Christian Explored (introduction to Christianity course) vs Alpha

[JoelH]

Anyone has any thoughts? Christianity Explored is an informal Christian evangelistic teaching course developed by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper at All Souls Church, Langham Place. Alpha is a course which seeks to explore the basics of the Christian faith, described as "an opportunity to explore the meaning of life" started by the Reverend Charles Marnham, a curate at Holy Trinity, Brompton, a Church of England parish in London.

I'm aware most of you will be familiar with Alpha, but Christianity Explored is still relatively unknown in the States and in particular on this board. In the UK it is widely praised and by many eputable teachers, and regarded as a non-charismatic and more gospel-centric alternative to Alpha. The Christianity Explored was launched in the United States in 2011 with endorsement by John Piper and Tim Keller.

If you don't what what it is, here is from the websites of the two courses:


-----------------------------

Christianity Explored

Christianity Explored Ministries


About the Christianity Explored course

About Christianity Explored

Christianity Explored is an informal 7-week course for people who'd like to investigate Christianity, or just brush up on the basics. Looking at Mark's gospel, it explores who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means to follow him.

You won't be asked to pray, sing or read aloud, and you can ask any questions you like. Or, if you prefer, you can just come along and listen. Christianity Explored has been around for over a decade now, and it's been designed to suit different age ranges and people.

Christianity Explored is primarily for anyone who wants to investigate Christianity informally with a group of other people. Whether you have previous experience of Church, Christians and the Bible, or none at all, this course is for you. Everyone is welcome - from the most sympathetic Sunday schooler to the convinced atheist.

Courses come in various shapes and sizes. The traditional larger courses tend to be run in the evening and a meal is usually provided at the start of the evening (typically 7pm). The course may be run in several groups of six to nine people, and after a brief group discussion on the course material from the week before and a new passage from the Bible, there is a talk or DVD on the theme for that week. Then the groups discuss any questions that have arisen, and the evening ends at about 9pm. Of course, many people stick around a bit longer possibly for a coffee to discuss any further issues they might have.

...



Alpha

Alpha

Frequently Asked Questions | Alpha



What is the format of the course?

Each session begins with a meal or refreshments, and a chance to get to know others in the small group. This is followed by a short talk and a time of discussion, when everyone is welcome to ask questions and share their opinion with the rest of their small group.
What are the talks about?

Each session covers a different topic, which people are then free to discuss in the small groups afterwards.

Session 1: Who is Jesus?
Session 2: Why Did Jesus Die?
Session 3: How Can We Have Faith?
Session 4: Why and How Do I Pray?
Session 5: Why and How Should I Read the Bible?
Session 6: How Does God Guide Us?
Session 7: How Can I Resist Evil?
Session 8: Why and How Should I Tell Others?
Session 9: Does God Heal Today?
Session 10: What about the Church?

Day or weekend away sessions:

Who is the Holy Spirit?
What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
How Can I be Filled with the Holy Spirit?
How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life?

What size is the course?

Alpha courses are usually based around small groups of about 12 people, which are led by one or two hosts. The role of the host is to facilitate and encourage discussion.

Courses vary in size, from one small group meeting in a home to hundreds of people in a larger venue.

Whatever the course size, people tend to remain in the same small groups for the duration of the course. That way they can get to know each other, continue discussions and develop friendships.

[JoelH]

Found this review online concerning Christianity Explored vs Alpha, and the author's preference is Christianity Explored over Alpha. Can't vouch whether it is spot on or not. I report, you decide:

Banner of Truth Trust General Articles

THE ALPHA AND THE CHRISTIANITY EXPLAINED COURSES

...

THE CHARACTER OF GOD

Reading the Alpha written material, together with listening to the tapes and speakers at the Alpha Conference, one gets a clear and consistent message about the character of God. The message is that God is love. In the third session guests are told, 'God loves each one of us so much and longs to be in relationship with us as a human father longs to be in relationship with each of his children.' Elsewhere Nicky Gumbel makes clear that one of the foundation principles of Alpha is that God loves us.

...

By contrast, Christianity Explored seeks to introduce even in the first week to the truth that God is our creator and has revealed Himself uniquely in Jesus Christ. Moreover, the value of working through Mark's gospel is quickly seen as we discover the awesome power and authority of this God-man, and realise that to be in rebellion against Him is a deeply serious business. To quote from the talk in week four, 'God is a God of holiness, of blazing purity, and he hates what is evil. When it comes to evil he doesn't lean back in a rocking chair and pretend nothing has happened, like a benevolent grandfather. No, evil matters to God.'

...

THE NATURE OF SIN

The consequences of misrepresenting the character of God are enormous. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in Alpha's treatment of sin. For as one follows the argument in the course, sin is presented as being seen in the 'mess that we make of our own lives'. The problem of sin is explained as 'the rubbish that clutters up our lives and clutters our world' and as 'pollution of the soul'. At the 1997 Alpha Leaders' Conference, Sandy Millar defined sin as, 'the difference between what we are and what we might have been'. However these are merely symptoms of sin and Alpha is clear on what is at the heart of sin when it states that the ' . . . root cause of sin is a broken relationship with God...' The consequences of sin are then spelt out in terms of the pollution, the power, the penalty and the partition of sin.

...

However, Christianity Explored explains far more coherently what the Bible teaches about sin. Quoting Mark 12:30, the course charges us with the greatest crime, that is having failed to love God as we should and robbing Him of His rightful authority. Indeed the sound bite of the course epitomises the clear emphasis on sin '- we are more wicked than we ever realised', and it is excellent to see in which the course addresses the horror of our total depravity in a way that people can understand. By the end of week three we are left in no doubt that we are rebels against God and are in desperate need of a rescue. The urgency of Jesus' rescue mission has been sounded, and against the bleakness of human wickedness and divine judgment, the wonder of God's grace will be seen all the more clearly.

...

THE CROSS OF CHRIST

In explaining the work of Christ on the cross, Christianity Explored focuses on Mark's account of the crucifixion. It is one of the clearest explanations of penal substitution that I have seen - God is angry at sin, Jesus is abandoned in our place, with the result that we can be accepted. One possible weakness here is that it could lead to the impression that Jesus was an innocent third party who received God's punishment, rather than the Bible's insistence that atonement was accomplished by God satisfying Himself by substituting Himself for us.

...

To suggest that Alpha is weak on the atonement may seem a travesty given all that it does say. Does it not devote an entire talk to answer the question Why did Jesus die?' Are we not told that 'the cross lies at the heart of the Christian faith'? Is not John Stott quoted when referring to I Peter 2:24 that the cross sees the 'self-substitution of God'? Certainly the course gives a number of Biblical references and teaches that the death of Jesus achieved justification, redemption, atonement and reconciliation.

There is much good material at this point, and yet there are two very important weaknesses as well. The first is that Alpha misses the very heart of the cross and so ultimately fails to answer the question it sets up to answer, the question 'Why did Jesus die'?' The doctrine of penal substitution is simply not taught in the course. This is hardly surprising given that the righteous wrath of God has not been explained as being mankind's biggest problem.

This lack of teaching on penal substitution results in Alpha getting in a muddle at this stage. For it wants to teach that Christ died as substitute, and indeed does teach this, and yet because it is not taught that Jesus died as penal substitute, bearing upon himself the wrath of God, we are left without any understanding of why Jesus had to die at all. Thus the cross of Christ ends up being little more than a visual aid that proves that God is self-sacrificial and loving.

...

The second major weakness in this area is that for all its claims that 'the cross lies at the heart of the Christian faith', the cross in reality is not central. Far from it. After talk two which deals with the cross it is barely mentioned in subsequent sessions. This is extraordinary not only because the cross is at the heart of the Christian faith, but in light of the fact that Alpha is aimed at those who know little or nothing of the Christian faith. Moreover, this is indicative of a much bigger problem with Alpha. This is that it assumes too much too quickly and leaves the gospel behind in its zeal to teach on Christian living. It hardly seems appropriate to cover the person of Christ, the nature of sin, the atonement and regeneration in two sessions (such that the third session is entitled, 'How can I be sure of my faith?') leaving the remaining eleven sessions dealing with Christian lifestyle (including three sessions - as many as the evangelistic section - on the Holy Spirit). One of the great strengths of Christianity Explored is that it always roots Christian living in the gospel. Again and again we are taken back to the cross so that it's plain that the cross really is does lie at the heart of both the way in and the way on in the Christian faith.

...

THE HOLY SPIRIT

There is so much teaching on the Holy Spirit in Alpha with which classic evangelicals should take issue that is very hard to know where to begin. A standard Charismatic line is taken on most aspects of the person and work of the Holy Spirit and we shall merely touch on some of the more alarming teaching of Alpha.

In the talk, 'How can I be filled with the Spirit', a traditional Charismatic line is taken on the 'fullness of the Spirit' being a subsequent experience to conversion. As John Chapman has commented, 'This previously would have been called the baptism in the Spirit'. The name has changed but, alas, the understanding has not. This 'double phased' experience is argued from Paul's 'double experience' on the Damascus Road and later with Ananias (Acts 9), from the Samaritans (Acts 8). and from the Ephesians (Acts 19). What is disappointing is that these tired arguments were refuted decisively years ago . There is nothing in Scripture to suggest anything other than that the believer receives all of the Holy Spirit at the point when he or she puts their trust in Jesus and are justified. Thus the teaching, 'Every Christian has the Holy Spirit. but not every Christian is filled with the Spirit' is seriously at odds with Biblical teaching.

...

Christianity Explored has seen the value of having a weekend or day away, but the content and expectation of the weekend/day is vastly different. Under the title 'You're never Alone'. there are four talks - the church family, the Holy Spirit, prayer, and the Bible - as well as two Bible studies. Far from being ignored, there is faithful teaching on the person and work of the Spirit: his indispensability in bringing people to Christ; his indwelling of every believer; his illumining the Scriptures; his gifting of believers and his enabling us to fight the Christian life. Thus both Biblical teaching and weight are given to the Holy Spirit.


...


The best thing about Christianity Explored is its commitment to teaching Mark's gospel. In so doing it is able to make the transition from evangelism to discipleship smoothly as it follows the two key questions of Mark's gospel: who is Jesus'? (chs 1-8) and what does it mean to follow Jesus (chs 9-16). Thus after the weekend/day away, there are four more weeks focusing on what it means to follow Jesus. One church I know has split the course in two so that after seven weeks of Christianity Explored they encourage guests to do the next four sessions under the title of Discipleship Explored. In so doing the course avoids the confusion of Alpha. The more one investigates Alpha, the more it seems that the authors haven't decided whether it is a discipleship course (as it started out) or an evangelism course (as it's ended up).

[mattfivefour]

I am not at all familiar with the Christianity Explored course. So I cannot offer any input on it. (Though it does always make me nervous when anything starts off by saying this is a non-charismatic approach. If by that it means avoiding the excesses of the Charismatic movement, then fine. But if by that it actually means it teaches that the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit were only for the early church (ie: cessationist theology), then that is a course I would avoid because that theology is simply wrong, having NO scriptural support whatsoever.)

The Alpha Course, however, has some good points but much to beware of. It's emphasis on charismatic experience is wrong. Yes, the gifts are still in operation because the Holy Spirit is still in operation in each believer; but the emphasis on the gifts leads to subjectivity over the Word. People wind up seeking the gifts not the Giver. It is Christ who should be our focus and our faith placed in Him and what He did on the Cross. Everything else stems from that. It is the Holy Spirit who gives the gifts as HE wills, not as WE desire. The fact that the course apparently owes much to the heretical Toronto Blessing movement should give anybody considering it pause.

There is much faulty emphasis in the theology underlying the Alpha Course, not just its concentration on so-called charismatic renewal. It fails entirely to properly provide a correct view of God's holiness, His anger with sin, and the necessity and nature of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It purports to answer the question "Why did Jesus Christ die?" but then does not do that. It's lack of emphasis on the Cross—the central event of all time and history—is a major failing. The entire purpose of God in Creation and His will in and with man is stripped from the Alpha Course gospel message.

There are much better self-study courses in basic Christianity out there. BTW, one excellent basic study can be found at Free online Bible study lessons exploring biblical truth in Bible Exploration. It is aimed at teens and older children but any new Christian will gain much from it. It is done in video form, but on most lessons you can simply click on a link to get the text version (in Adobe's pdf format) instead. It accurately lays out Bible basics from the purpose of the Ten Commandments to lessons in God's requirements of man. And nearly all of the lessons have an associated quiz so you can easily determine for yourself if you have grasped the teaching of the bible on that point. I highly recommend this series for those who are just learning about God, Jesus and the Bible.

[Elijah's Mantle]

yep you got it right Brother Matt
much to beware of

Its a new spin of putting new lipstick on a old pig and most would never recognize what rides in on the back of
"""SUBTILITY""

[JoelH]

matt, thank you for honestly stating what you believe in your heart the Bible teaches here. I wouldn't want to be against the charismatic movement if I also believe it is what the Bible says either! Alas, I don't believe God's Word teaches us the Holy Spirit works in such manner, this is why I find CE more comfortable than Alpha (disclaimer: my previous church, and scores of other churches I've been to, uses Alpha; while my current church uses CE)

As with the appropriateness of using courses such as CE, I agree with you that courses such as Bible Exploration you linked to offers superior instructions to new believers wanting to be discipled the basics of the Christian faith. It is important that the basic doctrines are taught to believers to arm them with the basic truth.

Having said this however, CE is an outreach/evangelism course for non-believers so they get to hear the gospel. We do live in a culture which swathes of people have not heard the gospel or even with any prior awareness of the Christian message, therefore doing the likes Bible Exploration with non-believers as evangelism doesn't seem right especially with the contexts lost to the unbelievers. It seems to me both courses have their own places, with CE being an evangelism course, followed by a Bible Exploration/Catechism course after one becomes a Christian.

I understand even All Souls at Langham Place (the church that developed CE) they run courses on discipleship for believers which is about theology, serving through one-on-one discipleship with learning the Scriptures and praying together. In addition, they also run regular Q&A session reglarly on the Christian questions, and most importantly courses looking at how to study the Books of the Bible. I believe no matter how good the Bible Exploration course is, it is always good to equip with the Bible Study classes on top of that so each of us could be Bereans in knowing the truth from the Bible.

I am not at all familiar with the Christianity Explored course. So I cannot offer any input on it. (Though it does always make me nervous when anything starts off by saying this is a non-charismatic approach. If by that it means avoiding the excesses of the Charismatic movement, then fine. But if by that it actually means it teaches that the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit were only for the early church (ie: cessationist theology), then that is a course I would avoid because that theology is simply wrong, having NO scriptural support whatsoever.)

The Alpha Course, however, has some good points but much to beware of. It's emphasis on charismatic experience is wrong. Yes, the gifts are still in operation because the Holy Spirit is still in operation in each believer; but the emphasis on the gifts leads to subjectivity over the Word. People wind up seeking the gifts not the Giver. It is Christ who should be our focus and our faith placed in Him and what He did on the Cross. Everything else stems from that. It is the Holy Spirit who gives the gifts as HE wills, not as WE desire. The fact that the course apparently owes much to the heretical Toronto Blessing movement should give anybody considering it pause.

There is much faulty emphasis in the theology underlying the Alpha Course, not just its concentration on so-called charismatic renewal. It fails entirely to properly provide a correct view of God's holiness, His anger with sin, and the necessity and nature of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It purports to answer the question "Why did Jesus Christ die?" but then does not do that. It's lack of emphasis on the Cross—the central event of all time and history—is a major failing. The entire purpose of God in Creation and His will in and with man is stripped from the Alpha Course gospel message.

There are much better self-study courses in basic Christianity out there. BTW, one excellent basic study can be found at Free online Bible study lessons exploring biblical truth in Bible Exploration. It is aimed at teens and older children but any new Christian will gain much from it. It is done in video form, but on most lessons you can simply click on a link to get the text version (in Adobe's pdf format) instead. It accurately lays out Bible basics from the purpose of the Ten Commandments to lessons in God's requirements of man. And nearly all of the lessons have an associated quiz so you can easily determine for yourself if you have grasped the teaching of the bible on that point. I highly recommend this series for those who are just learning about God, Jesus and the Bible.

[daygo]

Have been on christianity explored and have found it to be extremely good, much better than alpha, ( 100 times better ) Rico Tice is an extremely good speaker down to earth and very funny. Have also twice helped out in the course, I have nothing but praise for the course. Out of ten I would give alpha 7/10 for christianity explored I would give 15/10 it is that good. I would recommend this to anyone.

[JoelH]

I've found that at least one Calvary Chapel uses Christianity Explored:

http://www.calvarychapelsouthlondon.org/



The Good Book Blog - CE with your whole church


Carl Laferton|6:58 AM GMT|Jan 9th

CE with your whole church

Rob Prendergast is a pastor at Calvary Chapel South London. He recently took his whole church through the CE course.

How did you come to run CE with your church?

I first came across CE about a year ago, and I was really excited to see it was based on Mark, and basically expository preaching that was evangelistic. It sounded fantastic for us, and we decided to run it and invite our whole membership.

Most people use CE as an outreach course. Why did you invite your membership?

Because we don’t want to take things for granted. As much as we teach through the Bible each Sunday, we don’t just want to assume that everyone gets the gospel. We do membership interviews, about 15 minutes long, but I know that people could say the “right thing” there, or I might not see something.

CE enabled us to build a solid foundation for our membership. It really undergirded people’s faith. We’ve had a lot of growth in the last year or so, and the course was really helpful with filling in any gaps for them. And more mature Christians said they found it really refreshed their faith.

When and how did you run the course?

Running CE for our congregation was a challenge, because it’s normally for smaller groups. But we wanted to do it as a whole church thing. We did it at 10.30, before the main service began, and about 70% of our membership turned up each week.

We decided to leave the meal part out, so we had a short introduction, then we watched the DVD, and then opened it up for questions and discussion. I didn’t know how that bit would go, but people proved really happy to discuss and question what they’d heard from Mark’s Gospel. In fact people got really excited and sometimes we had to just rein them in a bit!

Was it just your membership coming along?

No. We said to our members this would be a good thing to invite friends and family to. And we saw two people become Christians having been invited by family who were already part of our church.

How will you use CE in the future?

Well, doing the course as a whole church has absolutely motivated our members to brings friends to the course next time we run it. But also, lots have said to me that they’d love to run it in their own home, for their friends and family members who might be more likely to do it there than when we hold it in church.

Also, we had some people come along to the course who go to other churches. We had some guys from a black Pentecostal church who came and absolutely loved it. They were really excited by it, and are thinking of running it in their church too now.

Are you going to continue to do stuff for your membership before the service?

Yes—this autumn we’re going to do Discipleship Explored, the follow-up to CE. Our guys are really excited about working through Philippians with the DVD. We’re looking forward to it!