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Tensions in Small Missional Communities Durham E-Theses Exploring the Lived Theology of Small Missional Communities: Uncovering Charismatic Practices and Beliefs to Enable Sustained Engagement in Social Action BUTLER, JAMES,EDWARD,DAVID How to cite: BUTLER, JAMES,EDWARD,DAVID (2017) Exploring the Lived Theology of Small Missional Communities: Uncovering Charismatic Practices and Beliefs to Enable Sustained Engagement in Social Action, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12849/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Exploring the Lived Theology of Small Missional Communities: Uncovering Charismatic Practices and Beliefs to Enable Sustained Engagement in Social Action James Butler Abstract: This thesis explores the lived theology of Small Missional Communities focusing on how they have developed practices and beliefs to help sustain their engagement in social action. These small groups of Christians are seeking to be both a worshipping Christian community and engage in social action in their local area and have been strongly influenced by the Emerging Missional Church, charismatic evangelicalism and what I have called the Evangelical Turn to Social Action. Using a practical theology approach through a qualitative study of four Small Missional Communities this research reveals the way that these communities have developed practices to discern and experience God in the world to enable a more sustained engagement in social action retaining the Charismatic Evangelical emphasis on experience and encounter with God. The key shift made by these Small Missional Communities is theological; a change in understanding of where and how God acts. Through developing new practices and understandings the communities have moved from an intensive focus on God acting in the gathered worship service to an extensive focus on God acting in the world. These practices and understandings are described as ‘moving the location of belonging’, a change in the understanding of the relationship between God’s action and human action, and developing practices of seeing and experiencing God in the world. The thesis then explores the insights and challenges both for Small Missional Communities and for the traditions which have influenced SMCs concluding that greater attention needs to be paid to the Charismatic Evangelical background of such groups, whose practices continue to shape the communities, and how practices are already developing which help to tackle some of the challenges facing Small Missional Communities. 1 Exploring the Lived Theology of Small Missional Communities: Uncovering Charismatic Practices and Beliefs to Enable Sustained Engagement in Social Action James Edward David Butler Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theology and Religious Studies Durham University 2017 2 Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 7 My Own Story .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Introducing the Small Missional Communities ........................................................................................ 11 The Structure of the Thesis ..................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1: The Theological Influences on Small Missional Communities ................................................... 14 The Roots of Small Missional Communities ................................................................................................. 14 The Evangelical Turn to Social Action ...................................................................................................... 14 The Emerging Missional Movement ........................................................................................................ 21 Charismatic Evangelicalism ......................................................................................................................... 31 The Intensive Nature of Charismatic Lived Theology .............................................................................. 31 Experience and Encounter ....................................................................................................................... 32 Intimate Worship and Ministry Time ...................................................................................................... 34 The Place of Transformation: Worship and ‘the rest of the week’ ......................................................... 39 Church Planting ....................................................................................................................................... 42 A Myopic View of Church? ...................................................................................................................... 43 Summary of the Intensive Nature of Charismatic Lived Theology .......................................................... 44 Critical Analysis of Charismatic Evangelicalism ....................................................................................... 45 Summary and Research Question ................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter 2: Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 51 Practical Theology ........................................................................................................................................ 51 Exploring Lived Theology ......................................................................................................................... 59 Developing Theological Descriptions of SMCs......................................................................................... 61 Analysing Lived Theology ........................................................................................................................ 61 Qualitative Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 65 The Case Study Approach ........................................................................................................................ 66 The Extended Case Study ........................................................................................................................ 67 Criticisms of the Case Study Approach .................................................................................................... 68 Reflexivity ................................................................................................................................................ 70 Qualitative Methods .................................................................................................................................... 72 Participant-Observation .......................................................................................................................... 72 Semi-Structured Interview ...................................................................................................................... 73 Documentation ........................................................................................................................................ 74 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 75 Fieldwork Account ........................................................................................................................................ 76 Finding the SMCs and gaining Access ...................................................................................................... 76 My Role as Researcher ............................................................................................................................ 77 Participant Observations ......................................................................................................................... 78 Semi Structured Interviews ..................................................................................................................... 80 Document Study ...................................................................................................................................... 81 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 81 Research Ethics ........................................................................................................................................ 82 Chapter
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