Reality. Issue 33: A Churchless Faith, by Alan Jamieson

I few years and a few months ago I read Jamieson's books and found them very stimulating. It seemed to me that it was describing groups of people with whom I had a great sense of rapport in various ways and a sense of 'it could be me' at some points. Anyway to whet your appetite here's what Jamieson writes:
"One of the surprising results of the research for me was coming to see that for the majority of leavers (65% of those interviewed) this was not a solo journey but one which involved them in groups of people in similar faith transitions. I found that there are a considerable and growing number of such post-church groups which meet to discuss, question and reformulate and understand their faith. Some of these groups also meet to pray and worship together in ways that appear to have more immediacy and relevance to their whole lives ... Many of the leavers I interviewed and others I met ... are part of these new groups which are experimenting with ways of being church - ways that may prove to be more appropriate in our rapidly changing society."
I have to say, personally, that I also felt a sense of desire to minister among such people -there was a sense of fit and a sense too, in the light of that last phrase in the quote, that this is missional work; such people are a gift of the Holy Spirit to the rest of the church. Whoever has ears ...
Reality. Issue 33: A Churchless Faith, by Alan Jamieson
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