Another thought

I'm not against programs, but I think the western church has gotten WAY too dependent on them. It is a rare program that actually launches people into the Christ-following life. One of the things I love about Alpha is that people deal with each other in their small groups, and in their conversations they are ACTIVE, not passive, and they begin over the course of ten weeks to take ownership of their own faith. Some of them, at least, begin to move from passivity to action, from customer to missionary. One of the biggest challenges with leading Alpha is to help people transition from "I really like our small group" to seeing this new Jesus-centered life as exactly that -- a life, a lifestyle, a way of living. A major focus in my work right now is to develop a way for people to come out of Alpha (or other programs) and step into an active, ongoing, relational community that follows Jesus together. That's why I enjoy the book Total Church so much. It describes a life that is not just studying about Christianity, it is living it. That's exactly what we need more in the church today.