Sandy McFadyean being recorded for this podcast.
Neil Urquhart, minister from Fullerton Church in Irvine, North Ayrshire interviews Sandy McFadyean whose parents were in the same church as Janie and me many years ago. I remember Sandy as a quiet young boy from Catrine. Janie and I know his wife and his in-laws too. We have known Hamilton and Elizabeth Welsh for many years and their daughter, Lorna is married to Sandy.
I grew up with a fairly fixed idea of what a testimony should be like. It went something like this. Version 1 " I had the privilege of being brought up in a Christian home and at the age of 12 I listened to a gospel message and I opened my heart to Jesus." This was the run of the mill testimony that I heard many times over the years. Version 2: "I was a bad person living a life away from God until I heard the message of the gospel at a campaign. I felt that God was speaking to me and I committed my life to Christ."
Sandy's faith story does not fit into either of these paradigms. He has had lots of ups and downs in his life but he has come to know God's love in a very personal way and he shares this in this recording. His story is thought provoking and challenging. It was my daughter, Linda who posted the link on Facebook and I listened to it as I walked through the woods near our home. It made a profound impact on me. By God's grace, I have never experienced alcohol addiction so in one sense it is hard for me to appreciate the struggles of an alcoholic although God has brought me into contact with the reality of addiction at several stages in my life and I am grateful for that. Sandy talks openly and honestly about his bouts of depression. He talks about life being like 'a canoe going doon the river'. He provides a memorable quotation - "My thoughts are not my friend."
I loved the word Sandy used - 'authentic.' This word really grabbed me. Am I authentic or have I developed the knack of putting on a sanctimonious act of Christianity? Someone apologised because she had wished my wife 'Good luck' and then felt guilty. Christians don't believe in luck and so she corrected herself. We all do it. With Sandy, 'what you see or hear, is what you get' He is not willing to be a hypocrite.
I also liked the fact that he emphasised just how much God loves us - even when we are messed up. He talks about how God adores human beings - his words were - "God is bananas about human beings." Sandy speaks in his local dialect and this is great for me. He is not into window-dressing or making his talk palatable to an audience.
Neil Urquhart and Jamie Milliken the ministers from Fullarton Parish Church in Irvine.
Here he is being interviewed by Neil Urquhart from Fullerton Church in Irvine. I used to work in the North Ayrshire Council headquarters across the road from this church and everyone of us saw the banners displayed clearly and visibly. And they were challenging - what a witness to the hundreds of council officers and politicians in the council building.
Here is the audio recording of Sandy's talk. Click the triangle to listen to the podcast where it says AUD-2024 etc.
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