Sandy Millar spoke at the Filling Station at Moggerhanger on Monday.Let's break that sentence down into its component parts.
Sandy Millar... - Sandy is an interesting man. He is a great speaker, very engaging, relaxed enough to include plenty of stories and asides, yet focussed on the particular theme he wants to get across.
Retired now, he began his career as a barrister and ended as an Anglican bishop.
At one time he was the vicar of Holy Trinity, Brompton where he was largely responsible for the development of the Alpha Course and, later, the Marriage Course.
...spoke... - Past tense, you missed it. But it was good.
Sandy spoke about Jesus' instructions to 'go and make disciples'. He read one of my all time favourite Bible passages, Ezekiel 37:1-14. Speaking life into dry bones is another way of thinking about disciple making.
Sandy suggested that making disciples should be our main focus, it is our mission. Here are his five main points.
- Recover a new understanding of the lostness of the world. It will help us see our neighbours in a different light.
- Develop a new confidence in the gospel. Recognise that Jesus does have the necessary power.
- Find a new understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. He rose from the dead!
- We also need a new understanding of the urgency of evangelisation. We need to do good, we need to speak with people and pray for them. Pray over the dry bones.
- We need a fresh experience of the Holy Spirit.
...at the Filling Station... - Filling Station? What is that? Filling Station is a parachurch organisation that runs local meetings to build and strengthen local church. It involves a time of singing and praise followed by an address by a guest speaker. Most Filling Stations meet once a month.
The idea began in the West Country and has spread across the entire UK. Recently it has moved into Europe too.
...at Moggerhanger... - Weird name! Moggerhanger is a village east of Bedford, on the edge of the village is Moggerhanger Park where our local Filling Station meetings are held. We don't meet in the old house itself, but in the Garden Room, a separate meeting space in the grounds.
...on Monday - Just the day of the week. The meeting was on Monday 20th May.
Questions:
- Are you aware of a Filling Station meeting near you?
- Do you have a sense of urgency about making disciples?
- What are you doing to make disciples amongst the people you know?
- Look at Sandy's five points again. What do they say to you, personally? How will you respond?
See also:
- Alpha course (W)
- Filling Station
- Holy Trinity, Brompton (W)
- Marriage Course - Relationship central
- Moggerhanger Park (W)
- Sandy Millar - Wikipedia
- Valley of dry bones - Journeys of heart and mind
