When Alpha "Doesn't Work(?)"
From time to time I hear of a church who was disappointed in the Alpha they ran. Practically without exception, the problem stems from one of the following key departures from recommended Alpha procedures:
1. Failure to invite. Michael Harvey says that 80 to 95 percent of people in a typical church just plain don't intend to invite anyone to an Alpha. An Alpha in such a church is doomed to run through its own existing members and then to fritter away. I have heard of people who have taken Alpha and loved it, but still refuse, or more likely are afraid to, invite anyone to the next one. But an invitational culture is key to any ongoing success with alpha. Without it, the danger is that Alpha will shrivel and atrophy.
2. Skipping the weekend away. The ideal weekend away is just that - getting the whole group to a retreat centre for at least a Friday evening and a Saturday. I always loved these times and found them almost like a holiday. It gives guests the opportunity to spend an evening and at least one day in a peaceful setting, not having to worry about housekeeping or meal preparation, and being able to focus in a concerted way on the topics of the weekend. These topics, of course, are on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Next best is to run the weekend in either another church facility or even in the usual venue, but it must indeed be included in any successful Alpha.
Some churches avoid these topics on theological grounds. However, it doesn't matter on what grounds they avoid the weekend away, the effect is the same - that is, the course loses a great deal of its effectiveness. Even in conversation with the pastor of such a church, I have said, in effect, "Don't try to avoid the subject. It's like not telling your teenager about the facts of life, hoping they won't hear from anyone else." Any Christian, new or otherwise, is going to hear and wonder about Spiritual gifts and especially the gift of tongues. They will hear from someone, so why not show Alpha's teaching on the subject, then discuss it in the context of their specific denomination's teaching.
3. Small group leaders too vocal, too strong or too opinionated. Alpha training is intended to address this, but invariably there are those who slip through the cracks. Even in some of my own courses, no matter how many times or how strongly I try to get through, sometimes there is a small group leader who talks too much, tries too insistently to share his own opinion, or tries to correct guests' thoughts or questions.
I have been involved in Alpha courses for over 20 years and I can say confidently that when it is run right, it works. Even Pastors or leaders I speak with, in whose Alpha's they have been disappointed, don't usually criticize the Alpha material itself (with, perhaps, the theological exception mentioned above). The Alpha recipe is sound, but if anything is left out, it's not really Alpha.
Blessings,
John
1. Failure to invite. Michael Harvey says that 80 to 95 percent of people in a typical church just plain don't intend to invite anyone to an Alpha. An Alpha in such a church is doomed to run through its own existing members and then to fritter away. I have heard of people who have taken Alpha and loved it, but still refuse, or more likely are afraid to, invite anyone to the next one. But an invitational culture is key to any ongoing success with alpha. Without it, the danger is that Alpha will shrivel and atrophy.
2. Skipping the weekend away. The ideal weekend away is just that - getting the whole group to a retreat centre for at least a Friday evening and a Saturday. I always loved these times and found them almost like a holiday. It gives guests the opportunity to spend an evening and at least one day in a peaceful setting, not having to worry about housekeeping or meal preparation, and being able to focus in a concerted way on the topics of the weekend. These topics, of course, are on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Next best is to run the weekend in either another church facility or even in the usual venue, but it must indeed be included in any successful Alpha.
Some churches avoid these topics on theological grounds. However, it doesn't matter on what grounds they avoid the weekend away, the effect is the same - that is, the course loses a great deal of its effectiveness. Even in conversation with the pastor of such a church, I have said, in effect, "Don't try to avoid the subject. It's like not telling your teenager about the facts of life, hoping they won't hear from anyone else." Any Christian, new or otherwise, is going to hear and wonder about Spiritual gifts and especially the gift of tongues. They will hear from someone, so why not show Alpha's teaching on the subject, then discuss it in the context of their specific denomination's teaching.
3. Small group leaders too vocal, too strong or too opinionated. Alpha training is intended to address this, but invariably there are those who slip through the cracks. Even in some of my own courses, no matter how many times or how strongly I try to get through, sometimes there is a small group leader who talks too much, tries too insistently to share his own opinion, or tries to correct guests' thoughts or questions.
I have been involved in Alpha courses for over 20 years and I can say confidently that when it is run right, it works. Even Pastors or leaders I speak with, in whose Alpha's they have been disappointed, don't usually criticize the Alpha material itself (with, perhaps, the theological exception mentioned above). The Alpha recipe is sound, but if anything is left out, it's not really Alpha.
Blessings,
John
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