Today I had a long conversation with the leader of a CA group and it was probably the most satisfying conversation I’ve had about faith since being back in the UK. This man, who was a similar age to me, had no problem at all saying that he was totally reliant on God. During the conversation it was clear that this was someone who constantly sought the will of God in his life, and that he is seeing God at work.
The problem though is that he doesn’t fit into the standard mould of what a Christian should be. He hasn’t prayed any sort of ’sinner’s prayer’; he doesn’t recognise Jesus as the Son of God; and he’s never read the Bible. He does however seek to live by the famous Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, and has read Emmet Foxes book ‘Sermon on the Mount’ and in it found a lot that challenged him.
Yet, his sense of faith is staggering and also humbling. Like many of those who go through the 12 step programme, his expression of concern for others puts most Christians to shame. He is willing to discuss his faith with anyone who wants to listen, but won’t force it upon anyone who isn’t, again putting many Christians, who can’t sometimes even articulate what they believe, to shame.
So how did we finish? Well I suggested that he pick up the book that is the real source of much of the texts in the Big Book and contains the real Sermon on the Mount, and an invite to chat about any questions that reading it might raise. Hopefully, he took away a sense of a Christian who was willing to respect his position, whilst being challenged to discover more about Jesus. What I took away though was an uneasy sense that far too many of us in the church are not as willing to discuss faith as easily as he was!
Blessings!!!