TELLING OUR STORIES - March 2008
Over the past few weeks I have shared in three Ministers’ Conferences and today I’m off to a fourth – so you’ll forgive me if ministers are on my mind! All sorts of unflattering comments could be made at this point about putting together lots of ministers in one place, but we won’t go there! So far as I’ve been concerned they’ve been superb occasions – characterized by lively, engaged conversation; thoughtful and joyful worship; careful and challenging reflection and a huge amount of laughter. It’s been great.
But I’ve been struck by the fact that the most powerful moments during these conferences have been when people were telling their stories. The variety of stories was incredible! In London we heard from an Alaskan who is doing work amongst Kurds in our capital city as well as from a convert from Mormonism, a Ghanaian, and a Brazilian … oh yes and someone from the UK as well. Their stories sparkled with life and humour, and all of them were clear that God’s hand was on their life and their vastly different ministries.
These conferences have also heard from a number of able speakers including a Franciscan monk, a former College Principal and a professional counsellor. All good stuff. But time and again I was struck by the fact that the moments when these speakers made deepest connection was when they were talking from their own experiences. We were stimulated by the many other things that they said, but it was as if the moments that really mattered were when they took the lid off their own lives, and gave us an insight into how they ticked.
Testimony has always been important in Baptist churches. People who are baptized will often give a personal testimony to the way that God has met with them and brought them to baptism. Induction services for new ministers will normally give generous opportunity to hear how God has been at work. But I am concerned that we often confine testimonies to these special occasions. I am sure we would all be encouraged to hear more frequent testimonies to God’s grace and love. And the reason for this is that every one of our stories is unique. The way that God has met with us and helped us through our lives will have many similarities to other people – but at the end of the day it’s a one-off! He loves us as individuals and meets us where we are.
Thank God that we’ve all got a story to tell! But let’s not leave it there. We need to take the next step of looking for creative opportunities to share our stories and helping others to share theirs. I am sure that’s the kind of church that God wants us to be.
Previous articles...
The Power of Invitation February 2008)
Seeing with new eyes (Janaury 2008)
Deep Listening (December 2007)
On Our Knees Again...and again (November 2007)
Living With Danger (October 2007)
Summer Reflections (September 2007)
Moving On (August 2007)
Looking at old age with new eyes! (July 2007)
To assemble or not to assemble?! (June 2007)
Freedom - The Search Goes On! (May 2007)