Every Member Has a Story

I recently conducted a writing workshop for a friend in communications at the Ontario Conference in Canada, titled “Every member a writer”. The workshop was a basic news-writing workshop, a session I’ve done plenty of times. It covered simple principles to help participants communicate a story and gave even beginners some simple tools with which to work. 

I love the idea of every member being a writer and agree that it’s possible, but I want to expand on our theme a little: Every member has a story. Thankfully, given my work, stories are a passion of mine. And I’m a big believer in the power of testimonies. It’s been a little while since I’ve written about testimonies in this space, but every time I do an event like the workshop in Canada, I’m reminded of the power of people’s stories. Somewhere in your church service, Sabbath school, or prayer meeting programs should be the opportunity to share stories about what God is doing. 

It is easy to get caught up in studying the Bible, sharing truths, reading the lesson, or following the words and thoughts of great biblical teachers and expositors. However, we, too, often underestimate the power of personal witness. Ellen White says as members of His body, we are to be “His missionaries, bodies of light throughout the world, to be as signs to the people, living epistles known and read of all men” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 631). 

The apostle Paul did this well. A number of times in his letters, he used his own hardships and struggles—even his conversion story—to paint the picture of what God was doing in his life and point to God’s glory rather than to his own. 

Paul shared his story with the hostile crowd in Jerusalem. He was then imprisoned but got the opportunity to share his life story with King Agrippa. Every opportunity he got, Paul highlighted what God was doing in him. Paul, who described himself as a Pharisee of the Pharisees (the very best), had learning and knowledge of the Scriptures but was not afraid to reference his own experiences with God. 

If we decide to take this calling seriously—to deliver God stories from our lives into the lives of those around us—it challenges us in at least two ways. 

The first is by making us more aware of God’s work in our lives. When we are remembering and retelling stories of what God has done, we are walking in the footsteps of the ancient Israelites, who were encouraged to tell the story of how God rescued them from Egypt. 

“And you shall teach them [stories of what God did] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7, RSV).

Remembering the events through which God has led us and looking for evidence of His influence on our lives is an important boost for our own faith when the going gets tough or God seems silent. It can also be a blessing to others going through similar circumstances. As you relate to them, they are more open to sharing their own stories, trusting, and opening up to God. 

Our second challenge is to be walking with God every day—to have the Holy Spirit working in our lives—so we can have fresh and recent stories to tell. Our conversion story is important, but if that was the only time Paul encountered God, then it could have become stale in the retelling. Instead, Paul had a wealth of evidence of the Spirit’s work on which to draw. He could list the challenges and difficulties in his life and the places where God protected or saved him. 

As Christians, we should never forget our conversion, but our journey shouldn’t stop there. My challenge is to seek the Holy Spirit in my life—to desire new testimonies and fresh faith stories to share with those around me that I encounter every day. 

We can join the writer of Lamentations, who, in the middle of mourning for all that Israel had lost, was able to recognize that “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (3:22, 23).

This article was originally published on the website of Adventist Record