Growing up as a pastor’s kid in church, I heard lots of people share their stories, or testimonies. Most the stories that I heard, or at least the ones I remembered, were really intense, involving drugs, sex, or getting shot. I still remember one church service many years ago, during an open-mic sharing time, when a drunk guy steps up and shares more than we’d bargained for. We’ve since stopped doing open-mic sharing time.
But at least the drunk guy had a cool story! Because of this, I grew up thinking I didn’t have a good testimony. I never did drugs, never drank until twenty-one, never had premarital sex, and never got shot, (unless you count paintball). I didn’t even have any cool sports injuries. So I thought I didn’t have a story to share.
I’ve since thought through a number of ways that I’m personally thankful for the story that God has given me. This post is meant to encourage those with stories like mine. If you have a dramatic testimony, I’m so thankful for what God has done in your life, and I’m not knocking that at all. This is just me trying to think through and help those who are like me, with a “boring testimony.” By “boring,” I mean that our conversion processes were slow, gradual, and non-dramatic.
So here are my “Five Blessings of a Boring Testimony:”
1) A boring story speaks to lots of other Christians without dramatic conversions.
Lots of people couldn’t tell you the date or time of their conversion to Christ. I don’t think anyone is born a Christians (God has no “grandkids”). Every person is responsible to receive Jesus individually and believe in him and thus gets adopted into his family. Theologically speaking, everyone has a conversion/adaption date (the technical word is Justification). Many of us just don’t know when that was, although we probably have some theories. And I think that’s totally OKAY!
I’ll often share my story to students about growing up in a Christian home, and I’ve found that many of them resonate with my testimony, as their own stories are similar. Our trust is not in the date, time, or remembrance of a “conversion experience,” but instead in the Converter! We don’t necessarily need to know when we were saved, but more importantly, that we ARE saved.
2) A boring testimony highlights God sovereign protection of you, preventing you from some pains and certain sin-patterns.
In college, I once heard a Christian say that he wished he didn’t grow up in the church. Without knowing his backstory, I think that’s nonsense. A boring testimony shows that God sometimes choses to preserve and protect some of his children from certain sins. This isn’t because he loves them more or because they’re better people, not at all. We really don’t know why God protects some people from some things and lets others go their own way for awhile. But both examples, both kinds of people, make God look good by his work in their lives.
3) A boring testimony shows the goodness of God, that his plan really is best.
Like the blessing mentioned above, a boring story shows people that we don’t need to touch the stove to know that it’s hot. Some people will still need to touch the stove, and we’ll be there afterwards to help bandage their charred palm. But not everyone needs to get burned; not everyone needs to experiment with the things the culture says are must-haves. We need both those who’ve been burned and those who haven’t to testify that God direction is best for us.
4) A boring testimony exposes the so-called “church sins” that are particularly prominent in religious people.
Yes, we’re sinners too, just as bad as those of you with dramatic conversion stories. We may not have used lots of profanity, pornography, or pre-marital sex, but we do peddle in godless pride. There are sins that are far subtler, sins of the Pharisees or the older brother in the prodigal son story (see Luke 15). Secret church-sins often include arrogance, entitlement, selfishness, superiority, self-righteousness, judgmental, jerk-like, critical outlooks, and legalism. Kids in Christian homes need to be saved too.
5) A boring story shows us that much of Christian transformation is slow, steady, and gradual.
Our culture wants instant results! Think Amazon Prime, one-click ordering, two-day shipping. A boring testimony helpfully cuts against our “microwave culture” that wants instant results. Most of the Christian life is boring, mundane, and ordinary. Sometimes progress is two steps forward, one step back. While God might have given an alcoholic instant deliverance from alcohol, most of us struggle intensely, day by day with the Holy Spirit, to undo old habits and practices. Most of the time, it’s a lot of work. And like Jesus’ garden metaphors, most things grow slowly. Our character and Christian-growth is no exception.
Thanks for reading? How have you been encouraged by the story God has given you? What are some other advantages that you see to a “boring testimony?”
-Tyler
