Dear Prayer Warriors,
Pasha sighed with obvious relief. I just shared with the men that one of the reasons many men do not witness is that they think their testimony is uninteresting. They had all heard “powerful” testimonies, and they all agreed that, by that standard, they certainly do not have one so why bother? Pasha was obviously relieved. He and the other men shared sheepishly that their testimonies were not very interesting, and as a result, they rarely shared them. Compared with the stories of descents into hell, appearances of Jesus and angels, ascents into heaven and the horrible life stories that are so often presented, these men just did not see their testimonies as having much of an impact on their sphere of influence, much less the nation of Russia. Theirs were simple gospel testimonies - men who had received Christ as children, in Christian homes or in the workplace through the witness of a fellow businessman. They had nothing mystical to share, and none had been involved in any heinous sins so far as their fellow man was concerned.
This discussion came to light as we participated in weekly home evangelistic calls, sharing our testimony and using the tool of the Four Spiritual Laws put out by New Life Ministries. Neither Eleanor’s nor my testimonies would be considered particularly “powerful” by the standards of some. I received Christ through the Four Spiritual Laws at a Baptist church youth retreat weekend, and Eleanor received Christ through the Bridge Illustration as a result of door-to-door evangelism in her dorm by two women involved in the Navigator collegiate ministry.
In doing these home visitations, we have two goals: first, to call men and women to repentance and faith in Christ as their personal Savior, and second, to model how to do this for those accompanying us and thereby encourage them that they do not need what passes in the modern evangelical church as a “powerful” testimony. We have used our testimonies to model for them that the power is in the Holy Spirit, the clearly presented gospel from the Word of God, and not in the dramatic stories which so often accompany it. The Holy Spirit, the gospel and the Word of God are all the “power” which is needed.
Pasha, who has been translating, has observed this phenomenon the most. It was Pasha who was relieved at the fact that you do not have to have a dramatic testimony. It was Pasha who observed that our witness was not centered on dramatic stories but on the Word of God. It was Pasha who told me after the first visit, “I could do that!” This, of course, is the objective - to model something simple and reproducible.
Fishing is a good example of what I am trying to communicate to these men. When you take your young son fishing, you do not have him watch as you tie intricate lures on your rod and then begin fishing, using advanced casting and fishing techniques. You do not hold up for him examples of preposterous fishing feats he will never be able to accomplish. You do not expose him to local superstitions of spirits, ghosts and miracles which produce, in a mystical nature, fish of all sizes and shapes, jumping into his boat and nets. You do not lift up to him the glories of your past decadent life and its role in making you the great fisherman you are today - not if you want him to learn to fish. If your goal is for your son to be another bombastic teller of fishing yarns, that is a good route to take but not if you want him to learn to fish. If you want him to learn to enjoy fishing, you teach him to fish in a way in which, as quickly as possible, he is catching fish on his own. As he grows, so will his skills – but it is your hope that he never becomes one of those buffoons who sit around telling preposterous fishing stories, producing proofs of ever-increasing dubious origins.
It is the same way with fishing for men, and I was happy that Pasha felt that he could reproduce what I was doing. I was happy that he was unimpressed with my story and greatly impressed with the power of the Holy Spirit, the gospel message and the Word of God. I was seeking to model for him a mode of fishing for men that was simple, direct and reproducible in his immediate life. In fact, that very week Pasha shared with some of the men at work, and as a result, one couple attended the Marriage Covenant Seminar.
However, this is the antithesis of the modern “powerful” testimony which cannot be reproduced. To my continued embarrassment, I find that the mysticism and voyeurism of the modern evangelical church knows no bounds. Fantastic tales of spiritual encounters, apparitions and mysticism, which were once relegated to B-grade movies and the fortuneteller’s tent, are now paraded before the church, found in Christian bookstores, broadcasted in Christian media and presented as spectacles in the revival tents of the world.
While the effective gospel is universal in its nature, the “powerful” testimony, by contrast, is unique unto itself. The person with the “weak and boring” testimony (e.g. the rest of us shmucks who have not been to heaven or hell, to whom Jesus has not bothered to visit, who were not shamelessly narcissistic and decadent) can only bring the lost to hear the “powerful” testimony, in the hopes they might be saved by it. Lacking that opportunity, we can give the person a book or DVD. We cannot, however, employ the so-called “powerful” testimony when we witness because we do not have one.
You see, the “powerful” testimony has either one or both of two elements. First, this account entails, in vivid detail, a horrible lifestyle; and/or secondly, the witness centers around a mystical, spiritual conversion experience which baffles both mind and imagination. These false mystical events may include (but are not limited to) the appearance of Jesus, descent into Hell, ascent into Heaven or any number of other unbiblical mystical events.
There are four unexpected consequences of the “powerful” testimony.
First, a loss of confidence in the Gospel and, by default, the Holy Spirit. Romans 1:16 says that the “gospel” is the “power of God for salvation to everyone” – this power is universal, it is not unique, it requires nothing spectacular on the part of the witness other than a willingness to share the gospel message. With the advent of the “powerful” testimony, men have lost confidence in both the Gospel and the Holy Spirit. Now, something more is needed to penetrate the darkness, and the average man is found wanting. He does not have what it takes. He does not have a “powerful” testimony.
Second, a loss of confidence in the Word of God. For over 2,000 years, Christians have relied on the Word of God to work in men’s lives for salvation. Their personal story was of little consequence. What was essential was the Word of God as the agent of belief. God the Holy Spirit confidently assured the church and the witness that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). With the advent of the “powerful” testimony, men are encouraged to tell “their” story. Men are cautioned not to quote the Word of God, or if they do, to simply paraphrase it as Scripture is archaic sounding and hard to understand. A new generation of men who have little confidence in the Word of God and who do not have a “powerful” testimony to replace it have become silent – feeling they have nothing significant to say.
Third, the devaluation of the “weak” testimony of most Christians. For instance, take the testimony of my four children. Poor children, they have a weak testimony. They will never have a DVD made of them, they will never have a book offer and they will never be flown around the country to give their “weak” testimony at conferences and revival meetings. No, not my poor children. They were raised in a Christian home by Christian parents. They grew up in the church, hearing the gospel at home and from the pulpit. At an early age, each one received Christ and was spared the heartaches of other not-so-fortunate children. They were obedient in home, successful in school and leaders in the church. They married Christian spouses and remain active leaders in their congregations. Yes, my children do not have a “powerful” testimony. As such, they will never be put on the lecture circuit, have a DVD made of their conversion nor books written about how they received Christ.
Lastly, the exploitation (both ways) of the church and the so called “powerful” testimonies. A danger of the “powerful” testimony is that it breeds exploitation of the church and of the individual. Men and women quickly discover that the short route to the podium, the publishing contract, the DVD sales, the plane flights to and around the U.S. and more is a fantastic, mystical, mindboggling “powerful” testimony. Churches, knowing that both empty seats and offering plates will be filled to overflowing, ask no questions. Publishing houses and bookstores, knowing that profits from sales will skyrocket, ask no questions. They are willingly exploited by expanded, exaggerated, dubious and sometimes false tales, and in turn, these institutions exploit and encourage the teller of these tales.
The “powerful” testimony is never presented as a model in Scripture. In fact, there are no “Holy Spirit crusades,” “miracle crusades,” or anything of the sort in the entire book of Acts. When people witness in the book of Acts, you never hear of the vivid details of mysticism and sin that we hear today - a passing statement, perhaps, on the rare occasion, but never do you see or hear of what passes as a “powerful” testimony in today’s church. Central are the universal elements of witnessing, which all can use successfully, in all times, in all cultures, in all situations. This witness transcends both time and culture. As 1 John 5:10-12 so aptly reminds us, "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."
The power of this testimony is in the work of the Holy Spirit, the truths of the Gospel and the effective power of the Word of God. Because of this, every Christian is empowered to witness by four things:
- We all have a gross and disgusting testimony (Ephesians 2:1-2);
- We all have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8);
- We all have the effectual Gospel message (Romans 1:16); and
- We all have at our disposal the living Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; I Peter 1:23).
There is just ONE “powerful” testimony. It is the clearly shared gospel of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and backed by the holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word of God. Because of this fact, we all have not a “powerful” testimony but a “powerful” Gospel. Let us boldly cling to Romans 1:16 and declare together "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
By His Mercy,
II Corinthians 4:1
Rev. John S. Mahon
Grace Community Int. – St. Petersburg, Russia |
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