Reading the press release from the recent Fresh Expressions Conference in Durham was refreshing. 

I am aware that there is a certain cynicism out there about about Fresh Expressions in terms of people calling just about anything (eg. a new church notice board) a ‘fresh expression’.  However, the report on James Dunn’s input sounds interesting, though it’s a pity that the press release didn’t give us more of the content on Graham Tomlin’s input addressing the question, “Can Fresh Expressions change culture.”

Professor Dunn noted that Jesus was a Jew, his disciples were all Jewish and that “Christianity began as a movement within Judaism.”  He then suggested that the Jesus movement  within Judaism could be interpreted as a fresh expression of Israel’s traditional religion.  His emphasis was that “The character of Christianity as a fresh expression is enshrined in our sacred texts.  These are the texts which define Christianity more clearly and definitively than any other writings.”

Anyone else think that this might be a frutful way of thinking about fresh expressions?