Living Faith Locally and Globally

This morning, Bishop David shared a Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4. Listen here, or read his reflection below.

Is bigger automatically better? Is small always beautiful?

Later today, we’re expecting the formal announcement of a much leaked government plan to radically restructure policing; a plan that would see both fewer forces in England and Wales, and more aspects of police work taken to a national level. I’ll leave the merits of the proposals for politicians and pundits to discuss elsewhere; my point is, that conversations about the right sizing of organisations are ones that we need to have. And the answer won’t always be the same.

One of the new developments we’ve launched in Manchester in recent years is Fabric Church. It’s close to the city centre and, just over two years since it opened, has over 200 people, mostly younger adults and families, attending each week. Yet we’ve also set up our Antioch Network of small, hyperlocal churches. Each serves a single estate or specific inner-city community. If they reach around 60 adults, we ask them to split and keep growing.

All large organisations face the challenge of balancing economies of scale with local accountability. But for me there are theological factors to lay alongside the political and pragmatic. At the heart of Christianity lies relationship. Our faith asserts that every one of us can know, and be known by, Jesus Christ.

So what does that mean for both large and small bodies, within and beyond churches?

I’m currently working as chair of a new Housing Association, one we set up to embody the key findings from a recent church report. Starting with just a handful of properties, we want to grow – it’s the only way we can make a meaningful impact – but without losing our vision or compromising our values. Not least, we want to make sure that we keep close to our tenants, so that we know them, not just as statistics on a spreadsheet, and they know us.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, next month, I will be travelling to the Philippines for a conference bringing together senior figures from across the worldwide Anglican Communion. The cultural and religious contexts of our national and regional member churches differ widely. We don’t agree about everything, and nor should we. But we can ensure that there are key leaders in our churches, from whose warm and friendly relationships will come shared plans for future mission.

Keeping relationships at the centre, seems to me where sound theology and good business practice come together. Hold on to that and I believe big or little, global or local, the bodies we build can be both better and more beautiful.