The Alpha Course
A shortish view
A while ago Alan Goddard asked me if I would like to enjoy co-leading and co-hosting one of the Alpha groups being conducted at Christ Church in late 2002. My leader would be the peerless Mrs Pat Bills. I had a question. What would be involved?
The first thing seemed to be food. Immediately my interest was awakened! As a co-host with Graham and Cecilia Bartlett, I would be responsible for providing a meal for around ten people on alternate weeks in our home. It appears that a meal, eaten not at the table but on laps, (with a plate in between) is the best way to break the ice between people new to Alpha. (This is not to mention breaking the teeth for anybody unfamiliar with my relatively modest culinary expertise!!).
Then, after the meal and Alka Seltzer tablets, a 40-minute Alpha video talk by Nicky Gumbel, one of ten to be shown during the ten weeks of the course, would be screened. This would be followed by an opportunity to discuss the content and relate our experiences. Easy Peasy!! Yes Alan, I’d help lead a course.
Alpha is predominantly an introductory course for non-Christians to hear in a non-threatening manner, the message of the Gospel. I suppose in keeping with the majority of late 20th and early 21st Century thinking, Alpha gave me the impression of being more a broad based Christian Lifestyle course leading perhaps to more in depth study of God’s word for those wishing to pursue further learning.
The group, which attended the ten-week course, was as far as we knew, Christian by faith; surely this defeats the purpose. Alpha is for non-Christians is it not? My answer to that is it did no harm for THIS Christian to re-hear some of the basics in a new and modern way. I believe this view to have been shared by the other course members too……… GUYS?
As for rumours of people braying like donkeys and rolling around the floor babbling incoherently… the nearest our group got to that was the murmurings of satisfaction after the meals!
Seriously, the day away at Burrswood looking at the Holy Spirit was enjoyed by us all and many felt it was a day of peace and an opportunity to fellowship more deeply with each other and with our Lord. Besides, Pat Bills’ donkey impression is strictly for closed parties only!!!
My overriding feeling having helped on an Alpha course is that we are never too old to learn, re-learn or discover for the first time this wonderful God who loves us without condition and longs for us to be in a relationship with his only Son, Jesus Christ. Oh, and the food……………absolutely key!
Mark Whiting