Story Telling

The power of stories is impossible to estimate. A simple first-person narrative lives as it is handed down from generation to generation. Story telling was the method of the Pentecostal church that formed me. Back in the day we called it "Testimony Time." I cannot remember sermons heard in childhood, but I cannot forget the songs and stories.

In response to, "Does anyone have a testimony," someone would stand and relate their experience. In the process of doing so they effectively moved the great truths that were preached from the pulpit to the marketplace. Theory met practice. The theoretical became actual. Gradually, the practice of impromptu testimony has become a quaint memory. Worship services once lasted two hours or more. The church made time for the Holy Spirit to prompt those living in the arena of common life to tell how an Eternal God made a difference in the rough and tumble reality of daily life.

To be fair, some abused the privilege and practice by repeating a story ad nauseam, sharing too many details, or speaking more about themselves than Jesus. One runs that risk in church – even in the pulpit! But, risk is always an ingredient of faith. One can eat the seed and be sure of a meal, or risk planting the seed and waiting for the harvest. Maybe the contemporary church could revisit the need for story telling!

I learned that stories reinforce hope. If God is working today in the life of another follower of Jesus, a person I know and trust, their testimony fortifies my hope of Divine intervention in my life. The promises of God take on flesh and blood reality in a well-told story. The same One who rescued Daniel from the den filled with lions, who used a fault-filled Samson to deliver Israel from the Philistines, and prepared Nehemiah to organize a world-class rehab project, may use me! God creates, cares, and acts today! I just heard another story of how He did it.

Stories amplify great classroom lecturers. I would never minimize the importance of what I have learned in classrooms, but the lessons learned there have been fortified by the examples and experiences shared by many who had no special academic or professional qualifications. Some of the storytellers from whom I have learned could barely read or write, but they effectively shared their experiences with God. Their story was not marked with "deep insights" gained from "original languages," but authentic God-man encounters.

Some stories increased my capacity to receive vision. Many speak of "casting vision." I am quite certain that the "visions" and "dreams" promised by the prophet and explained by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2) come down from above and are not "cast" horizontally, from one mere human to another. The Sprit-ordered, Spirit-inspired, testimony is a record of how the Eternal One entered time and changes a person’s direction, heals their disease, or encourages a desperate and downtrodden doubter to trust and thrive. When questioned, true visionaries quickly attribute their special insights to the Lord, never to a brainstorming session.

As I awoke this morning the simple chorus I learned to sing during a "testimony service" was filling my spirit. The lyrics point to Jesus. The possibility of the miraculous is imbedded in a few simple words. The story of a hemorrhaging women recorded in Matthew 9 comes to the forefront. Her testimony still lives and encourages many.
Oh, it is Jesus,
Yes, it is Jesus;
Oh, it Jesus in my soul;
For I have touched the hem of His garment,
And His blood has made me whole.
The impromptu, extemporaneous format for testimony may not be the best for today’s church, but the story still must be told.