Mixed Ecology: Inhabiting an Integrated Church
Ed Olsworth-Peter Mixed Ecology: Inhabiting an Integrated Church (London: SPCK, 2024) 174pp, £19.99
A ‘mixed ecology’ means that there is a variety within the breadth of the overall church, and so for us in Irish Methodism we will have many churches that are relatively similar to each other, and to what they were like 30 years ago, and we will have a (hopefully increasing) number of churches that are very different. A growing denomination will have a variety of types of growing congregations. There is no longer the desire to have a fairly unform expression of church. We have always had big and small, rural and urban, north and south. Increasingly we will have new and older; those who worship in English and those who worship in Korean, French and more; those that look like traditional Methodism and those that look very different. This is to be celebrated and Olsworth-Peter, along with a number of conversation partners throughout the book, shows us the importance of this mixed ecology, how the variety works together, how we find our place within the diversity and suggests how we lead and grow this complex entity which is contemporary church. The days of ‘one size fits all’ are long gone, even if we struggle at times to recognise and act on this.
Throughout the author uses some excellent resources, both written and people, and so rather than just one person’s musings on the subject we get the condensed wisdom from those recognised as among the current ‘experts’. As a lecturer in the subject area, its not that surprising that Olsworth-Peter takes this approach and in a number of ways we have his distilled lectures across the breadth of the subject area. But rather than just an abstract view, the author integrates his own experience as both a pioneer and a more traditional vicar and chaplain to earth all that he is trying to share. It works. You get the theory and examples of practice.
The final chapter is focused on growth within this diversity of church. There is the clear risk that one type of church takes over other types, with a current trend over the last generation away from smaller to the larger centralised congregation as one example. That isn’t growing church but rather transferring people around and often weakens the overall church. So, recognising the imperative to grow, the author focuses on the importance of casting a vision – what does a particular church discern what God wants it to be, which could be very different to other churches in that area. That vision needs supported and structured so alongside those who dream there needs to be those who can do stuff. Embedding the vision brings the rest of the church (be it big or small) onboard with what is happening and the vision is delivered by those who actually do the work required.
The book is somewhat Church of England focused, but transferring insights to Irish Methodism isn’t that difficult. The hard part, I think, is recognising our need to develop and change. The rest isn’t easy, but without the desire to grow, knowing that inevitably brings some change, we aren’t going anywhere. ‘For the Church to grow it needs to embrace the value of co-growing different expressions of Church and missional activity alongside one another’ (p1). In Mixed Ecology Olsworth-Peter offers us something of a road map. We need to want to go on the journey.
Rev Dr Stephen Skuce
Superintendent for Growing Churches