The Relationary Walk
To Get you Going
Welcome to our walk. If you would appreciate some discussion prompts on your walk, here are a few reminders of the Relational Theology Day 2026.
Session 1: God is building a home. Embracing Connection – An Introduction to Relational Theology” (Robin Plummer)
Reminder: Relational distinctive from Ephesians 4- body, diversity, maturity. An overview of the day’s theme. ‘God is using us all’ – Jesus’ relational vision for church, ministry, life and leadership. A deep dive into Jesus’ vision for his church as presented in Ephesians. Reflections on Ephesians 4 aim to stir faith and hope for ways of being church in the UK in the 21st Century that can release life and challenge the powers of the age.
Session 2: Planting Equipped People in Healthy Relational Soil (Christie Lothamer).
Question: What happens when apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers try to flourish in toxic soil?
Answer: They wither, compete, and burn out.
Description: Drawing from Jim Wilder’s work, this session explores how healthy relational soil—joy, secure attachments, Jesus-shaped group identity, and loving correction—transforms competing fivefold gifts into thriving ecosystems.
Workshops
1. Phil and Andy Parnham – ‘The Challenge of the Disappointed, the Disillusioned and the Done”
Question: what can we learn from those who have left or are thinking of leaving our churches?
2. Ian Farmer (sic)- ’From Apostolic Teams in Asia to the UK church – what I’m learning….’
Question: What can we learn from more relational approaches to church and ministry from other global cultures?
3. Jacob Simpson – ‘Exploring the relational ecosystem where gifts serve the body and the body forms the people’.
Question: What did you make of Jacob’s ecosystem-based approach to ministry?
Session 3: A Prophetic Perspective (Shunu Pellew) – a prophetic reflection – what is the Church’s entrustment in relation to the future?
Question: can you have Christian values without Christ?
Question: the past – how important is orthodox doctrine?
Question: the present – what is the basis for biblical authority?
Session 4: The present: so what?
Roving mic – Q&A and practical outworking