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Podcast – Interview with Graham Miller of London City Mission

TEP-PodcastCover-1024x1024This is the first of two interviews with Graham Miller from London City Mission. Next week we'll talk about online witness. This week we discuss the work of London City Mission and the evangelistic task facing us all.

Here are just some of the striking things Graham said in the interview...

We can draw a false dichotomy between loving people and sharing Christ. The need is to be 100% Christian...

We have a kind of clericalism in our churches where everyone leaves things up to the paid staff.

We've bought into a friendship evangelism model which means we end up sharing the gospel only with people like us.

The  huge need in evangelism is to challenge our idols and get a lot more godly.

We need to set time aside to spend with our neighbours and we need to be ready to share our testimony. Most people could have a go at sharing something about the gospel but we need to be in those relationships. It's only a very short step from a conversation about something important to spiritual matters.

In my time in China, the pastor was a cheerleader for everyone else's evangelism. Over here we employ a youth pastor to look after 8 kids which is a very expensive way of doing ministry. We train up 20 year olds  to be able to teach kids Romans and Luke rather than send out all our 20 somethings to kick a ball around with the kids.

If you look in the book of Acts, Stephen rolled up his sleeves and  served tables when he was an exceptional evangelist himself. Anyone who gets past Stephen's level can be set aside specially for a preaching and prayer ministry. But if you're not at Stephen's level - and I haven't met any preacher better than Stephen - you should muck in and wait on tables with everyone else.

 

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5 thoughts on “Podcast – Interview with Graham Miller of London City Mission

  1. the Old Adam

    "The need is to be 100% Christian…"

    That means that we will be 100% sinner...and 100% saint.

    That means that we won;t always get it right or do the right thing or say the right thing. That means that we will often be lazy and self-concerned and lax in our evangelism.

    But that also means that Christ Jesus will be in our poor efforts and even in our sin, as He uses us (His earthen vessels) for His perfect purpose.

    Wow. What a relief!

  2. Windy_London

    Some people say Christians should mainly focus on proclamation and not on compassionate love. Others would say that we need to focus on compassionate love to the exclusion of proclamation. Jesus was both compassionate and proclamatory. We should follow his example. We should be 100% Christians, not just picking out a few bits of Jesus' teaching to follow

  3. Glen

    Yes, OldAdam the 100% Christian comment was nothing to do with sinner/saint issues. Sorry Graham for not being more careful with the quotations.

  4. the Old Adam

    We should be a lot of things...that we are not, or refuse to be.

    We should "be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect"...good luck.

    I love the freedom that Christ has won for us on the Cross. freedom from the religious, should, ought and must project. freedom from the 'never quite arriving' project.

    Freedom to live. Knowing that He is at work in me and that He uses me...in everything (good or bad) that I do.

  5. Pingback: Podcast: Graham Miller on our Online Witness | Christ the Truth

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