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Life Explored is an informal Christian evangelistic teaching course developed by Christianity Explored Ministries and created by Barry Cooper and Nate Morgan-Locke and is presented by those two along with Rico Tice and published by The Good Book Company. The course is considered to stand within the conservative evangelical tradition.
The first edition of the course was published on November 1, 2016. The sessions are:
There is a follow-on course entitled "Discipleship Explored", written and presented by Barry Cooper, and "English Made Easy" editions of both Christianity Explored and Discipleship Explored. [1] Christianity Explored publications are also available in Bulgarian, Dutch, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Luganda, Polish, Spanish, Swahili and Welsh. Translations in progress include French, Mandarin, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish. [2] In 2011 the course, already being used in over 50 countries, was rolled out in the United States: it was endorsed by John Piper and Tim Keller. [3]
Life Explored use is like the sister-course Christianity Explored in that both courses are aimed at a non-Christian audience who are open to exploring who is Jesus, why did he come, and what does it mean to follow him. Both LE and CE are relational with most courses run with a meal environment and both look to at the source document of Christianity - The Bible to make this exploration. Both are seven session series and both can be run in homes, in churches or in a third-place environment.
It can be run before or after Christianity Explored or Alpha, and is perfect for anyone looking for answers to life’s big questions. [4] The course is popular with millennials as the course uses short films as a story telling medium to engage the heart and mind. It has been endorsed by a number of theologians such as DA Carson when he said, "At a time in the Western world when basic knowledge of the Bible is increasingly rare, it is a pleasure to recommend Life Explored. Here is an introduction to the good news found in Jesus Christ, sweeping through some of the "big pictures" in the Bible. As far as a short series can, Life Explored outlines what the Bible is about, exposes our idolatry, and makes clear where forgiveness and hope lie. This is one of the best of the rising number of evangelistic tools addressing men and women in the twenty-first century.” (D. A. Carson) [5] Because in the West, particularly among the millennial generation, we can no longer take any level of biblical literacy for granted, LE gives people the context they need to be able to understand who Jesus is and why he came. A panoramic view of the Bible is given - creation, fall, redemption and new creation - rather than just a narrow slice of the picture. [5]
Similarities: Both courses are evangelistic, expository (letting the Bible tell the Gospel), and engaging (in a relational, dialogue intentional setting. While Christianity Explored uses the Gospel of Mark, Life Explored (also a 7 week course) looks at the Bible as the whole while looking at the character of God to ask the question, "What is the best gift God could give you?" The course follows a general outline of creation, fall, redemption and new-creation.
Distinctive features of Life Explored: Because it’s more readily acknowledged among postmoderns than the concept of law-breaking, LE explains sin as idolatry, while CE explains sin as law-breaking. [5] Life Explored uses two films - one story film and one teaching film - in each session to engage the participant. The story film - for the most part filmed without dialogue - helps the viewer see how one has replaced the gift of God himself with a cheaper, and inadequate substitute. The second film is a teaching film (like the CE films) reveals the God of the Bible as the answer to our deepest longing.
In early 2017 the blog The Happy Certainty did a review of Life Explored and looked at its uses, [6]
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Unity is a spiritual organization founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889. It grew out of Transcendentalism and became part of the New Thought movement. Unity may be best known for its Daily Word devotional publication begun in 1924. Originally based in Christianity with emphasis on the Bible, Unity more recently has said it offers "positive, practical Christianity" and describes itself as "for people who might call themselves spiritual but not religious."
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In Christianity, disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the same as being a student in the modern sense. A disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master. It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.
Religious images in Christian theology have a role within the liturgical and devotional life of adherents of certain Christian denominations. The use of religious images has often been a contentious issue in Christian history. Concern over idolatry is the driving force behind the various traditions of aniconism in Christianity.
Greg Laurie is an American evangelical author, pastor and evangelist who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California. He also is the founder of Harvest Crusades. Laurie is also the subject of the 2023 film Jesus Revolution, which tells the story of how he converted to Christianity and got his start in ministry in the midst of the spiritual awakening known as "The Jesus Revolution"
In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts. In the New Testament, they bear the following titles: the Gospel of Matthew; the Gospel of Mark; the Gospel of Luke; and the Gospel of John. These names were assigned to the works by the early church fathers in the 2nd century AD; none of the writers signed their work.
Biblical literalism or biblicism is a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation. It can equate to the dictionary definition of literalism: "adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense", where literal means "in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical".
Peter Rollins is a Northern Irish writer, public speaker, philosopher, producer and theologian.
Christianity Explored is an informal Christian evangelistic teaching course developed by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper at All Souls Church, Langham Place, a leading Anglican church, and published by The Good Book Company. The course is considered to stand within the conservative evangelical tradition. Christianity Explored Ministries has also developed a second evangelistic course in 2016 Life Explored.
Anne McCue Graham Lotz is an American evangelist. She is the second daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife Ruth Graham. She founded AnGeL Ministries, and is the author of 11 books, of which her best known is Just Give Me Jesus.
Richard Ian "Rico" Tice is an Anglican clergyman and writer, co-author of Christianity Explored. He is currently associate minister at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, and is well known in the UK as a speaker at evangelical Christian conferences and an evangelist of national standing.
Barry Cooper is a British pastor and writer. He lives with his wife and daughters in DeLand, Florida, and serves as Associate Teaching Pastor at Christ Community Church Daytona.
The Good Book Company (TGBC) is an evangelical Christian publisher, located in Epsom, Surrey, England. They are structured as a large unquoted, private company, limited by share capital. Their practices include publishing, mission outreach and training. The Publisher was declared runner up in the Christian Publisher of the Year Award by the Trade Body for Christian Publishing and Retailing in the UK.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Christianity:
The Centre for Missional Leadership(CML) was a theological centre specialising in applied theology. It was based in Watford, 20 miles northwest of central London, England. CML taught applied theology with the aim of equipping Christians for practical evangelism. Located on the Watford High Street, CML was an urban centre for Christian learning in the fields of applied theology and Christian mission. The centre trained Christians for ministries that are both in and outside the church. Many non-church ministries were also developed.
