Alison Morgan
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ReSource : naming the vision ReSource was set up in 2004 under the direction of Martin Cavender, formerly the Director of Springboard. It is the successor to Anglican Renewal Ministries , which remains the name of the registered charity (No. 327035) . |
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself, so that they might declare my praise. Isaiah 43. 19-21
Why the name ReSource?
This is a complex and exciting time for the Christian Church worldwide.
We want to serve that Church, in all its traditions and denominations,
as it travels through the turmoil of a reformation as vital as the
great Reformation of the 16th century. We believe this is a radical
time, a time of return to roots and foundations, of "going back to
Galilee" - a time to return to the source of our being. The new name
carries lots of meanings, but that "return to source" is at the heart
of it.
We wanted a name which would (like Anglican Renewal Ministries) hold
fast to the idea of renewal but take account of the fact that in this
culture renewal must be shaped by the needs of the local setting; and a
name which would reflect a teamwork approach to ministry. We knew that
in a soundbite world we would need a single word which would both name
our offering and describe our style.
ReSource is a simple name which describes a continued renewal ministry
– resources are what the church needs to help it grow, in
each place in its own way, towards the fulness of Christ; and from the
beginning it has been the vision of ARM to resource and renew the local
church in this way. And yet as we thought about it we realised that the
name ReSource also expresses our core convictions:
Resources are those things which are provided by the
Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who is called alongside to offer help,
counsel, encouragement, exhortation, advocacy, protection, friendship,
comfort and all the other associated words which are carried in the
verb parakaleo.
ReSource: helping us to
reconnect with God, the source of our being. We believe God is calling
the Church to change, to set aside old ways of doing things and reach
out to a world in transition. We are convinced that he wishes to offer
nourishment and care to his Church, to cleanse and renew her in hope,
and to bring healing and restoration both to her and through her. We
want to be part of that process.
ReSource: seeking streams of
living water, the Holy Spirit who brings us life. We rejoice in our
relationship with the Holy Spirit. We welcome his calling to resource
and strengthen the local church whatever her type, setting and
tradition. We will offer not blueprints or formulae, but responsive and
servant-hearted support, working with local leadership to bring
challenge and develop fresh vision in each place.
ReSource: enabling individuals
and churches to fulfil their calling as part of the body of Jesus
Christ in the community. ARM was founded to help the local church to
embrace the spiritual renewal which had transformed the lives of so
many individuals since the beginning of the charismatic movement 20
years earlier. We believe the time has now come consciously to develop
the relationship between renewal and mission so as to work for the
transformation of our communities.
The word resource comes from the Latin resurgere – which
means ‘rise again', or ‘resurrect'. It means,
therefore, ‘risen'. We serve a risen Saviour, and we look for
resurrection, renewal, new life in everything that we are and do. Being
made new is a constant biblical concept. Renewal is built into the
rhythm of God's relationship with the created universe, and renewal is
a work of the Holy Spirit. Our calling is to work for the renewal of
the church, for mission, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21.6
ReSource : Renewal for mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. What is renewal, exactly? Click here to see what we think...
About Alison Morgan
Alison Morgan is ReSource’s thinker and writer. A
linguist by background, Alison has a PhD in medieval Christian
literature from Cambridge. After teaching in various universities, she
was ordained in 1996. She has written various books: Dante
and the
Medieval Other World (CUP 1990, reprinted 2007), What
Happens When We
Die? (Kingsway 1990, Chinese edition Campus Evangelical
Fellowship
Press 1999), The Wild Gospel (Monarch 2004, now on
its third printing)
and most recently Doing what Jesus did - a fresh look at the
gifts of
the Spirit (ReSource 2009). Alison is the editor of
the Rooted
in Jesus
discipleship course now in wide use in Africa, co-author (with Bill
Goodman) of our Lent course Season of Renewal and
(with John Woolmer)
of our healing course In His Name. Alison was a
contributor to Mission
Shaped Questions (CUP 2008), serves on the Council of SOMA UK, and is a
member of
the Archbishops'
College of Evangelists. She is married to Roger, and
they have three children. Alison’s own website is www.alisonmorgan.co.uk.
