By Caroline Smith
A spontaneous approach to presenting gave speakers at the recent Flame Ministries International (FMI) Congress an opportunity to preach from the heart and inspire attendees with their personal ministry.
More than 150 people attended the Congress, which was held at John XXIII College, Claremont from 23 to 24 January.
FMI founder Eddie Russell said the Holy Spirit seemed present in the powerful speeches given and the response from those listening.
“Instead of presenters having pre-planned topics, I just told them ‘speak, fulfill your ministry and do what the Spirit tells you to do’,” he said.
“Its presence definitely came through them – the best way I can describe it was to say they seemed ‘anointed’.
“The effect on the people in attendance was astonishing – they couldn’t stop speaking about the sessions, and were so happy to hear what they heard and experience what they experienced.”
The Congress’ overall theme, Way, Truth, Life, said Mr Russell, provided better opportunity for presentations to consider both the word of God and its role in people’s lives.
“Each speaker anchored everything in scripture,” he said.
“All the way through, there was a definite breaking down preconceived barriers of what the word of God actually means.”
Speakers at the event included Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey, Fr Varghese Packakaral, as well as FMI’s Cyrus D’Souza, Kaye Rollings and Mr Russell himself.
Emeritus Archbishop Hickey – who has been a regular attendee at the Congress since it began in 1990 – discussed the presence of Jesus and the Word as forces for change, even in hopeless times.
Using a book he had read recently about Hitler as a starting point, the Emeritus Archbishop noted that Christianity continued to inspire and influence the world, even while other ideologies had come and gone.
“I wondered what will be the next atrocity in the history of the world, and came to the conclusion that no-one else has come up with a Mass and the Word of God,” he said.
“All the ‘isms’ have come and gone, done what they can and disappeared into nothingness – the only hope for the world is Jesus.”
Further evidence came from an examination of the early Christian Church and its impact on Roman society, added the Emeritus Archbishop.
“The emperors came and went, and most of them decided to persecute the Christians, but the martyrs and the early Church changed things,” he said.
“New values like love and forgiveness of sins came through, and people began to change.
“So, because of those days, and all the terrible things that were happening to Christians, we should never be afraid – when we are persecuted, when the forces of evil come through, God gives us the strength to produce some good and continue the message.”