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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Would Alpha 'work' without the 'Holy Spirit weekend'?
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South Coast Kevin
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# 16130
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by cliffdweller:
The premise is that most evangelism programs are "bait and switch"-- you have one sort of outreach that's designed to appeal to a particular interest/group/culture-- whether that's coffee house or pub or loud rock concert or whatever-- but then when the bait is taken you drag them into a church culture that's very, very different.
The idea w/ Alpha is to be very transparent about who/what you are. To meet in church cuz that's where church meets. To eat and talk around tables because that's what churches do. To have worship cuz that's what churches do. The idea is that you're not just looking for "saying the sinner's prayer" but for meaningful inclusion in a Christian community.
Oh, I'd not thought of Alpha in this way - that makes a lot of sense. So people who get on well with the Alpha style are likely to be comfortable with the way we generally 'do' church in the western world.
But, as others have noted, the typical (middle class) western church style doesn't suit everyone, and maybe Alpha will never have much impact on those people. That's okay, though, as long as we don't think of Alpha as the way of doing outreach or typical middle-class church as the way of doing church meetings.
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My blog - wondering about Christianity in the 21st century, chess, music, politics and other bits and bobs.
Posts: 3309 | From: The south coast (of England) | Registered: Jan 2011
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cliffdweller
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# 13338
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by South Coast Kevin:
[QUOTE]
But, as others have noted, the typical (middle class) western church style doesn't suit everyone, and maybe Alpha will never have much impact on those people. That's okay, though, as long as we don't think of Alpha as the way of doing outreach or typical middle-class church as the way of doing church meetings.
Yes, precisely. Which means we should have other types of churches, styles that fit other cultures & personalities. And their evangelism efforts should be similarly transparent-- to look like what they are.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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SvitlanaV2
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# 16967
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by South Coast Kevin:
[A]s others have noted, the typical (middle class) western church style doesn't suit everyone, and maybe Alpha will never have much impact on those people. That's okay, though, as long as we don't think of Alpha as the way of doing outreach or typical middle-class church as the way of doing church meetings.
Since most Alpha participants are invited along by friends and family who are part of the church (or who are indeed already part of a church themselves), it's likely that they'll already belong to more or less the same social class anyway.
I've just read this interesting sentence in a relevant article: 'Type theory suggests that groups find it easier to attract newcomers who conform to the dominant types within the group.'
Article: Rev. Andew Village, 'Church tradition and psychological type preferences among Anglicans in England'.
http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2875/1/WRAP_Francis_0673558-ie-170210-church_tradition_and_psych_type.pdf
Posts: 6668 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2012
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Saul the Apostle
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# 13808
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Posted
This may be blindingly simple, but surely the premise upon which you treat people in regards to any church event, including an evangelistic one like Alpha, is respect.
It is an understanding of the context in which people live and work etc. That is why with the Nicky Gumbel Alpha dvds you tend to see young, middle class and professional types in attendance, as HTB is that sort of church. I don't go to a similar sort of church, but that's the point one size does not fit all.
Personally I prefer one on one friendship evangelism; this seems much more sensible to me. But, as stated previously I am a definite Alpha fan and I can only say our Holy Spirit day was unemotional and very un pressurised for all concerned. I can vouch that there was no sort of pressure exerted on any one at any time.
Simply at the end of the Holy Spirit day we prayed for folk and that was that. It was a super day and as I have done three consecutive Alpha courses as a helper the Holy Spirit days were all of this nature with a very relaxed approach. There was absolutely no hype whatsoever.
I think there may be some leaders in some churches who do have ''an agenda'' but truth will out and if they have it will become clear. I seem to remember the TV documentary that Gamaliel mentioned where the group was away for the weekend for their Holy Spirit day and I think going away can heighten emotions, whereas our church using the same premises for all the Alpha meetings and maybe this mitigates against hype as it is a familiar place and no one is whipping anyone else up into some altered state. So I have to say Alpha is brilliant and I have invited several people, all of whom declined to attend; but even having the conversation, was to my mind, a good thing as it raised spiritual things and also what i believed and I understood why the people I invited didn't come along, even though the fact they did not was a disspointment on another level.
Saul
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"I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest."
Posts: 1772 | From: unsure | Registered: Jun 2008
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Waterchaser
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# 11005
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Posted
one exception I can think of to the suggestion that Alpha works much better for middle class people (which may be true in general - I don't know) is that it seems to work well in prison, and I would expect middle class people to be under represented in the prison population.
Posts: 310 | From: Luton, UK | Registered: Feb 2006
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SvitlanaV2
Shipmate
# 16967
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Posted
Waterchaser
What do they do about the Holy Spirit weekend in prison? Just move the activities to a different room and pretend they've 'gone away' somewhere more informal and relaxing?
Seriously though, I get the impression that the dynamic is quite different in prison. Some prisoners famously become more interested in religion while they're in that environment; their psychological state is very different. Plus, everyone in the group is in the same boat, whereas on an Alpha course, someone who's obviously from a different social background might feel be a bit out of place.
Also, in a prison, everyone would be the same sex, perhaps apart from the group leader.
Posts: 6668 | From: UK | Registered: Feb 2012
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cliffdweller
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# 13338
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Posted
If the stories told by Gumbel at the Alpha training are true, the prison Alpha was birthed and run by two men who were converted to Alpha just prior to their conviction on felony charges. Which means you've got a similar dynamic to what you have with AA-- leadership by people who have "been there", ministering out of their own brokenness. A very counter-cultural but appealing model, IMHO, and one with lots of authenticity.
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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner
Posts: 11242 | From: a small canyon overlooking the city | Registered: Jan 2008
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the long ranger
Shipmate
# 17109
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Posted
I'm sorry to drag this subject back to life, but I saw this blog post which I thought was interesting. A snippet:
quote:
I recently attended an event that was part of a relatively new initiative at the Institute of Directors (IOD), in which Director General Simon Walker interviewed a guest speaker as a learning opportunity for the IOD's members. The guest on this occasion was Ken Costa, former Chairman of Lazard International, former Vice-Chairman of UBS bank, and a committed Christian. Costa, Chairman of Alpha International, an organisation that provides an introduction to the Christian faith to 2 million people in the UK and 12 million worldwide, was invited to speak on 'ethical capitalism', and how banks can find business guidelines in the Bible.
Not sure what to say.
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"..into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” “But Rabbi, how can this happen for those who have no teeth?”
"..If some have no teeth, then teeth will be provided.”
Posts: 1310 | Registered: May 2012
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