of forming a network of covenantal partnerships, is in facilitating and supporting the capacity and confidence of a faith community to carry out mission themselves.

Mission in this sense is not going-to somewhere or someone, but does it always have to be ‘doing-with’ – there are plenty of times when the members of a faith community are better located to act on behalf of people when necessary.

Rather, mission in this sense is about the partnership between a group of people and God in a specific place and time in order to create a place where transformation, healing, hospitality, and the full breadth of salvation can be known in the world. Mission is inherently creative, not because it is something different or innovative, but because it allows for new life to be born.

Resisting the Powers – A Community of Transformation

When faith communities are able to facilitate and support the development of a network of covenantal partnerships which are rooted and emerging from within a particular community and place, then there is the possibility of forming what I have called communities of resistance.

Building Communities of Resistance

A community of resistance is a community which actively seeks to live out the Gospel values of the Kingdom in everything that they do and which empowers its members to resist and act against the powers and principalities, the systems and structures, the corporations and authorities, which are destructive, dehumanising, and ultimately, are contrary to the Gospel.

Natalie Frame’s comments and thinking are particularly helpful for this section. She emphasised that time spent in one place with a group of people is really important for building up the kind of trust that is needed to support the turn towards a kingdom-shaped community that can resist the pressures of dehumanising forces.

Natalie especially emphasised the role of generosity and hospitality as key to developing a community that is transformative. Generosity financially is needed in order to be self-sustaining and to be able to take action in their local community, but also generosity in time, resources, space, and attention.

Too often, faith communities act quite miserly with their resources out of fear and out of a sometimes misguided understanding of what stewardship means. When by developing a culture of generosity, not only is ownership of the community for its own practices increased, it becomes possible to let go of the myth of scarcity and embrace a principle of abundance.

This places hospitality right at the heart of the network of covenantal partnerships. First and foremost, the hospitality that is extended by God to everybody to come and join with God where God is at work. Second, the hospitality of welcome within a place which is intentionally designed not to be closed but to be open and welcoming. Third, the hospitality that is possible when we are to properly foreground our dependence upon grace.

Hospitality begins when we are all able to be honest with each other.

Churches often act to encourage falsehood and lies. Because we somewhat foolishly make the assumption that being a Christian means having everything together, being a good and upstanding person, not making mistakes, and having led a good and spotless life, we are sometimes afraid to be open about our past, about our struggles, and just about who we are. Fear of being rejected, of being ostracised, of being thought of as being not Christian enough all lead to lies and deceit. Perfect love should drive out fear. But that is only possible when we feel safe.

We can only feel safe in our faith communities when we are able to be honest with each other.

This means we need to create places of radical acceptance, which is only possible when we know, really deep down, that we also need that radical acceptance.

I am a sinner saved by grace. I cannot save myself. I cannot earn salvation through good works or good intentions. I am broken and damaged, my sins stretch out behind me until I cannot see where they begin, and the earthenware I am formed out of is cracked and broken and, frankly, not always fit for purpose.

But God loves me. God is healing and transforming me. My knowledge and acceptance of that grace in my life necessitates that I regard it as possible for others as well. It means I cannot ever regard someone else as less than myself or sit in judgement over another person’s sins and behaviour because I am equally in need of forgiveness and grace.

A community and place of grace and forgiveness creates the safety needed for the kind of transformative hospitality which enables people to be healed and become who God wants them to be.

In those communities of grace, forgiveness, and hospitality, formed by a network of covenantal partnerships, rooted in an historical and culturally informed context of place, a community of resistance starts to emerge.

A community which refuses to believe in the myth of scarcity but instead is generous with its resources and time. A community which is committed to transforming a place together, for the benefit of all. A community which does not ostracise, does not ‘other’, and does not gatekeep salvation. A community which incorporates rather than ‘others’ and which offers healing rather than punishment.

These kinds of communities stand in the way of the powers and systems which create the ground for sin to flourish, which dehumanise us.

A faith community, at its best, is a community of resistance, acting like an operative cell behind enemy lines. Acting in a network of partnerships, agile and able to respond to changing circumstances, with agents who are able to move from one community to the next, leaving behind a growing network of covenantal partnerships who are deeply rooted in that place, the faith community acts as a resistance movement to the powers of this world.

The Salvation Army is still an Army, but it is not a Napoleonic army standing in lines and shooting at each other. Nor is it a modern imperialist army out to conquer land for an ideology.

It is a resistance army, acting to set people free from tyranny and oppression and looking for the day when justice will flow like a river and righteousness like a rushing stream. We do not need one revolution, for one revolution is inevitably followed by the next as it becomes the system it was fighting against. No better evidence for this is needed than when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

What is needed is for faith communities to be a rebellion, constantly seeking transformation, knowing it will not be complete until the day when all things are put right.

Perhaps, alongside building our networks of concrete covenantal partnerships and creating transformative and healing spaces of hospitality and honesty, we also need to recapture some of our apocalyptic proclivities.

Conclusion

Like I said at the beginning, these are only my thoughts and reflections from what happened (at time of writing) earlier today. I don’t have any plans or ideas about where to go next with these thoughts. The insights and comments of my colleagues has inspired my reflection, and I need to spend more time with it. But I think there is something significant going on in this reflection, and in the conversation that was shared during the webinar.

I hope that it inspires you to think further about these topics, and that it provokes you to consider how they might affect the way that you relate to your faith communities, or the way that you undertake ministry and participate in the mission of God.

If you have found it interesting or helpful, or if you have any thoughts about what has been written, then please do leave a comment or get in touch.

It would be helpful for my own continuing reflections to know what you think about it.

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