‘Ecclesianarchy’: Excursions into Deconstructive Church

Abstract

The author has previously argued that in recent times the mainstream churches in the uk have tended to co-opt elements of a postmodern analysis of contemporary culture in support of a mission strategy focused on presentational innovations and limited structural adjustments, without allowing the implications radically to challenge ecclesiological or theological foundations. This article conducts an experiment in pursuing the logic of a postmodern discourse about the Church to bring its more radical implications into view: it begins to sketch out an alternative view of church as an 'ecclesianarchy', the distinctive purpose of which is to become a socio-cultural site for the symbolisation and enactment of the impossible. The proposal is explored with reference to examples of contemporary innovations in ecclesial praxis, and attention is drawn to critical questions such churches will need to attend to in the interests of furthering their evolution in a time of instability and change.