Christianity pure and simple

I wasn’t going to mention this, because I thought it would sound like a “ministry” announcement (setting aside for a moment the notion of all of life as ministry, as some things are more formally recognised as such) and it seems all too easy for blogs or facebook status updates to be thinly veiled ways of letting the world know you’re about such things. But then I thought, well if my identity is as a follower of Jesus, and that’s what’s ‘on my mind’, one would hope at least some of the time, then is it not a strange portrayal of my life to never mention any of it.

So, this week was my first go at co-leading a Simply Christianity course. Despite the fact that I used to work at Matthias Media, and for a time knew all about this course, I am fairly sure I have never actually done it. I was a little hesitant when asked, wondering whether I’d not do a good job, or might say something stupid that would turn people away. But then I realised that in thinking so I was actually giving myself too much credit. Sure I can be prepared and informed, pray for those coming, try to be friendly and social and not too weird, but beyond that, whether or not people encounter Jesus in a life-changing way is not really up to me. So, I said yes. And I am glad I did, because it’s refreshing and it’s a good reminder of what Christianity is all about and it’s good to see how the course works. And my co-leader used to be a chaplain/teacher for ten years and he was excellent on night one, so I can watch and learn.

This particular course is running off the end of a week-long community art exhibition at my church, that included other events. We had people sign up online for the course that nobody knew anything about, so we weren’t so sure what we in for, but the night went well. Two people are coming along because they just came by the art exhibition and heard about the course, so that's very exciting!

I am looking forward to how the next few weeks pan out. It feels a bit like the beginning of a great unknown adventure … (for me, but even more so for those coming).