Christianity: Dreary, Obsolete and Mistaken?
By Rev Ed Hird,
St. Simon's Anglican Church,
North Vancouver, BC
Nicky Gumbel is a Cambridge-trained lawyer who thought the Christian
faith had nothing to offer him. He found it dreary and uninspiring.
The clergymen he knew reminded him of undertakers. He identified with
Robert Louis Stevenson who once entered in his diary, as if recording
an extraordinary phenomenon, 'I have been to Church today, and am not
depressed.'
He also considered Christianity totally irrelevant. I could not see how
something that happened two thousand years ago and two thousand miles
away in the Middle East could have any relevance to my life in
twentieth-century Britain.
Nicky Gumbel spends his time pointing the way to an authentic Christianity that is exciting and relevant to today's world.
But probably Mr. Gumbel's biggest problem with Christianity was that he
believed its major premises to be untrue. When he was fourteen, he wrote
an essay in which I tried to destroy the whole of Christianity and
disprove the existence of God.
He developed knock-down arguments
and
enjoyed using them on Christians.
Something happened, however, to change Mr. Gumbel's mind. He has since
left his law practice and is now ordained and on the staff of Holy
Trinity Brompton Church in London, England. He spends his time talking
to audiences about the meaning of life and pointing the way to an
authentic Christianity that is exciting and relevant to today's world.
Ten years ago, Rev. Gumbel re-developed a series of talks called The Alpha Course. Since then, over two million participants from around the world have taken the course, now on video. The course seems to have universal appeal. Christians take it because they want a refreshing new look at their faith. Newcomers take it to find out more about what they have just discovered. And skeptics take it to find out more about what they don't believe.
Alpha looks at practical questions that all of us have asked such as: What is the point of life? What happens when we die? What relevance does Jesus have for our lives today? How do we deal with regret and setbacks?
What really impressed me about Alpha is that there is no pressure on people.
This spring, the Alpha video course is being offered at 20 churches on the North Shore, from a wide variety of denominational backgrounds. At each church, a complimentary dinner meeting introduces the series of talks, with ten weekly class meetings to follow for those who are interested in continuing.
What really impressed me about Alpha is that there is no pressure on people as they go through their eleven-week spiritual journey. Everyone is given the time they need to ask the questions they want answered and to find out what really works for them. Alpha has been helping countless people feel more at peace about themselves and the world they live in.
The course is open to any interested person, regardless of religious conviction, at no charge. For more information, contact one of the following North Shore churches:
- Capilano Christian Community 980-8997
- Christ the Redeemer RC Church 922-1371
- Delbrook Baptist Church 985-4011
- Hillside Baptist Church 986-9188
- Holy Trinity R C Parish 988-6304
- Lynn Valley Full Gospel 980-0307
- New Hope Community Church 986-7400
- North Lonsdale United Church 985-4911
- North Shore Alliance Church 984-6422
- North Shore Pacific Grace MB Church 985-6163
- North Shore Vineyard 985-1694
- St Andrew's United Church 990-1792
- St Clement's Anglican Church 988-4418
- St Francis in the Wood Anglican Church WV 922-3531
- St Martin's Anglican Church 985-5919
- St Simons Anglican Church 929-5350
- St. Stephen's RC Church 985-1962
- Sutherland Church 988-6923
- West Vancouver Baptist Church WV 922-0911
- Bowen Island Fellowship 922-1083
