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Christianity exploredStudy guide: leader's guideExplored moves up a gearCHRISTIANITY EXPLORED That which was already excellent has just got better! Rico Tice and the team at All Souls have recently launched the second edition of Christianity Explored - the Alpha-style, Bible-based course for those interested in exploring the Christian faith. Those who have already used the original course will value its strong emphasis on the biblical material in Mark's Gospel, its honest and direct dealings with the issue of sin, and its presentation of the need to follow Jesus as Lord rather than just accept him as Saviour. So what's new with the second edition? The course structure remains unchanged, running over ten weeks with an awayday / weekend between weeks six and seven. The talks are retained with some slight variations in the titles and, as before, the talks are provided on a CD-ROM for use by the speakers. The full set of videos is now available for £50, with Rico presenting the talks - a move which facilitates the use of the course in homes, or in churches where a speaker is unavailable. The leader's guide is repackaged with a clearer presentation of the training material at the start, followed by the study guide material (which is given as a booklet to each group member), with helpful notes to guide the leaders through the discussion material. Very importantly, there is much greater clarity about which discussion questions are to be addressed at any particular time. Gone is the reliance on group members having done their 'homework'. Home study questions are included with an opportunity to discuss any arising questions at the start of the next session, but the discussion is then based on a fresh passage which is read in the group. Re-written discussionThe discussion questions appear to have been extensively rewritten, with a greater focus on the central meaning of the passage, and omitting the very open general 'starter' questions that often produced unhelpful diversions to discussion. The final talk material does now remind leaders to refer back to the first week and reconsider with group members the one question that they were invited to list that they would like to ask God. There is a slight change in the strap line for the course. 'We're more wicked than we ever realised, but more loved than we ever dreamed' has in some parts been replaced by the less personal 'Grace is only amazing where sin is clearly seen'. However, in the spirit of the genuine flexibility that the course producers encourage in the introduction, we will continue with the original version! As a church we have benefited greatly from running the course. The leadership training material was very relevant and helped equip Christians with little group leadership experience to run the groups. Several explorers were greatly helped, and one was baptised recently. The young people who came ended better grounded in their faith; in fact all the Christians present valued lingering with the gospel and facing up again to the implications of Jesus's Lordship. As a result, at our re-run in January, we invited all our fellowship groups to attend and to bring friends along with them, so that the whole church could benefit. It's a joy to see further improvements to an excellent course, which works so well because it presents the biblical gospel in a way that is accessible and relevant. Why not visit the website, check out the resources and consider arranging a course where you are? Klaus Green, Guildford© Evangelicals Now - March 2004 |