Postkiwi

I hate to admit it, but I’ve just started a new blog! (This makes number 7)

Educating Christians is a site dedicated to highlighting resources for Christian Education, with particular reference to how they might be accessed by Uniting Church congregations in Queensland, Australia. This is a work project linked to my role as mission consultant. I’ll be working with my colleague Graham Beattie to provide a summary of resources, ranging from Alpha and An Ordinary with Jesus through to Yoga and Youth Alpha. I can’t think of anything starting with Z just now.

The purpose is to highlight rather than review. We have a huge range of theologies and needs in our congregations. There will be resources listed on the blog that I would never use. And others that I could champion with enthusiasm. I’m hoping to get users to comment on what they’ve found helpful and what they’d like to adapt or develop.

The first post is on Alpha. I was a national advisor for Youth Alpha in New Zealand last century. My congregation used Alpha a couple of times each year. Ennis and I took a small group through Alpha in our home, trialling a combination of Youth Alpha principles (use of movies as conversation starters) and informal question-oriented environment (we had the freedom to stop the Nicky Gumbel video at any point). I wouldn’t like to limit Christian faith to the version worked through by Nicky but it’s a useful starting point.

One factor I’ve come across again and again is the assumption made in Alpha that people actually believe in God, or even acknowledge a spiritual side to life. There are other resources and processes available for addressing these starting points. I must remember to add them to the “A to Z” list.