Testimony!

 As I re-read chapter 7 of "You Are Witnesses of These Things," I found myself preparing for the conversation ahead on Sunday during our discussion time.  I will see if what I expect is what happens.

One of the reasons I believe people do not share their story, do not witness Jesus, is that we lack confidence.  Whether it is because we are afraid of questions we won't know the answers to, or how we are going to be perceived, or any other number of reasons--we don't share Jesus with others.  I am aware of this even when we are in worship and I ask about experiences or ask any question and there is a difficult silence.  

The author suggests that we prepare to share our story by finding a partner to practice with; embrace the role of sower not reaper; and prepare the way to welcome others.

European Lutherans are not generally used to or comfortable sharing a testimony. We don't have alot of examples of this.  Some denominations have a time of testimony in their worship serve.  We have periodically asked if there were any God moments or God sightings.  This has been uncomfortable for me because either no one says anything or people want to share and others will tell me that we need to stop because worship lasted too long.  I am seriously contemplating reintroducing testimony, God sightings, or whatever we call it in worship.  And I'm guessing that it will take a while for it to become a practice, because we don't even want to comment on blogs or posts (hint hint)

I also wonder if the introduction of prayer partners would be a good place to start.  Again, I can hear it--as long as we get to pick our partner.  I concur with Chelsey in the example given--when you are strangers or know each other not that well, people tend to share more about themselves, work on the assignment--not just sit around and talk.  This is my experience in confirmation when people was to only be paired with their friends or adults in their groups.  Would anybody be interested in a prayer partner--one to share things with and to pray for each other (even out loud)?

The comment about recognizing we are the sower and not the reaper speaks to the reality we want to see results, and the truth is, we may not see results.  Evangelism committees and strategies often turn into membership drives, and if we share the story of Jesus with people, they may not join our congregation.  The image of the sower is a powerful one--the sower sows indiscriminately.

And we need to prepare to welcome others.  We can get caught up in our own groups, with those we know.  Our worshipping at three different times in many ways splits our congregation into three groups--hence the introduction of the re-member-ing services.  

Some questions to consider:  How open are yout sharing a testimony?  

Would you consider sharing a testimony with a small group or even in worship?

Idea--what if each day you reflected on what God sighting and experience you had that day.  Does it tie into a biblical narrative?  What impact do you believe that experience had on you that day and in the future?  This might become a great journaling practice!