I have been going to the Alpha course. It’s been brilliant for me and not just because of the great soup and the yummiest stew (dumplings in winter has to be the best comfort food). The reason I have loved going is because it’s inspired a new motivation in my faith in Jesus. Partly, it’s been the teaching and discussions afterwards. I’ve looked again at the foundations of my faith and I’ve been reminded of ‘the hope to which He has called you to’ (Eph 1:18). And I have loved getting to know the people I have lunch with every week.
Hearing their perspectives, makes me think about my own views. But I think it’s the way this group always wants to act on what we have talked about that inspires me most. The attitude is always ‘if it’s true for Jesus then it must be true for us so how will we live this’. We’ve taken small steps. We’ve been practising praying for each other and then sharing and praying in the church. Someone figured out that if we couldn’t get over our fears in church then we would never attempt to talk about Jesus outside of the walls of CBBC. Totally logical conclusion over lunch but suddenly very scary when you stand up on a Sunday morning. The Apostle Paul says, ‘strain ahead; press on towards the goal; all of you who are mature should embrace this point of view’. Alpha has given me the chance to do this.