Sharing God’s Word, accompanied by classical music.
We sat down with Martin, a Bible sharer in London, to hear about who he’s been reading God’s Word with and how God has been working powerfully through it.
Thanks for joining us, Martin! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Martin, I’m married and have three grown up children, and I live in London.
Whilst I did grow up in a Christian home, I went my own way for a while, and only seriously started going back to church when I was in my late 20s. I went on a ‘beginners course’ run by All Souls Langham Place – and I was convicted of the truth of God’s Word and how Christ’s sacrifice enabled me to be cleansed of my past and set me on the road to eternal life! I wanted to follow Jesus in a very personal way, and I made the commitment to be baptised when I was 30. Immediately I attached myself to All Souls, and I’ve been there ever since!
I’ve always been on the pastoral side of the church. I got into leadership through running fellowship groups, and that’s been my area of service for many years. God has helped me through it all – I was definitely thrown into the deep end at the start, and over time He has refined, challenged and grown me.
I’ve been involved in wider church leadership, such as PCC and being church warden – and when I finished, I decided to join the global anglican network called GAFCON, of which I’m now the chairman of the European branch. Over the years, I’ve certainly grown in my love for Jesus and for serving His people more widely; and what really energises me is to see the world come together in a communal love for the Lord Jesus.
Q. Who have you been reading God’s Word with recently, and how did you begin sharing with them?
At All Souls, we’ve been trained to use The Word One to One on quite a few occasions, particularly when we’ve prepared for times of focused mission. That’s how I became aware of it.
Before the pandemic, I met up with Jeremy Marshall and heard about how he had been using The Word One to One to read the Bible with others. It really gave me an idea on how to connect with a friend of mine whom I’ve known for a long time – he’s a fairly quiet man, so I thought The Word One to One could be a helpful tool to share with him on a deeper level.
As we went into lockdown, I sensed this prompting from the Lord to invite him to read the whole of John’s Gospel with me. So I just sent him a text, and he replied that he would be keen! After making the invitation, it’s so easy – you have someone who’s committed to reading with you, and you have a helpful tool with everything you need to share God’s Word with them!
So we started reading together, and he really got into it. Alongside The Word One to One, he got out a Bible that he had been given at school to read. As we went along the journey over 15 weeks or so, he shared some stories about reading the Bible in the past, and he began to open up a bit more which was very encouraging.
As we were reading, I wanted not only to bring the Bible to life for him, but also to show him how God’s Word had impacted so many lives and the wider world. I knew he was really into his classical music, so for each passage we would read I would play a piece of classical music that related to that passage. Because of that, he took much more ownership of our sessions – he would brush up on the passage we were going to read, and then select a piece of music that linked to it.
“I knew he was really into his classical music, so for each passage we would read I would play a piece of classical music that related to that passage.”
Q. How has The Word One to One helped you introduce others to Jesus?
Sharing God’s Word has liberated me in evangelism more than anything else. In the past, I always felt tense when it came to unrehearsed conversations with my friends about my faith. But with The Word One to One, you can leave that all behind because you’re focused on God’s Word together.
It’s also done through mutual relationship – it’s not dominated by one individual, it’s not a teacher-pupil dynamic, it’s simply two people sharing our understanding, convictions and questions about the Word. It doesn’t require any rehearsal; you’re simply led by the Word, by the Spirit and by where the conversation goes. It’s so accessible and adaptable, and it gives you great confidence that you can share your faith with anyone.
“Sharing God’s Word has liberated me in evangelism more than anything else.”
It gave me a tool which was incredibly liberating for me! It doesn’t rely on us coming up with clever arguments, it relies simply and wholly on God and His Word.
Q. Do you have any advice for someone thinking about sharing the Bible?
For the Christian, I would say don’t be complacent! While The Word One to One offers a brilliant tool to help you share the Word, it’s important to remain intentional and humble too. Don’t think that the results will come down to you – it’s all about God, and his timing is perfect. Have faith that it will sow seeds that will grow in his timing.
“Don’t think that the results will come down to you – it’s all about God, and his timing is perfect.”
For the non-Christian, I would say enter into this with the expectation that it could change your life forever. Expect to be surprised, and expect to see how God will work in you!
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