I had some interesting responses to my recent observations about class and the church. These ranged from “Yes there is a working class but it’s a small minority in the wider society, so we cannot really suggest that the church is dominated by a minority culture. The culture that dominates is the culture of wider… Continue reading More on class and church
Tag: middle class
Is it the working classes that we should be focusing on?
Steve Kneale has also written about the book on Class that I recently reviewed. Steve deals more with the reaction. Why does the book seem to have received such a gushing response from some quarters but causes a negative reaction among working class Christians and those he refers to as “practitioners” who are engaged in… Continue reading Is it the working classes that we should be focusing on?
Do we understand the middle classes?
There’s been a lot of discussion and debate in recent years about Britain’s class structure. Most of the focus has been on analysing and understanding the phenomenon of a working class in society. This is to some extent for two main reasons. First, that much of the discussion happens in academic circles, and by definition,… Continue reading Do we understand the middle classes?
Invisible Divides (Book Review)
One of my personal concerns and a significant reason for why Faithroots exist is the desire to see the church and the Gospel reaching into communities and to people where we simply haven’t been very good at reaching. Here in the West Midlands we’ve seen a lot of church planting and some wonderful stories of… Continue reading Invisible Divides (Book Review)
Why I’m less keen on talking about class and church
There’s been much discussion about class and church in evangelical circles recently and despite the title I think that this is generally a good thing if it gets us talking about the missing people and unreached areas that should “rebuke our slothful ease” More so if it leads not just to talk but to action.… Continue reading Why I’m less keen on talking about class and church
On idols families and estates
Mez McConnell has written this on people considering Gospel ministry on estates – or as they are called in Scotland “schemes.” There’s some helpful truth about the cost of discipleship and mission in Mez’s article. I hope he won’t mind though if I just push back a little on a couple of points. First of… Continue reading On idols families and estates
The Both and of Mission
One of my personal passions and priorities is to see people get involved in urban mission, making disciples who make disciples in communities where there is practically no gospel witness at the moment. That urban focus means that we have a particular concern for poor/deprived neighbourhoods and working-class people. It means that we have a… Continue reading The Both and of Mission
Discrimination, diversity and the church
Here’s the second part of our discussion about diversity and discrimination. Today we focused more on what this looks like in the church. People who came to the UK from around the Commonwealth had often served in the forces during the war and were also asked to come to help rebuild industry. They then often… Continue reading Discrimination, diversity and the church
Diversity and Discrimination
Here is today’s Afternoon Tea. We have started a conversation about race and diversity and hope to continue, hopefully with guests. Today we talked about Implicit bias. Prejudice can arise as much out of assumptions about our own superiority and experience as normal as it does out of hostility to others That in some cases… Continue reading Diversity and Discrimination
Assumptions, Lockdown and the urban church
A lot of the assumptions I hear made about Coronavirus, the lockdown and life ahead assume a middle-class, suburban perspective on things. Those might sound like provocative words but let me explain why I am saying this. First of all, there is a tendency to talk about the virus not discriminating. I understand the sentiments… Continue reading Assumptions, Lockdown and the urban church
Faithroots 