Alpha

This afternoon I went to an event at the National Club to promote Alpha, the Christian Evangelism program of note. The guest speaker was one of the founders of Alpha, Bishop Sandy Millar (Honorary Assistant Bishop of London). I ended up sitting next to Bishop Millar and we chatted pleasantly about parish ministry and such-like.

Three things really struck me at this gathering. First, I was conspicuously the only one wearing a clerical collar. Neither the Bishop nor the Principal of Wycliffe were wearing their collars. I guess I didn't get the memo that clergy involved with Alpha aren't supposed to look like clergy. Normally I don't, but it was a church meeting at The National Club, after all. Then there were the people (including Bishop Millar) who asked me if my church was Anglican. Clearly, Alpha is post-denominational. To be fair to the Bishop, Anglicans aren't the only ones who wear collars in Canada... but still, I thought I was wearing my identity on my sleeve pretty clearly for those who can read the code.

Second, two people tried to feel me out about where I stood on the question of homosexuality in the church. I know that Bishop Millar is outspokenly conservative on the issue (going so far as to call decisions he disagrees with in the American Episcopal Church "manifestations of evil"), but it was two of the leaders of Alpha Canada who probed me about this. In one case I simply told the person that I was much more concerned with what was happening in the lives of my parishioners and the building of my congregation than the global Anglican debates on the issue of sexual ethics. I thought we were there to talk about Evangelism, why did people want to know what I felt about gay people?

The third thing that really struck me at this Alpha gathering was that the language and methods of Alpha are inherently of a different Christian culture than Anglicanism as I know it. Now, there nothing wrong with different Christian cultures being under the same roof--but I kept wondering to myself "what's Anglican about this?" That's not a problem when you're doing a church plant somewhere, but I have a duty to honor a certain inherited culture of church.
Most telling of this was when Bishop Millar said that it's a great thing as a clergyman when you don't have to come up with a talk about how, say, salvation works. You simply pop in the DVD and push "play." He thinks this is wonderful. All the answers to life's questions are in the little Alpha Curriculum book. Me, I find it appalling. Part of my job is to model for the congregation how to struggle with questions of faith. I do that by struggling with those same questions myself, publically. As a result, my answers are inherently a local manifestation of the Holy Spirit appropriate to the circumstances and needs of my people.
It's this reliance Alpha has on canned answers and formulaic solutions to life's problems that I find most problematic. I don't think I'm here to give people answers or helpful tips on living life. I think I'm here to show them how to engage in an ongoing relationship with God who is most known in mystery and the revelation of God's love for us (Jesus Christ).

Now, post gathering, I'm also struck by Sandy Millar's involvement with the "Toronto Blessing." That's the big mega church near the airport that has been the center of controversial claims of manifestations of the Holy Spirit. There is definitely a charismatic quality to the language and methods of Alpha Canada as I saw it today. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it does show how the culture of Alpha Canada is different from the mainline Anglican churches. I'm all for speaking in tongues and all that, but only when it's done in an orderly way with interpretation and discernment (as St. Paul suggests). Such charismatic showings are good, but not necessary, and can become a source of distraction if we are not vigilant.

Also, Alpha seems to make the claim that their answers are THE ANSWERS. And it is true that their catechism falls, so far as I can tell, within the spectrum of orthodoxy. But that means that there is lots of room for different interpretations of God's revelation. This kind of room for diversity of opinion (comprehensiveness, it's sometimes called) is part of the historic nature of Anglicanism. It is problematic and perhaps intellectually dishonest to deny our people room for variance.

Anyway, those are my impressions after getting the Alpha sales pitch. My apologies if I hurt anyone's feelings. If Alpha brought you to faith then that's great. My question is not whether God is working through this movement, but whether this movement is the way God would work best through my congregation.

BTW, one may ask why I didn't challenge Bishop Millar with some of my questions and critiques as I was sitting next to him. Two reasons: 1) it was not the sort of atmosphere where real questions and analysis were being offered--this whole thing was a sale's pitch complete with personal testimonies--and 2) I didn't want to be the rude American challenging our guest with uncomfortable questions. I'm sure he could have handled it, but it just didn't feel right to be so contrarian in a room full of true-believers.

-t