Renegotiating the Church Contract: The Death and Life of the 21st Century Church

James Thwaites, Renegotiating the Church Contract: The Death and Life of the 21st Century Church (Milton Keynes: Authentic Media, 2002) Church systems work against the purpose of church when people get so busy with buildings, programmes and meetings. Building on his previous book The Church Beyond the Congregation (Carlisle: Paternoster, 1999), Thwaites says we need a new church contract that empowers people (and give them permission) to impact every sphere of creation. Prone to overexaggerate to make his point, it is still worth hearing his prophetic warning that too many `church activities' can drain God's people of their ability of be effective witnesses. He urges churches to be prepared to leave behind their ecclesiastical merry-go-round and embrace incarnational living. This refocusing will necessarily mean removing the normal centre of church life, spending more time outside the church walls, and being content with fewer church programmes and departmental structures. Thwaites has led a church through this sort of process and shares the grief and freedom involved. Originally reviewed for D Cronshaw "The Emerging Church: Pioneering Leadership and Innovation Reading Guide", Zadok Paper (Forthcoming 2010).