As the United Reformed Church’s first official Pioneer Minister, the Revd Janet Sutton Webb has launched a website to share her learning. She is also entering her ninth and final year in the post and reflects on the experience.
I have been living and working in a small rural market town in Devon with people who would not normally be interested in going to church, and to find out what following Jesus might look like if undertaken alongside them. My job title, Emerging Church Pioneer, is a strange one, and so is the job.
One of the greatest gifts, but also greatest challenges, has been to stand intentionally on the edge of our church institution and try to see it through the eyes of an outsider. It has been both illuminating and, at times, painful. I have found myself questioning many of the customs, doctrines and practices that we, as a denomination, hold dear.