"Can I Just Say Praise the Lord?": The Death of Testimony Services

I've often heard stories of how my grandma McKinley couldn't contain her praise in church. She would jump up and yell "can I just say praise the Lord? PRAAAAAIIIIIIIIISE THE LORD!" Likewise, my mother can't possibly be held back from offering her testimony (which I can literally quote verbatim after having heard it a million times) when a moderator asks, "does anyone have a testimony they want to share?" I have mocked her for this practice for years, but she remains undaunted.

See, I grew up in churches in which testimony or "praise report" time was an integral part of the service. Part of the importance of gathering together was that we would tell each other of the goodness of the Lord in our lives that week. It was exciting to hear that the prayers we had been praying for weeks were being answered. Sadly, this practice seems to be endangered in American churches.

I will admit that I understand the reason for the shift away from testimonies. Many churches gave up on the practice because there's alway that one guy who ruins it for the group. You have that one person gets up and uses the words "prayer request" and "gossip" interchangeably. Before you know it,  you know what everybody in the church has done and who they've done it with. It is clearly not edifying, and thus understandable why some churches resist this time.

Then you come across negative Nelly who can't figure out what a testimony is. They either spend the whole time saying  "the devil was really after me this week" and never give God or glory, or my personal favorite, they can't figure out if they even have anything to praise God for. I was once in a service in which someone stood up and gave a beautiful testimony about how God had healed them that week. They sat down and another person testified. When the second member was done, the first stood back up to say "I'm not really sure that was God who healed me." Really?

There also seems to be a prevailing theory that we can replace our personal testimonies with praise and worship time. While worship songs can be a great tool in expressing our feelings and love for God, there is no replacement for using our own words with our own mouths to tell our own stories. We enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise according to Psalm 100, but it seems like churches are skipping the gate stage and making a run for the courts with our worship, which doesn't quite work the same.

And then there are churches that reject testimony service simply because it "takes too long". Ummmm the God who created every molecule in existence chose to take time from His busy "keeping the universe in motion" agenda to heal and deliver us and we can't give Him 30 minutes on program?

This is my point: we overcome by our testimony. So why are we robbing people of their chance to be victors? I can't see how any of the reasons I listed are worthy of shutting down this practice. If the service seems to be disorderly, maybe we as leaders should take the time to mentor congregations and teach them what is acceptable?

"But Lindsey, why do they need to 'overcome' in front of the whole church?" I'm glad you asked. For one, it offers accountability. When we know what each other's struggles are, we can help them stay on track. Secondly, it is important to share our "mountaintop experiences" to help those in the valley. What if your story was the thing that would keep your brother from giving up hope?

Now that I am in a place of having to place my full trust in God, I often think back to those stories of how God made provision for the people around me. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, so I know if He did it for them, He will do it for me. What concerns me is that we are raising a generation of young people who have never heard these stories. What will be their point of reference when the day comes to believe in God for a miracle? How will they know what God is capable of if we never tell them?