The Anabaptist Network

Stuart Murray Williams works as a trainer and consultant under the auspices of the Anabaptist Network. Based in Bristol, he travels widely in the UK and overseas and works with local churches, mission agencies, denominational leaders, conferences and individuals. He has worked with at least 25 denominations in recent years. His particular areas of expertise are in:

• Church
  planting
   
  
• Emerging
  church
   
  
• Urban
  mission
   
  
• Mission
  in post-Christendom
   
  
• Anabaptist history and theology
  

Under the name Stuart Murray, he has
written books on a number of topics, including:

1994   The Challenge of the
City   published by Sovereign World

Written after twelve years in Tower Hamlets, East
London – one of the most socially deprived, culturally diverse
and under-churched areas of Britain – working as a church
planter to establish what is now called Tower Hamlets Community
Church. This book aims to provide a biblical and theological
foundation for urban ministry and advocates that urban mission should
be recognised as a strategic priority.

1995 
 Explaining Church Discipline   published by
Sovereign World

An extended reflection on the classic passage in
Matthew 18, exploring historical reasons for the neglect of this
practice, examining other biblical passages on the subject, and
advocating the development of communities of disciples where loving
church discipline is taught and practised.

1998 
 Church Planting: Laying Foundations  
published by Paternoster Press

A critical assessment of church planting strategies
and practices, offering a biblical, theological and historical
foundation for this component of mission. Attention is given to the
postmodern and post-Christendom context for contemporary church
planting. This is really a book on ecclesiology and mission from an
Anabaptist perspective, using church planting as a way in to a range
of issues.

2000  
Hope from the Margins (jointly with Anne Wilkinson-Hayes)  
published by Grove Books

A booklet reflecting on the continuing decline in UK
church membership and the disenchantment of many Christians with
their churches and offering stories of new ways of being church that
may function as signs of hope, provoking questions about what the
church needs to become as we move into a new millennium.

2000  
Biblical Interpretation in the Anabaptist Tradition  
published by Pandora Press

A detailed study of the principles and practices of
sixteenth-century Anabaptists as they interpreted the Bible,
comparing and contrasting this with Catholic, Protestant and
Spiritualist approaches. This book identifies six key factors: the
accessibility of the Bible to all Christians, Christocentrism, the
relationship between the Testaments, the tension between Spirit and
Word, the role of the congregation and the importance of application.
A final section contends that this marginalised hermeneutic approach
has parallels with contemporary approaches and significant
contributions to make to biblical interpretation in post-Christendom.

2000  
Beyond Tithing   published by Paternoster Press

Starting from the premise that tithing is ‘bad
news to the poor’ and thus an unjust and unwise principle to
guide contemporary Christians in their financial dealings, this book
examines biblical references to tithing and concludes that it is a
biblical but not Christian practice. It investigates the strange
silence about tithing in the pre-Christendom period and explores the
miserable history of tithing in medieval and early modern Europe.
Tithing is presented as a case study of the vestiges of Christendom
that need to be identified and eradicated. Final chapters invite
readers to reflect on other biblical principles, especially jubilee
and koinonia, and to be creative and radical in giving and sharing.

2000  
Coming Home: Stories of Anabaptists in Britain and Ireland
(jointly with Alan Kreider)   published by Pandora
Press

The development of a vibrant Anabaptist Network in
the UK, which has minimal historical links with this tradition, has
surprised many. This book contains about sixty stories of those (from
a Catholic monk to an Anglican canon to a Baptist minister to a House
Church leader) for whom the Anabaptist tradition has been important.
Essays by Alan Kreider, Noel Moules, Chris Rowland and Stuart Murray
attempt to interpret and reflect on the significance of this
phenomenon.

2003   Church
Planting: Past, Present and Future (jointly with George Lings)   
published by Grove Books

A review of church planting in the 1990’s
across the denominations, reflecting on what was and was not achieved
during this period and the lessons that have been learned. A summary
of the crucial theological and strategic issues that need to be
considered for effective church planting today and tomorrow.

2004   Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World   
published by Paternoster

The end of Christendom, where the Christian story was known and the church was central, invites Christians in western culture to embrace marginality and discover fresh ways of being church and engaging in mission. This book is an introduction: a journey into the past, an interpretation of the present and an invitation to ask what following Jesus might mean in the strange new world of post-Christendom.
Read more

2005   Church after Christendom   
published by Paternoster

The second book in the 'After Christendom' series, this explores various aspects of church and mission in the strange new world of post-Christendom, including the relationship between believing, belonging and behaving; why people join and leave churches; what kinds of churches are emerging on the margins of inherited church and contemporary culture; and how mission, community and worship might be reconfigured in this new environment
Read more

2006   Changing Mission: Learning from the Newer Churches    
published by Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI)

The third book in the series commissioned by Building Bridges of Hope, this is a survey of the 'emerging church' scene and a reflection on its possible significance for mission in contemporary culture. Offering a distinctive Anabaptist perspective, and earthed in many stories of emerging churches, this book uses a post-Christendom lens to explore this popular subject.

2007   Church Planting in the Inner City (with Juliet Kilpin)    
published by Grove books

An introduction to the distinctive dynamics of planting churches in inner-city communities, illustrated by the experience over the past ten years of Urban Expression (a Root and Branch partner of the Anabaptist Network).

Some of these books can be obtained from the Anabaptist
Network at the following prices (plus p & p):

Church Planting: Laying Foundations £14.95

Hope from the Margins £2.75

Beyond Tithing £14.95

Coming Home: Stories of Anabaptists in Britain and Ireland £14.95

Biblical Interpretation in the Anabaptist Tradition £18.00

Church Planting: Past, Present and Future £2.75

Post-Christendom £9.99

Church after Christendom £8.99

Changing Mission £7.99

Church Planting in the Inner City £2.95

To contact Stuart or to order any of these books, email:
admin@anabaptistnetwork.com