Abstract
This article takes the form of an extended review of the recently published book (In-tensional: A Way Forward for the Church, 2024) co-authored by the Most Reverend Justin Duckworth, Archbishop Tikanga Pākehā of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, and ordained Baptist minister, Alan Jamieson. Engaging directly with the book, the article seeks to reflect critically upon the ecclesiology proffered. The essay argues that not only is the historical and theoretical basis of the ‘in-tensional centre-edge’ model proposed by the authors questionable, but its employment is potentially problematic for the unity and faithfulness of the Church. While engaging with a specific text and a particular context – the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand – the analysis also offers a case study that should be of interest to a broader audience. The ‘centre-edge’ model and an emphasis upon ‘growth’, ‘entrepreneurial leadership’ and ‘innovation’ within the proposed ecclesiology are phenomena observable more widely within the Anglican Communion and other ‘mainstream’ western Church traditions. These emphases, I contend, are illustrative of both the zeitgeist of late modernity and an absence of a theologically robust ecclesiology.