After twenty years in parish-based Anglican ministry and fourteen in teaching roles, David has developed a vision for the future of the Anglican Church: a church in which all but the largest churches are led by lay people. The role of the clergy will be to encourage, equip and oversee the ministry of others. But for this to work, clergy need to be trained for this role instead of that of the traditional vicar. This requires a transformation of theological education. In place of a largely academic curriculum, the emphasis will be on the practical wisdom needed to build a missionary church. Theological Education Institutions will become regional training centres, at which only a small proportion of students will be residential. They will provide ‘just-in-time’ training for the ministry each student is currently undertaking, beginning with lay ministry and extending to Continuing Ministerial Development for both lay and ordained ministers. Crucially, staff will be expected to be proficient in the skills of adult education as well as their subject disciplines.
Each post explains an aspect of the vision.
October 14th, 2025: The deeper issues facing the next Archbishop
The problems she has to deal with stem from widely shared assumptions that cripple the Church’s life and witness.
September 24th, 2025: Time to move on from the professional model
The Church of England’s traditional understanding of ordained ministry is increasingly dysfunctional and a cause of considerable stress to clergy. This post explores the reasons why.
September 11th, 2025: The Three Transitions the Church is Struggling to Make.
As the Church of England struggles to adapt to a rapidly changing context, what are the three transitions it needs to make and what are the factors that impede them?
August 10th, 2025: Existential threat or God-given opportunity?
What if the fall in vocations is God’s way of encouraging the Church of England to imagine a different future? What if the future God has in mind for the Church involves fewer stipendiary clergy fulfilling a role different from that of the traditional vicar? Why might this be the case?