Testimonies

Testimonies. What a strange word for mainline Protestants, at least in church. We don't do that, do we? But I think God's been trying to tell me something...

Our church has been discussing Unbinding the Gospel, a book that teaches us how to share what God is doing in our lives. If you use the resource for a congreational event and series of sermons, which we plan on doing, you're encouraged to have people from the congregation share a testimony in worship.

I had heard about this book by Lillian Daniel, Tell it Like it is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony, from preaching professor Tom Long. In it she shares how her progressive New England Congregational church developed the practice in worship, and how it deepened their congregation. I just got it at the bookstore Tuesday.

And finally, the passage I'm preaching on next week, 1 John 5:1-13, uses "testify" or "testimony" no less than 9 times!

On our new church website, www.centervillepresbyterian.org, there will soon be a section for testimonies. We're not going to call it that. We're going to call it "why I belong."

When things come together like this, or I hear the same message three or four times, God is usually trying to tell me something. Can we learn how to share what God is doing in our lives so that others may be blessed?