Paul Harcourt: It's been a difficult season for New Wine, but we've come out strong

Paul Harcourt is taking on the lead role at New Wine after a turbulent few months for the charismatic evangelical network of churches. Former national leader, Mark Bailey, stepped down in February over an extra-marital affair and was later suspended for two years from church ministry by the Bishop of Gloucester.

Harcourt, a much-loved Essex vicar and regional director for New Wine London and East, is therefore stepping into a difficult season for the organisation. But he's confident that there's a bright future ahead.

"It's been a sad time, but one of the things that happens when you go through a leadership transition, particularly one that's unplanned, is that you take time to draw back and think about who you are, and what's your purpose," he tells Christian Today.

"We even asked the question 'does God still want there to be a New Wine movement?', and what came back resounding across the whole New Wine network, is that this really is a family that people feel they belong to, and that [gave] a real sense of clarity about our purpose.

"We have through this process come out very clear about our commitment to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the renewal of the local church, the transformation of local communities, and influencing the culture in our nation. So actually, although it's been a hard time, I think we've come out strong, clear, and very focused for the next part of our journey."

Harcourt will continue to lead All Saints' Woodford Wells as he takes up his new role, which he said will mean remaining "rooted in ministry within a local church". All Saints' has been "transformed in all sorts of ways" through being part of New Wine, Harcourt said, particularly with regards to some of its work with children with special needs and outreach to the local community. Moving forward, he hopes to see New Wine place greater emphasis on diversity, and becoming more representative of the wider Church.

"We want to make sure that's clear and seen in our leadership and in the way we work," he says. "We're committed to every part of the country and to all age groups, and for us that's a big challenge. New Wine is uniquely placed as a big network – we have 3,500 leaders – to be able to get alongside churches and lead in any context and any community. We don't impose a model, what we have is a strong DNA of how the Spirit brings to life churches, and I think that's really exciting – so [I want to see an] emphasis on building the networks, and getting alongside churches and leaders in every type of context so nobody stands alone."

Christian Today understands that Harcourt is expected to improve the organisation's male/female leadership ratio, and he praised New Wine leaders, both "men and women, ordained and lay". He also pointed to the organisation's determination to raising up young leaders while valuing the contribution of all generations – and the importance of church as a family.

A quick search on Twitter reveals Harcourt's commitment to using unorthodox methods to reach people of all ages with the gospel – photos show him delivering a Christmas sermon dressed as a stormtrooper.

And it's not just within the four walls of the church that Harcourt is keen for Christians to thrive. He's just released a new book, Growing in circles: Learning the rhythms of discipleship, which he hopes will encourage people to grow in maturity in their faith, and in doing so transform the world and people around them.

"The simple idea behind it is that the way we grow in church and life is not by discovering some secret knowledge or some truth that we've never come across before, but we grow by encountering a number of fairly basic truths more and more profoundly," he says.

Most people, according to Harcourt, recall the sermons which have had the biggest impact as the ones where they understood an old truth in a new light. He wants to help people come back to these, and "continue to grow and become more fruitful".

It's through this, he says, that Christians learn to engage in rhythms of discipleship – being intimate with God and then being sent out to transform the world. Under Harcourt's leadership, then, New Wine will seek to continue to work towards the restoration of all things; not just the revival of the church.

"Once we see our lives from God's perspective, the places where we live and work become significant, not incidental... the places where you are and the people you are uniquely able to touch by being there are very much within God's plan, so that, I think, transforms the way that we see our lives and our purpose," he says.

"The Kingdom of God is so much more than church. It's the restoration of everything, the renewal of all things around us – the institutions we belong to and the communities in which we dwell. Discipleship is about the whole of our lives."