Something to Grieve

 I have always been grateful for the influence of the church on my life.  Some things about the church of my past have all but disappeared.  I am grateful, too, that I was around when some of those things belonging only to the memory of a few were common happenings.  One of those remembered things was what was called the Testimony Meeting.  It was often something not planned, or maybe it was planned by a preacher who had a sketchy sermon.  I am old enough now to consider the possibility, but not back then.    

In my days of ministry I often invited people to stand where they were in the pews and share something of their faith in Jesus Christ.  As a boy growing up, my neck was on a swivel looking at those older folks who spoke.  As I became older and encouraging others to share their faith, it was never a disappointing experience, but an inspiring one.  Of course, there were some who could be counted on to speak at the drop of a hat and what they shared was almost predictable, but there were also those timid souls who seemed afraid of the the sound of their own voice who stood for the first time to speak.  As I think back over the years of ministry I can remember more than just a few of those who stood to tell the rest of us about their faith in Jesus.    

The demise of the Testimony Meeting is something over which the church should grieve, but grieving over such a thing is simply not within the psyche of today's church where each minute is carefully planned and orchestrated.  While some of the more contemporary churches might speak of such a possibility with openness, the program is too important to allow something as unplanned as the work of the Holy Spirit to take over and run the show.  And, if such is true for the modern version of worship, it is even more true for the traditional gatherings with all the liturgical trappings.  The grieving will have to be for a small group to remember.