"Who Is Jesus, Anyway?" starts Wednesday

I am really excited about our revised Who Is Jesus, Anyway? a course for the curious. There are a number of popular courses already available: Alpha, Christianity Explored, Cursillo, to name just a few. They are good, but I'd like to press a few questions not raised in those courses and/or to model a way of exploration that one can use throughout their Christian life and walk. I did my studies as an electrical engineer, and that is evident in the way that I approach basic questions of faith. In the first version of Who Is Jesus, Anyway?, I began with worldview questions presented by the Biblical account of creation, moved through Israel's history, encountered the living (human) Jesus, confronted his claims to be God, and then listened to Jesus invitation to follow Him. The strength of that approach was that it opened the door to people with any worldview: I did not assume that the curious have a biblical worldview. In fact fewer and few Americans live out their lives from a such a biblical worldview. So the door was wide open for any person to begin the course and be able to engage the conversation.

After six times through, I have decided to change the order of the material, bringing the living Jesus to the first session and then to wrestle with the conundrums that Jesus presents. Namely, as a Jewish man, he proclaimed that there was and is but one and only one God, and then, claims that he is that God. I approach that conundrum, can he really be who he claims to be, like a good mystery. A mystery can only be solved by a curious investigator. By re-arranging the material, the new revised course puts the conundrum or mystery right up front and center. Thus, since we have called the course, Who Is Jesus, Anyway?, we will keep that question and the person of Jesus central to our conversations.

I have enjoyed every single course that we have offered: there is something fun and satisfying about helping people ask their own questions about Jesus and in turn, discover more about Him than they knew before. Wednesday evening we start the next course: and it promises to be the most fun yet! Who Is Jesus, Anyway? can be followed up by Where 2 Now? and SHAPEd to Serve. I am working on the material for SHAPEd right now. You can find a schedule here for these courses and others.