Wednesday, June 23, 2004
There are no mistakes in life
Before we came out to South Africa, my wife and I did an Alpha course. Since we were living in West London, we went for the pukka option, and did the one at Holy Trinity Brompton, run by Nicky Gumble. When we got to Cape Town, we did it again, having missed the end of it due to our emigration; this time with Nicky on video.
I had originally agreed to do it, being something of a sceptic, because it sounded fascinating. It was. Nicky Gumble is one of the best speakers I have seen, and really knows how to tell his story. Anyway, this started me down the road – slowly – to exploring my own faith. Moving out here was probably a good move in this regard (as in so many others), since Christianity is more socially acceptable here, for want of a better phrase. In the UK, to be a Christian is often considered a little bit odd – quaint, but weird. Like Morris Dancing. In South Africa, there may or may not be more Christians per square mile, but they are more visible, and less apologetic about it. Of course, the Brits are apologetic about many things, but it seems to be a particular problem with Christianity. The less apologetic Christians are, the weirder they tend to be.
Perhaps the reason that I have started to notice Christians more is that there are more of them in my immediate vicinity. I keep discovering that friends are Christians, as are many of the colleagues and clients with whom I get on best. Anyone might think that someone is trying to tell me something. So where am I going with this? I’m not sure yet, but the journey is interesting…
I had originally agreed to do it, being something of a sceptic, because it sounded fascinating. It was. Nicky Gumble is one of the best speakers I have seen, and really knows how to tell his story. Anyway, this started me down the road – slowly – to exploring my own faith. Moving out here was probably a good move in this regard (as in so many others), since Christianity is more socially acceptable here, for want of a better phrase. In the UK, to be a Christian is often considered a little bit odd – quaint, but weird. Like Morris Dancing. In South Africa, there may or may not be more Christians per square mile, but they are more visible, and less apologetic about it. Of course, the Brits are apologetic about many things, but it seems to be a particular problem with Christianity. The less apologetic Christians are, the weirder they tend to be.
Perhaps the reason that I have started to notice Christians more is that there are more of them in my immediate vicinity. I keep discovering that friends are Christians, as are many of the colleagues and clients with whom I get on best. Anyone might think that someone is trying to tell me something. So where am I going with this? I’m not sure yet, but the journey is interesting…
