If you ask me

When the last song was sung, a member of the Praise Team offered words of encouragement from the song and then prayed. The words of a chorus we used to sing in our family devotions came to mind and I wanted to share them. I wanted to testify. But the brethren began to take the projector down and set the pulpit on the podium. Then the pastor was upfront and leading us in prayer. Awkward. And I confess, I don’t really know the rules for testifying in this fellowship. I mean, spontaneous testifying.

More and more I am realizing how strongly I believe such testifying is an important part of church life.

I know how discouraging it can be for the pastor, when he asks for testimonies, and there are none offered. But this is a two-edged sword. When testifying is not a regular part of church life, people are not prepared to testify. I believe we need to develop a culture where testifying is encouraged, welcomed, and sought. One in which it’s not a big deal, an odd occurrence, an unusual thing; in which it’s not awkward, but normal.

I know this can interrupt the flow of the well planned service. But maybe, just maybe, the Holy Spirit has something for the body that wasn’t planned by the leaders. It could happen, y’know!

Let me hasten to add, this is not meant as an attack on the pastor or church! No, no, no! It is true, this is what I believe, but this is more like an “if you ask me” thing. Truth is, I have attended several churches the past few years and none of them seemed to have testifying as part of their body life. I confess further, that the churches I pastored and attended in which testifying was part of the body life all had Sunday night services. While testifying was welcome on Sunday morning, it was much more frequent in the evening service. I know it can be part of a morning service: when I had the opportunity to lead the worship (and preach) earlier this summer, we had a time of testifying. It began with a specific invitation, “Is there anyone here who would like to confess their faith in Christ? Who would like to stand and confess, ‘I believe Jesus is the Son of God’?” It was a blessed time and led to other testimonies and prayer requests. Wonderful!

I believe this is a vital part of a healthy church life. It tells us God is at work among us. And isn’t that awesome?