Graham Cray – författare

January 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Fresh Expressions movement which spread internationally and denominationally from its origins in the Church of England. Graham Cray was its first National Leader. Countless new forms of church have emerged through Fresh Expressions, the Church Army, New Wine, and various pioneer network. On Mission with Jesus offers a theological understanding of the missional nature of the church, which will undergird and inform local practice and assist ministerial and pioneer training. Its central argument is that the Church’s inherited understanding of itself imprisons the imagination of local congregations and in ten chapters, Graham Cray seeks to establish a new self-understanding for local congregations: 1. Updating Default Settings 2. Sharing in the Mission of God3. Making Disciples 4. Following the Spirit5. Shaping the Church 6. Anticipating the Future7. Joining the family Business 8. Being a Pilgrim People9. Recognising Jesus in the Church 10. Becoming a Jesus on Mission-Shaped Church

How should we live as dual citizens: citizens both of the kingdom of God and of our nation? How much should we involve ourselves in society and public life?Many of us find integrated, whole-life discipleship very difficult. It is easier to live, not so much a double life as a dualistic one, where faith is a personal matter with little impact on work and other spheres of life.Graham Cray shows that there are profound gospel reasons for taking seriously both our national life and our call to be Christian citizens. A nation's social health is a matter of Christian action and concern because it matters to God.

The combination of Fresh Expressions and the explosion of interest in monastic spirituality is resulting in the emergence of new monastic communities inspired by historic patterns of religious life, but reframed for the contemporary world. This worldwide movement is seen as a radical expression of ecclesial community and was named in Mission Shaped Church as one of the leading new forms of church that would help people reconnect with Christianity. A new monastic community may be a dispersed group of families and individuals meeting to share meals and worship, it might be a group connected virtually; it might be a youth group exploring monastic spirituality. In this book, leaders of traditional religious communities and emerging 'new monastic' communities tell their stories and reflect on how an ancient expression of being church is inspiring and shaping a very new one.Included are many well-known contributors: Graham Cray, Tom Sine, Shane Claiborne, Ray Simpson, Abbot Stuart Burns and others exploring intentional living in the UK and the US.