by Steve | Jan 26, 2000 | Archive - 2000
Archive: High Standing in Low Places: Rethinking evangelism
By Maggie Taylor Schroeder
January/February 2000
Good News
If I weren’t feeling low already it might be difficult to ask for the lowest place. But recently I’ve been questioning my salvation and that’s a deeply contemplative place to be. The Hebrew word for salvation is Yasha, it means, “open,” “wide” or “free.” I’m a Christian. I have no doubt about that. I’m just wondering when I will begin to feel open, wide, and free. I sincerely feel like I’m hungry for that uninhibited aspect of salvation, and my desire for it has only grown with the wrestling.
I have to admit that my questioning is not new. It’s a contemplation that stemmed from a very broken point in my life. Three years ago I contracted meningitis, an inflammatory virus that affects the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord. Because of this virus l was temporarily stripped of my ability to read, move, listen, and live a self-sufficient life. Overnight I went from having a sore throat to a nearly paralyzed body. I feared the tightening grip on my spine. It felt as if it would never release. Exhausted by the intense pain, l could only move with the help of someone moving me. The unbearable throbbing held my brain captive. It kept me from thinking clearly. When I arrived at the hospital I was told that if my fever had been any higher I could have faced brain damage. What started as an itchy throat had quickly become a life-threatening crisis. It had a grip on my body and my life.
Life: I felt that it was just beginning. I had just graduated from college and had decided to transition into the work world by spending that summer working for the college. It seemed the safest way to enter into “the real world,” while still having some time to make those necessary decisions for long-term work. I was optimistic and willing to take charge of my life. I enjoyed the freedom in making my own decisions. Meningitis was not even in my vocabulary, let alone my life plan. I had wanted to step out and embrace life, not sickness. The thoughts and feelings from those two naively optimistic weeks between graduation and the rush to the hospital are now carefully frozen in time. Without wanting to forget them, l have locked them away. They now remind me to pursue that fullness of life I once assumed was effortlessly assured. I was released from the emergency room and sent home. A few days later I had to return to the hospital because l had become unresponsive to my parents, and the words that came out of my mouth were morose. In a delirious state I struggled to tell my mother goodbye, for I sensed that I was dying. By the depth of her agonizing I knew that she feared the same.
Salvation takes on a new meaning when you’ve felt your life slipping away. In that hospital I was definitely open and wide, for the sake of salvation. My nakedness was not a question of modesty, it was of necessity. Frail and helpless I was given into the hands of someone who knew better than I what would save my life. l had to be entirely vulnerable, and that isn’t something that came easily to me. The truth was that I avoided vulnerability altogether. I had approached life from a defensive strategy of pretending. It was my way of hiding my frailty, and convincing others that I had it all together. Sure, I can self-disclose, I just haven’t known many people who want to share my pain as willingly as they would my laughter. Sometimes my laughter hid the pain.
Pretending kept me from being vulnerable with others. I tried to present a perfect front so that no one would sincerely get to know me. I wanted them to be too busy admiring me, for admiration is how I measured success. Yet the further I got from allowing anyone to enter my private self, the harder it became for even myself to enter. Pretending creates a strong facade and I now mourn that aspect of my life. It’s not living at all.
And so I wrestle with who I am and who I want to be. Having meningitis forced me to grapple with those issues. I spent many months recuperating-often sleeping 18 hours a day. The time that I was awake was spent trying to measure my self-worth as an inactive, sometimes immobile person. As someone who finds meaning in doing things, I quickly plummeted to a hollow state by being stripped of my ability to “do.” Not only did it create physical insecurities but also spiritual ones. I was unable to know if and when my sight, hearing, and movement would return, and I was unable to feel God’s presence, wondering when I would again.
My prayers consisted mainly of repeating “help,” over and over again. I didn’t even have enough energy to apologize to God for my simple prayers. I imagined him looking upon me with the same disdain that I felt for myself.
But my worst enemy was self-created. I had a fear by the name of “failure.” My definition of success lay in my being a good pretender, by knowing how to insulate myself from others. I didn’t have room for salvation, for being open, wide, and free. Self-disclosure, in my mind, equaled failure. That’s why I thought that I had to be able to present a perfect person to God before he would ever be able to love me. Now, with my desires for perfection and admiration disabled, I longed to know a God who would accept me in my brokenness.
To my surprise God audibly answered those cries for help. He told me that he loved me in my helpless state. I finally understood that my belovedness did not change with my inability to pray, kneel, or read my Bible, that God’s love was not performance-based. He loves me no matter what I do, no matter if I can or cannot do.
I learned in those moments of poverty that I could accept my brokenness and begin to reconcile my frail inner self with my pretending outer self. I allowed room for a God who longs to draw all of us out of ourselves and into him. The salvation came when I laid down the anguish within myself. I had to stop pretending to be something that I was not. l had to learn to become what I was, a beloved child of God. Out of that brokenness I found wholeness. I found freedom.
Just because I have begun to learn these simple truths does not mean that it is now easy for me to change and live in the fullness that they offer. I continually strive for that place of open salvation. But turning from my captive self has now become a delight. I no longer equate success with pretending to be someone others can admire. I’ve learned that in being known by others I am open, wide, and free to accept who I truly am, the beloved. Frail and helpless, I have now placed my life in the hands of One who knows better than I how to save my life. I have found the Savior.
When she wrote this article, Maggie Taylor Schroeder was the editorial assistant at Good News.
by Steve | Jan 26, 2000 | Archive - 2000
Archive: Mustard Seed Evangelism
By Rob Frost
January/February 2000
Good News
A new era has dawned, and a new landscape is emerging, and new challenges face us on every side. The great news about Jesus has shaped world history for 2,000 years, and we must find new ways of presenting it in the new millennium.
The task of evangelism can sometimes feel pretty daunting. Small congregations can be overwhelmed by the task, ill-equipped for outreach, and outnumbered a thousand-to-one by those who have no interest in the Christian faith.
In each mustard seed of the gospel, however, there is incalculable growth potential, and its prospects far exceed our capacity to understand how it happens. Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows it is the largest of garden planes” (Matthew 13:31-32).
One summer I went to help my friend bring in the harvest on his Yorkshire farm. I had no idea what harvesting would be like, and as I learned how to drive the tractor, throw bales of straw into the barn, and unclog the bailer, I began to realize just how stressful farming can be!
Each night my friend Richard and I would stagger back to the farmhouse covered in sweat and grime, but with a glow of satisfaction that all was safely gathered in.
One day we had to take a trailer full of oil seed rape from the combine harvester in the field to the large storage silo in the farmyard. I rode through the village on the back of this trailer piled high with shifting seed. As we sped through the village, I held on to the swaying trailer but gradually began to sink lower and lower into the cargo until my Wellington boots and trousers were so full with the oily black seed that I couldn’t move. It was not a pleasant experience!
When we arrived at the farmyard my friend lowered a large black suction pipe into the trailer and watched as the seed was sucked up into the silo. He sighed, “This stuff is amazing … we sow it in pounds and reap it in tons!”
Eventually I was released! And as I watched the crop gradually disappearing into the silo, I remembered the parable of the mustard seed and for the first time understood the full force of its meaning.
The parable of the mustard seed really came alive for me, however, a few years ago when I visited
, along the coast of southwest England. Every year, thousands of Christians from around the world visit this large amphitheater situated miles away from anything! It’s the site where John Wesley preached to the Cornish tin miners in the open air, and where hundreds of them found Jesus Christ as Savior. It was the spark that lit the eighteenth century revival!
When I visited the site a few years ago, there were hundreds of young Methodists from all over the world sitting in the amphitheater. As I gazed around at that great crowd, I was overwhelmed by the thought that the preaching of John Wesley 200 years ago could result in a worldwide denomination that currently has a membership of over 60 million people!
It was a powerful demonstration that the growth potential in any seed of the gospel is greater than even that of a mustard seed! Our approach to evangelism, therefore, is different from that of a sales force for a new product, or an advertising agency selling a new brand!
Sadly, in many towns and cities God’s tool for evangelism, the local church, has become a blunt instrument. Congregations don’t recognize the crucial importance of an ongoing evangelistic ministry, and too often follow an agenda that is more about servicing the flock rather than searching for lost sheep.
I am encouraged that some local churches are waking up to their evangelistic task and are discovering the vital role that they can play in the re-evangelization of their area. The local church is the God-ordained unit for mission and it’s time that each fellowship began to develop a sense of responsibility for evangelism.
The motivation shouldn’t be to “get extra members” but to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. In a highly secularized society such as ours, local church mission must be about bridging the gap between church and community, about building real relationships with the local people, and about sharing our faith with people where they are. It’s about taking the church out into the world.
The Christian faith is a faith to give away. The Scriptures are constantly encouraging us to share our faith in Christ with others. The most important motivation for evangelism is the love of God, and it’s not to be shared in a pushy way but in a style that demonstrates God’s love.
The most effective team for witness and follow-up in a community is a group of local Christians who live their lives as though they are always “on mission” for the Lord. The most effective place for the nurture and care of new Christians is the local church.
This is the time to awaken the sleeping giant! To mobilize the tens of thousands of dormant Christians in our churches, and to see the vision of a lost world and the mind-blowing power in each seed of the Christian gospel.
All four gospels end with Jesus Christ giving his disciples the charge to evangelize. The best known reference comes from Matthew where Jesus says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations … And surely I will be with you always to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:16-20).
A new millennium. A new opportunity. Let’s get the job done!
At the time of this article’s publication, Rob Frost was the national evangelist of the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom and host of Premier Radio’s Sunday Breakfast Show in London. He was the co-author, with David Wilkinson, of A New Start! Hopes and Dreams for the new Millennium (Hodder & Stoughton). Dr. Frost (1950-2007) was also the founder of Easter People, a week long worship and teaching event attended by thousands. We considered him a beloved friend. Photo: Gwennap Pit in Cornwall, England.
by Steve | Jan 23, 2000 | Archive - 2000
Archive: Fresh Anointing for Methodism
By H. Eddie Fox
Good News
January/February 2000
As we celebrate 2,000 years since the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it seems a most appropriate time for us to reflect upon the vitality of the worldwide Methodist movement. After all, a dynamic future is rooted in a vibrant past, and the present is vital only when the future is open.
My own personal faith journey is deeply rooted in this movement. My family was Methodist in 1787 in the Appalachian Mountains, in what are now called the Great Smoky Mountains in east Tennessee. For eight generations the “people called Methodist” have nurtured my family in the Christian faith.
Only one year earlier, August 4, 1786, an elderly John Wesley wrote an article entitled, “Thoughts about Methodism.” He wrote, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
John Wesley feared that this movement, as it developed, would fall prey to disease that would render it a dead sect. Diseases such as Doctrinal Amnesia, Spiritual Apathy, and Spiritual Atrophy do indeed render a movement powerless. Is Wesley’s fear a cause for alarm? What is the condition of this movement at the beginning of a new millennium?
Let me be clear. We are not a part of a dying movement. The Methodist movement around the world is growing. World Methodism has grown at the rate of one million per year for the past decade. The worldwide parish has grown to include over 110 countries.
Yet there is reality in Wesley’s fear that this movement in many places could exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. Our dynamic future in Methodism, including the United Methodist Church (which represents about one-third of World Methodism), is directly related to how we “hold fast to the doctrine, spirit, and discipline” of our roots. Let us look closer at each aspect.
1. The prescription for doctrinal amnesia is sound teaching and doctrine. To persons outside our church we often appear to them as a collection of various opinions where a person is free to believe almost anything that person chooses. In our church, we have made doctrine a negative word, often equating it to doctrinaire. We need a renewed emphasis on the core essence of our faith. I am not a fundamentalist, a conservative, or a liberal, but I am an essentialist.
There are essentials of the faith that require our fidelity. Wesley said, “The Bible is the whole and sole rule both of Christian faith and practice.” Today, an encouraging sign is the increasing number of persons in our church who are serious about studying the Bible.
The center of our doctrine is that Christ Jesus is Lord and Savior for all persons. This dynamic conviction that God’s grace is for all was at the heart of the Wesleyan revival, and it must be at the very center of our movement. Albert Outler reminded us that for more than five decades in a “hundred different ways, on thousands of different occasions … [John Wesley’s] message was Jesus Christ and him crucified – Christus crucifixus, Christus redemptor, and Christus victor.”
In Methodist youth meetings I remember singing, “Everybody ought to know, everybody ought to know who Jesus is.” Is this still held as a deep and abiding conviction? Today, two billion people around the world confess that Jesus is the Messiah. Another two billion know the name of Jesus but do not confess him as Lord. And another two billion persons have yet to hear the name of Jesus Christ. This world desperately needs Jesus Christ. I agree with E. Stanley Jones when he writes, “I know of no one who is getting along well without Christ. Christ, being Life, is a necessity of Life.” This world desperately needs salvation, healing and hope, which Jesus Christ alone can give.
The Methodist movement is rooted in the conviction that this world needs salvation. For Wesley, salvation is no shallow self-help or self-discovery scheme. He wrote, “By salvation I mean a present deliverance from sin, a restoration of the soul to its primitive health, its original purity; a recovery of the divine nature; the renewal of our souls after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness, in justice, mercy, and truth” (Works of Wesley, vol. 8, 47).
For me the essentials of this movement are expressed in this manner:
- Formed in the image of God
- Deformed by sin
- Transformed by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ
- Reformed by the grace of God
- And conformed to the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If we are to be a dynamic movement, we must hold fast to the doctrine with which we first embarked. Unless our theological center is renewed, our future is bleak indeed.
2. The Holy Spirit is the critical component of our holding fast. As I visit, work, and worship with the Methodist movement around the world I have experienced this very compelling reality. Wherever Methodists are open to the power, presence, and anointing of the Holy Spirit, the movement is alive, vibrant, and growing. However, if persons in our movement are closed to the life-giving Holy Spirit, the movement is a dead sect.
Our movement’s greatest need is a fresh anointing of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. This dynamic was confirmed during a recent visit with Christians in China. We were visiting in a church that had been closed by the Communist Government in the decade of the 1970s. When the church was re-opened, there were three older women in the entire congregation. Today, there are 5,000 people in this church! When we asked the elderly pastor to tell us the story of this remarkably dynamic church, she replied with a quiet confidence, “God is alive. The Holy Spirit was at work when we could not even see the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is at work today.”
I have experienced this same reality in many parts of the world. One example is Methodism in Brazil. The Holy Spirit is moving there to form a “missionary church.” There is a genuine openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit and the church is spreading the gospel in word, deed, and sign with vigor.
Let me be perfectly clear regarding this central conviction: No Holy Spirit – no living church. No Holy Spirit – a dead sect!
One of our greatest needs as a church is a renewed commitment to prayer and fasting. For the past decade, World Methodist Evangelism has invited and challenged persons in this movement to follow the Wesleyan pattern of prayer and fasting. Wesley’s pattern was a weekly one. Following the evening meal on Thursday until mid-afternoon on Friday he would take no solid food. He would spend the time in prayer and fasting. If this movement is to be dynamic, there must be a renewed commitment to prayer.
3. We must hold fast to the discipline with which we first set out in order to be a living movement. This discipline relates to our individual and corporate life as a church. This discipline is experienced in the community of the believers where each person is held accountable for Christian discipleship. The goal of Methodism (The 1996 General Conference of the UM Church confirmed it!) is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
A major issue in our denomination is how our church should be structured as we enter the new millennium. One thing is clear, it is time that we get rid of a structure adopted in 1972 that has proven to be far more maintenance-oriented than mission-oriented. It is a structure which requires great energy and resources to simply function together, while greatly neglecting its responsibility of enabling the local congregation to fulfill its mission in the world. We need to look more toward the Bible for our model than the corporate world.
The classical functions of the church in the New Testament are mission, evangelism, education, worship, and stewardship. Let us restructure our general agencies in keeping with these essential functions of the church. Let us have General Boards of Evangelism, Mission, Education, Worship, and Stewardship which will enable congregations to fulfill their mandate of making disciples of Jesus Christ.
The United Methodist Church is part of a worldwide Methodist movement. It must not arrogantly position or believe itself to be the “global Methodist Church.” Methodism is found all over the globe. Therefore, let us clearly see ourselves as United Methodists, only a part of the Methodist movement, which must meet its responsibility in spreading the gospel around the world.
As in Wesley’s day, the church today finds itself in a missionary situation. Therefore, we must be structured primarily for the spreading of the gospel in word, deed, and sign in a world that desperately needs healing, hope, and salvation. Such a vision for the future is indeed faithful to our past.
When this article was published, H. Eddie Fox was the World Director of Evangelism for the World Methodist Council. He preached and lectured on evangelism in more than 65 countries and was a regular faculty member of the Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism. Dr. Fox has authored several books for equipping and encouraging pastors toward evangelistic outreach.
by Steve | Jan 23, 2000 | Archive - 2000
Archive: The Power of Prayer
By Sundo Kim (1930-2022)
Good News
January/February 2000
While some may respond with skepticism and hesitation about church growth in the new millennium, I believe the potential for growth is tremendous. God will continue to bless churches as they grow and fulfill the Great Commission. But churches must reclaim their mission in the world through prayer.
In the years to come we will witness growing interest in spirituality. Some futurists inform us that the new millennium will be an “age of information” or “age of globalization.” I also believe it will be an age when people will become more open to the supernatural world, which is beyond rational and empirical comprehension. Postmoderns are dissatisfied with rational and scientific explanations of the world, and they are turning to religious paradigms for new ways of understanding themselves and the world. People are no longer dismissing religions with contempt, but are carefully considering them, hoping to find meaning and purpose in their lives. It is a favorable time for churches to seize this opportunity and reach out to the unchurched with the good news of Jesus Christ. Therefore, from a sociological perspective, we can say that the possibility for church growth is immense.
But more importantly, we are hopeful about the future of the church because of our strong theological conviction about its mission. God has chosen and established the church as an instrument of salvation for the world until the end of the age. Therefore, we ought to approach the new millennium with a sense of purpose and confidence. God is with us!
But many pastors and churches have lost their mission and place in the world. How can churches reclaim a sense of purpose and confidence? Through prayer! Prayer is a means for churches to clearly understand their mission and to gain confidence. Through prayer we must continue to nurture the fundamental ecclesiological conviction that we have a mission in the world. A passionate and sustained prayer life can lead us into the presence of God who strengthens us in our mission for the world. Thus, we cannot do anything without prayer. Here are some explanations on the integral relationship between prayer and church growth:
1. One of the greatest benefits of prayer is to develop a personal relationship with God. Just as we develop social relationships through communication, we develop a personal relationship with God through prayer. When God spoke to Jeremiah and called him into ministry, God used personal language: “I and thou” (Jer. 1:4-10). God communicated with Jeremiah person to person; our God is a personal God. Without a personal relationship with him, we cannot discern his will for our church. People of prayer build the church. Therefore, pastors and churches muse pray to grow in their personal relationships with God.
2. We pray to receive spiritual power. Churches do not grow through human planning and engineering. Many articles and books have been published to address various factors which lead to church growth, but I believe the most important factor is spiritual power. David confessed that the source of his triumph was God (2 Sam. 22:2-4). In his victory over Goliath, David acknowledged that God had given him the necessary power (1 Sam. 17:45-47). The secret to attaining spiritual power is to kneel before God in prayer with humility. When God enables us with spiritual power, we can lead churches with dynamic power, and experience church growth.
3. We pray to accept spiritual leadership. Words such as leadership, vision, and paradigm have been circulated widely in recent years. Spiritual leaders need to receive new visions from God to change their paradigms and to effectively lead people into the future. God will grant new visions to leaders committed to prayer, just as he had given many visions to Old and New Testament leaders. It is through prayer that we receive new visions, and we implement them with God’s guidance. Without a prayer life, one cannot become a spiritual leader; and without a spiritual leader, a church cannot grow.
4. We pray to regain spiritual vitality. The Holy Spirit grants dynamic spiritual vitality to us when we pray. Many pastors have reported their experiences of burnout, and many have sought to deal with this issue. But I believe the most effective way to overcome burnout is by experiencing God’s presence through prayer. God will grant new strength to those who seek him and “they will soar on wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:29-31 ). Pastors without spiritual vitality will burn out. After 40 years of ministry I can testify that there is an organic connection between church growth and a pastor’s spiritual vitality.
5. We pray to experience signs and wonders. A common phenomenon in recent years is the emergence of new cults and folk religions that are gaining a wider audience. It is my speculation that in the new millennium we will witness diverse expressions of spirituality, and many people will seek spiritual signs and wonders. Churches of the 21st century must be able to accurately observe and interpret these sociological developments and be prepared to provide clear answers and direction. For instance, churches must be able to provide healing as demonstrated in the Bible, especially as experienced by early Christians (Acts 3: 1-10). Recently, the World Health Organization accepted a holistic understanding of health that includes not only physical and emotional dimensions, but spiritual dimension as well. Contemporary churches have every right and responsibility to be instruments of God’s healing in the manner and likeness of the early church.
The Kwang Lim Methodist Church that I pastor regularly practices spiritual healing during early morning prayer, special services, and during Sunday worship, through which we have experienced many miraculous healings. These healing experiences have demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit, and have given us a strong motivation for our evangelistic efforts.
6. We pray to exercise spiritual gifts. Church growth occurs when members of the church exercise their diverse gifts in ministry. Dr. C. Peter Wagner teaches that there are 27 spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible, and they play an indispensable role in church growth. Pastors come to understand their spiritual gifts through prayer, and develop them through practice in ministry. When pastors have gained a clear understanding of spiritual gifts, they can train and equip lay people with spiritual gifts. Then the possibility of church growth is more than just a dream, it becomes a reality.
7. We pray to offer spiritual worship to God. A church cannot experience growth without spiritual worship. The church’s mission is not only to proclaim the gospel in the world, but to offer pleasing worship to God. God is seeking those who will worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:23). Furthermore, people are also seeking spiritual worship. Church is a house of prayer (Mark I l: 17), and people want to experience God in prayer. A spiritual worship that is permeated with prayer can bring physical, emotional, and spiritual healing – and that is when church growth will most likely occur. Lay members will increase their level of commitment when they have experienced God and are spiritually inspired.
Based upon my discovery and experience of prayer, I conclude that prayer is an indispensable ingredient for church growth. For instance, the Kwang Lim Methodist Church had 150 members in 1971. As a result of a prayer-based ministry there are now more than 85,000 members. I am sure that God will continue to cause churches to grow in the new millennium, but a question remains to be answered: who will claim the power and promise of prayer? (Mark 11 :22-24).
When this article was published in 2000, Sundo Kim was the senior pastor of Kwang Lim Methodist Church in Seoul, Korea and the director of the Kwang Lim Prayer Mountain. He was also a good friend to Good News. Throughout his illustrative ministry, he participated in many leadership roles. Dr. Kim served as adjunct professor to Asbury Theological Seminary, Methodist Theological Seminary, St. Paul Theological Seminary, United Theological Seminary, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Yonsei University. He served on many boards including the board of trustees of World Vision International.
by Steve | Jan 23, 2000 | Archive - 2000
Archive: The Alpha Revolution
By Kathleen K. Rutledge
January/February 2000
Good News
The light from the window was soft that morning, as we gathered our chairs into a circle in the church’s library. The dark wood of decades-old bookshelves and the golden light of several lamps made the atmosphere warm, rich, and appealing. But there was something more, something unique, and something quite curious.
Around the circle, sitting comfortably and sipping on cups of hot coffee and tea, were eight women. Eight women from very different worlds. One worked on a local horse farm. Her coarse blond hair was pulled back, exposing a strong, tan face, weathered by the sun. Another was a fulltime mom, looking as tired as most moms do at the end of the week. Yet another was a student, decked out in wrinkled jeans and tennis shoes. The differences between us were clear. Our ages were diverse and our backgrounds were varied.
And yet on that cool Saturday morning last November, we left our worlds to come together for the one purpose of discovering the living God through the down-to-earth, truth-filled course called Alpha.
“I remember what it was like,” Sharon began softly, breaking the ice for all of us by opening her fragile heart. “Coming here so hostile and then finding our that Jesus is real. And then coming to accept him …” her words trailed off. Her eyes filled with tears.
Sharon had first attended Alpha, a 10-week course dealing with basic issues of life and faith, a year ago. A horse woman by trade, she didn’t know Christ, nor did she particularly want to know him. She had only come to Alpha at the invitation of a friend. But after participating in the course for several months, something broke inside of her. God came in, and she has never been the same. As she told her story, her rough exterior gave way to a tender, sensitive heart that bore the marks of radical grace and transformation that only God can give. She is not alone.
Across the globe – in 100 nations, more than 11,000 churches, and every state in the union – curious seekers are being transformed into faithful followers of Christ, and committed believers are falling in love with Jesus all over again. It is a fresh outpouring of the Spirit so desperately needed in our troubled era. Lives are being changed. The church is being transformed. And Christ is being proclaimed. It is the Alpha Revolution.
More than a million people. The Alpha course was designed by the Rev. Charles Marnham in 1977 to present the basic principles of the faith to new Christians at Holy Trinity Brompton, an evangelical Anglican church in London. But when Nicky Gumbel, an Oxford-educated lawyer-turned minister, began teaching the course in 1990 he made a startling discovery. It turned out that 10 out of the 13 members of the Alpha group were not committed Christians at all, but people who were merely curious about the faith.
Gumbel, a former atheist who turned to Christ after reading the New Testament in an attempt to disprove it, reworked the content and structure of the course to present the fundamental issues of the faith in a way that would be both appealing and relevant to the unchurched person.
The course was organized into a 10-week format, with participants meeting once a week to share a meal together, listen to a Scripture-based talk on basic concepts of the faith, and discuss the issues freely – without judgement or criticism from other members of the group. No question was seen as too rude or too simple, and no pressure was put upon participants to attend, let alone pray.
Starting with the common belief among many non-Christians that Christianity is “boring, untrue, and irrelevant,” the revised Alpha course drew participants into an intellectual and experiential encounter with the faith. It addressed such questions as: Who is Jesus?, Why does God allow suffering?, How and why should I pray?, How can I resist evil?, and How can I make the most of the rest of my life? Halfway through the course, a weekend retreat was held that helped participants understand and experience the person and role of the Holy Spirit.
Because it was based in the local church, Alpha was then able to usher new converts into the established believing community. New believers were encouraged in active participation, continued personal growth, and sharing their experiences with others.
That was the new Alpha formula.
At first, the response was minimal. In 1993, there were only four courses running in all of England. But then Alpha took off. By 1997 there were more than 520 courses in London alone, with half-a-million people participating in Alpha worldwide. Today, over a million people in some 100 countries have taken the 10-week crash course in Christianity.
In England, where there has been a drastic decline in church attendance for the past 30 years, Alpha has proven to be an effective force for revitalization. It has definitely become the most potent tool for evangelization to emerge from the Anglican Church since John Wesley preached on his father’s tombstone.
Clifford Longley, one of Great Britain’s most respected religious correspondents, put it this way in his column for London’s Daily Telegraph, “… Alpha is an unqualified triumph. The reconversion of England, so oversold by evangelicals so often, is suddenly almost believable.”
When faced with such comments and asked about Alpha’s key to success, both Gumbel and Sandy Millar, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, are quick to set the record straight. “It is not Alpha, but the Holy Spirit that converts souls,” says Gumbel.
This move of the Spirit, reminiscent of the rapid growth of the early church, when nonbelievers from every tribe and nation were added, is again reaching out across social and spiritual boundaries to change lives. Believers and nonbelievers, from every denomination and walk of life, are being transformed by the power of God. And Alpha, once a parishioners-only course in an upper-class British church, is taking root in the very heart and soul of America.
One Life Changed. That is Kim Tabscott’s story. She is one of more than 120,000 Americans that have been swept up in the move of God through Alpha since it came to the United States in 1996.
As a full-time factory worker and full-time mother in the sleepy town of Versailles, Kentucky, Tabscott had started wondering about the meaning of life. She was feeling restless, and began to question her relationship with God.
“I was at the point in my life where I was really feeling that something big was missing,” she said.
She had attended church with her grandparents when she was a child, but had rarely gone in her adult life. “I always believed in God, but as a teenager I tried not to. It was easier that way,” she said.
Then one day, as she was looking for information about the pre-school at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Versailles, she came across an advertisement in the church bulletin for an Alpha course. The advertisement promised that the 10-week course would deal with questions about the meaning of life. Tabscott knew that she had to go.
There were times, she said, when she would finish a 12-hour shift at a nearby factory and drive straight to the church because she was compelled by the significance of the issues discussed. What she didn’t know is that Alpha would change her life.
It wasn’t the animated, inspiring talks given by Gumbel on video. It wasn’t the food, the new friends, or the sense of belonging. It wasn’t even the retreat, with sweet times of fellowship and prayer. It was a combination of all of these, and the piercing, powerful work of God in her heart that led her to salvation.
Tabscott committed her life to Jesus Christ at the altar of St. John’s Episcopal Church and several weeks later had a profound experience with the Holy Spirit that left her in awe of God, humbled by grace, and forever changed.
She immediately joined the church and has actively served the body for the past 18 months, leading the church’s fourth Alpha course last fall and reaching out to others in the community of Versailles, who – much like she had once been – are searching for the meaning of life.
Her story is real and miraculous, bur not unique. God appears to be meeting people through Alpha everyday, drawing them to himself, to revival, and to service. The Alpha revolution is stirring in thousands of cities, in every state, and in every denomination – even United Methodism.
John Wesley’s Class Meeting rediscovered. Washington Crossing United Methodist Church near Philadelphia began running the Alpha course more than a year ago. A large, white-collar church in the suburbs, Washington Crossing is a vibrant, renewal-oriented worship community for a congregation of roughly 600. But Mike Sullivan, associate pastor at Washington Crossing, believes Alpha has added something to the church that is drawing non-believers like never before.
Out of 122 people who have completed the Alpha course in the past year, 70 were from outside the church, Sullivan explained. Through the insightful teachings of Alpha and the warm, friendly atmosphere, 24 of those people made first time professions of faith or clarified their profession of faith. Two of them were Jewish.
‘‘I’ve always had a love of God, but I felt that I wasn’t complete, like there was a hole in my heart,” said Shelly Gibson, a single-mom, raised in the Jewish tradition. She came to Christ last year through Alpha. “The Jewish people believe in Jesus, but they don’t think he’s the Messiah … I believe he is the Messiah. I just believe. I believe in Jesus. I feel like I crossed a bridge. I feel that was the missing piece that makes me whole.”
Gibson and her teenage son, who also came to faith in Christ through involvement at Washington Crossing, are now full-fledged followers of Jesus and active members of the church.
As remarkable as it may seem, stories like Gibson’s – stories of awakening and regeneration – are happening throughout the church.
“I’ve seen people on the fringe jumping in with both feet, and coming back to serve the church in other capacities,” Sullivan testifies.
Jim Charlton, director of evangelism at Wheatland Salem United Methodist Church in Chicago, has seen similar transformations. He agrees with Sullivan that Alpha has been a God-send.
“It’s an evangelistic tool for the community and the congregation,” Charlton said. “It presents the basics of Christianity in a very straightforward way, in a user-friendly format.”
Steve Bennett, a marketing consultant for a large telecommunications corporation in Chicago, had been a churchgoer all his life before attending Alpha. Through the course, questions were answered that he didn’t even know he needed to ask.
“I feel I’ve been a Christian all my life,” Bennett said. “But I think the Alpha course really has helped me relearn the basics of the Bible and relearn the basics of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit and what that means.”
One of the most personally fulfilling features of Alpha, said Bennett, is its emphasis on friendship. “I’ve enjoyed the relationships with my team,” he said. “I believe it’s the start of a long-term relationship with that group.”
In many ways, with its strong emphasis on friendship, active involvement in the local church, the process of evangelism, and the attempt to appeal to both “head and heart,” Alpha has been compared to John Wesley’s class meetings.
Wesley’s concept of class meetings or small groups who met weekly to fellowship and seek God together through confession, prayer, and the study of God’s Word, developed out of his efforts to assist others in their journey to salvation.
A group of ten people approached Wesley in London, begging him for help. They desperately wanted to be assured of their faith and delivered from sin, but didn’t know where else to turn. The year was 1739.
Wesley established a weekly time for the group to meet with him and thus the first United Society was born. Of this group Wesley wrote, “such a society is no other than a company of men having the form and seeking the power of godliness, united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their salvation.”
The society grew rapidly as commoners came together to sing, pray, and grow in God. The society eventually divided into classes – small groups of men and women, usually 12 in number, who met in homes. As the number of classes multiplied, Wesley standardized the structure of the classes and synchronized the content of each meeting.
In the same way, the structure and content of the Alpha course was standardized to cover the most significant questions of life in a context of fellowship and openness, under the guidance of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.
Sullivan believes that the Holy Spirit is again pouring out his blessing upon the class meeting format, and calls the connection between Alpha and Wesley’s theology “a perfect fit.”
“I think Wesley would be delighted to see the Word of God going forth, people interacting with it, with the acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit’s presence, and with the fervor Alpha has for evangelism,” he said.
The Rev. Rob Frost, national evangelist for the Methodist Church in Britain, echoes Sullivan’s statements. “Alpha is the most effective and poignant means of evangelism using small groups that I know,” he says. “It is John Wesley’s class meeting rediscovered.”
As a matter of fact, more than 100 Methodist churches have implemented the Alpha course. A national Alpha conference tailored for United Methodism is also scheduled to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in February.
The Holy Spirit weekend. Half way through the course, participants are invited to attend a weekend retreat. Numerous people point to the weekend retreat as the time in which they became far more aware of God’s presence. It is often this weekend in which seekers make the decision to become disciples.
The three talks given on the retreat use Scripture to explain the person and work of the Holy Spirit and invite participants to pray for the fullness of the Spirit. The third talk, about the role of spiritual gifts in everyday life, is followed by a time when many participants pray for the infilling of the Spirit.
The Rev. Ronald Fearneyhough, senior pastor of Gracewood United Methodist Church in Gracewood, Georgia, began offering the course to his congregation a year ago. He appreciated the teaching on the Holy Spirit. “The important thing is not to miss the point that Alpha is being used to change lives,” Fearneyhough said.
His congregation’s first Alpha course, held last Spring, led to the conversion of several people, including two teenagers.
One of those teenagers was J.T. Newton, a 15-year-old-sophomore in high school. He watched the Alpha videos with the Gracewood youth group and came to faith in Christ. Prior to conversion, Newton had been involved in drugs and had given up on life. Although he admits it hasn’t been easy since conversion, he said that the teachings of Alpha have led him to prayer, Bible study, and service work.
“Now my life, it’s just better now,” he said.
Mark Daughtry, the former youth pastor at Gracewood UM Church, said the message of Alpha has also had an impact upon his life, despite the fact that he has been a follower of Christ for many years. “The message comes out in such a simple form it almost takes any loose ends you might have in your foundation and just cements ‘em up,” Daughtry said.
“It’s something that God is using,” added Fearneyhough. “It’s evident that churches all around the world are using it and finding it helpful. If you see God doing something out there don’t try and create another wheel.”
Amazing Grace. One of the facets of Alpha that is most remarkable is that it not only works in the sanitary settings, under a church steeple or in quiet living room, but also in the darkest places where only grace would venture.
Because of Alpha, more than 66,000 prisoners in Britain have heard the redeeming message of the gospel. Out of 161 prisons in the United Kingdom, 124 of them are running Alpha. At the same time, Alpha is intentional about teaching churches how to welcome these prisoners home.
College students on more than 60 campuses in Great Britain and a growing number in the United States are beginning to experience renewal through Alpha. Even inner city ministers, who often live and work in harsh, desperate worlds, are finding Alpha’s message to be potent and powerful. And church leaders in foreign countries are claiming that Alpha’s humble, loving approach to evangelism and personal growth is successful in helping them win people to Christ.
But that’s not why we, the small group of eight women with different lives and histories, gathered together that cool Saturday in November. We weren’t there because of the statistics. We weren’t there because of theology. We were there as people; people with real needs, real questions, and a real hunger to know the fullness of the living God.
In the stillness of that library, in the soft light of the morning, God made his grace known. God’s mercy was revealed in every word that Sharon spoke and even in her shy, vulnerable presence. That is the great miracle. When God’s love is poured out upon a human soul, it leaves it fragrant, clean, and new.
That is Sharon’s story. And that is the story of thousands of others who have found a living faith in Christ through Alpha. One soul at a time, God is using Alpha to change the world.
When this article was published in 2000, Kathleen K. Rutledge was a contributing writer for Good News.
