If there was one thing more enjoyable than reading the book The Church of Tomorrow, it was meeting the author, John McGinley, himself, which I’ve now done twice.

The first time was at his London office; the second was at his home, because early in our first chat we realised that we lived quite close to each other. So on the second occasion, I took one of our church leaders with me to talk not only about his book but also about his work generally, which I’ll come to shortly.

Continuous Reformation

But first the book, whose subtitle, ‘Being a Christ-centred people in a changing world’, recognises how much our society needs to see Christians fully reflecting the Lordship of Christ in their lives. Only then will the gospel make an impact among a generation which has lost confidence in both the Church and the Christian faith.

It is typical in these days to paint a negative and pessimistic scenario of the future of the Church, but in McGinley’s book we learn how a new reforming wave has begun. The author explains that ‘Reformation’ is more than a specialised historical term for something that happened in the sixteenth century. Rather it represents a continuous movement of God across the past five centuries in which the Church should be allowing itself to be increasingly reformed back to Christ’s original intentions.

Catching the wave

But in the past, every move of God has been resisted by some people within the Church, which has slowed the process down, often creating new traditions and structures which have impeded progress. We now have an opportunity to catch the next wave and, instead of being stuck where we are, be part of an exciting future that will serve our society better.

Reformation ... represents a continuous movement of God across the past five centuries in which the Church should be allowing itself to be increasingly reformed back to Christ’s original intentions.

The author is convinced that ‘At this time in our history . . . Jesus is giving us an invitation to imagine a different way of being the Church. But it involves a choice’ (p.24). So what will this Church of Tomorrow look like? As in any true renewal, what is needed is a rediscovery of early Christian belief and practice.

Practical and prophetic

To this end, McGinley structures his book around eight key themes, each with a chapter of its own. The Church of Tomorrow will honour Jesus as Lord, be dependent upon the Holy Spirit and be confident in the gospel message. It will be a disciple-making community that plants new, small churches. It will be a holy people under a diverse leadership and will prioritise prayer.

In his Foreword, Ric Thorpe, the Bishop of Islington, describes the book as both practical and prophetic. As the bishop with responsibility for church planting, he reports that ‘The creator Spirit is bringing many new things to birth, and it is exciting to behold’ (p.xvi).

The Church of Tomorrow will ... be a holy people under a diverse leadership and will prioritise prayer.

And that is a key point. Different forms of church and different aspects of mission are emerging for different communities, but they are all united in the Lord. Although this is an Anglican initiative, it applies to all churches across the denominations, and is indeed spreading to all parts.

Moving with God

McGinley’s book will equip you to discern what God is calling you to do in your own context and strengthen you in that next step. If your church is stuck in its old ways (usually referred to as traditions!), then this book will encourage you to start something new alongside your existing patterns and structures and see where God takes you.

As mentioned earlier, I first met John in his London office, where he works for the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX). In particular he is the Executive Director of Myriad, an initiative with a vision to serve the planning of thousands of new churches as part of a lay-led movement. He has 25 years of experience of church planting and leading missional communities, and during that time he has been involved in training and mentoring leaders across the UK.

... this book will encourage you to start something new alongside your existing patterns and structures and see where God takes you.

For more on CCX and the Myriad initiative, see here and here.

Big Church Read

John’s book is also part of the Big Church Read. By following this link you can hear the author talk about his book and how it can be used as a ten part sermon series – with group discussions to go alongside this. Sermon plans and discussion notes are also provided.

The Church of Tomorrow (162 pp) is published by SPCK, and is available from Amazon for £10.83, inc p&p.