The Reason for God, Willow Creek and Alpha!!!

A lot has been going over this past few days. I have really started to read The Reason For God by Tim Keller. I must say, I am not finding it the easiest of reads because he has obviously got a much sharper mind than my own. However, his understanding of the culture in which he lives and how he has managed to distill objections and then give calm, gentle, humble answers is fantastic. I do find sometimes though that I can be tied in knots in my thinking when looking at what he has written which means I have to read and re-read (not a bad thing but as I say his sharpness is his brilliance amongst other things). What I am left with as I read is that I always want to have an answer when someone asks me why I follow Jesus - obvious I know, but so important. After all it's all about Jesus.

I have also spent two great days with Sean Green at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. It was great to go and focus on leadership skills and be inspired by people that are passionate about their vision for what God has given them to do; also those who have just taken knocks and upsets but have still continued and let those knocks shape them and their future. The one thing I came away with was the same as that of Sean (see his blog here) and that was a call to be a full-time follower of Christ - to chase after Him and not anything else. In all that lies before us as a church, I want to be someone who is going for God and as a result everything I do will be for Him and not for any other reason.

Thirdly Alpha. The first official week took place last night at the Glo Bar in Reading town centre - a great venue by the way. We did have three new guests but they were not the same three from the Alpha launch night. I would dearly love to see more people coming to this course as I believe that God is using this particular medium to see people saved. however I am also acutely aware through this that God is in control and who we have is those that He has planned to be there since the beginning of time.

In all three of these things that I have written about, it highlights to me that I need to be a Christian who isn't just wearing a badge, but someone who is engaging with those around me in a way that they can understand; this coming out of my love of Him as I spend time with Him and continually rediscover that love which set me free from bondage to sin; resulting in me seeing the bigger picture and trusting that in all things, God is in control!