LLM Forum 2012

Today was the annual forum for Licensed Lay Ministers in the Diocese of Oxford of the Church of England. We were lucky enough to be attendees at the CMS course "The Bible's Big Story".

A one-day course for those who have a great love for the Bible but want to know more about how it fits together chronologically or theologically

I took pages and pages of notes (on my phone of course) throughout the day, it was truly breath-taking in its truth, grace and revelation. I have loads of ideas of how I'll share what I've experienced and learned; as well as now having a list of possible blog posts as long as my arm.

So what's the course all about?
We live in a world where biblical resources are increasing, yet the British Church is becoming really biblically illiterate.

We are all called to share Jesus, but we can't do that unless we know the Bible intimately.  The Bible's Big Story is a tool to help us know the Bible and be able to share it.

Often we have pieces of a jigsaw but we don't have the whole picture,  we have the cross stitch but not the tapestry, we have the verses but not the whole book.  Does our church know the big story? Or do they know bits and pieces?

The aim of today is to get an idea of the big story, a sense of the narratives.  We learn the Big Story by teaching it, it's ongoing, we're always learning.  The best to get to know the story really is to share the story.

I completely recommend the course, if you lead groups in your church, if you are wanting to go deeper in your exploration of the Bible or if you're just looking for a spiritual pick me up. But be warned, you'll want to share it with others.