Description
Culture has changed and the church has not changed adequately in response. This is the claim of a number of authors and practitioners as they instigate and write about new expressions of church; expressions that endeavour to be accessible and effective at sharing the good news of Jesus in the contemporary world. Such innovations have raised questions regarding the nature and role of the church. Indeed, one of the primary criticisms levelled at the new movement, is that their proponents are not rooted in a sufficiently robust ecclesiology. In "Flexible Church", Helen Morris speaks to this issue by proposing an ecclesiology for innovative expressions of church that is grounded in biblical texts whilst self-consciously and intentionally developed for the contemporary Western milieu. Engaging with the work of key church thinkers such as Michael Moynagh and Pete Ward, as well as critical New Testament scholarship she introduces a framework for church that facilitates both flexibility and faithfulness; faithfulness to the church's Christian heritage and identity, and the flexibility to fashion new forms of church that can connect more effectively with those who currently find church irrelevant and inaccessible.