Passionate about the Passion?

|PIC1|We long for the extraordinary, but we seem unable to cope with it for long. Ask holidaymakers after three weeks, new car owners after three months, infatuated lovers after three years.

Ecstasy is mortal. We seem to have an in-built safety device that kicks in when intensity of emotion reaches a tipping point beyond which normal life would no longer be possible.

So, what about faith?

Christians have been running the risk of forsaking their 'first love' since John the Divine chided the New Testament church at Ephesus (Rev 2).

A new believer's initial exuberance after they've embraced the Gospel will be tested â€" by force of habit, unanswered prayers, and the grim discovery that, in a fallen world, they will remain both victims and perpetrators beyond the point of conversion.

Jesus' Parable of the Sower, which exposes various traps for believers, has one underlying message. Initial enthusiasm is not enough. The church of Christ is not a Jesus fan club. If faith is to last, our 'first love' needs to deepen and mature.

As for the Passion, it's normal to be passionate about this supreme act of sacrifice when you realise for the very first time that it was carried out by God the Son himself â€" and that he had not just humanity at large, but you in mind.

But what if you've been hearing about and, possibly, reciting the Good Friday event week after week, for years or even decades? Can the in-built, normality-ensuring safety device be deactivated?

I've been running The Passion as a project for Bible Society, managing the process of the BBC Easter series being turned into an educational resource pack for schools and churches.

And I freely confess that being swamped with emails, team meetings, deadlines and budgets is not always the best way of 'surveying the wondrous cross' in a continuous state of worshipful awe. I'm human after all, prone to normality and routine.

But I recommend the resource as an antidote to spiritual indifference.

At Bible Society it's our hope that The Passion will rekindle the fire among those who watch the programmes either for the first or second time. We hope people will engage with the accompanying materials we've produced.

The four-part series itself, broadcast last spring across BBC One's Easter schedule, was hailed by critics as 'intelligent and engaging drama' (The Telegraph), with a 'vitality and realness that you rarely find' (The Guardian). Audience figures averaging four million per episode backed up the journalists' verdict.

The resource pack, available exclusively from Bible Society, will be available by the end of September.

It contains the complete series on DVD and interviews with producer, script writer and members of the cast. It has a CD-ROM with extensive teaching materials for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5, collective worship. And, last but by no means least, there are resources for youth and house groups. A booklet version of the CD-ROM material will be on offer as well.

The Passion was the BBC's serious, once-in-a-generation attempt at narrating the greatest story ever told in a manner and tone that today's culture could understand. Bible Society's resource pack has been designed with the same outcome in mind.

The result is a 'must buy for RE departments' (Lat Blaylock, RE Today) and a range of in-depth but easy-to-use materials.

We hope it will enable church leaders to rekindle the passion for the Passion in their congregation â€" and reach those who want to explore the Good Friday message for the first time.

To find out more and register an interest in buying the resource pack, visit www.biblesociety.org.uk/thepassion