Tell It Like It Is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony

Lillian Daniel

When a study group at the seemingly traditional Church of the Redeemer in New Haven, Connecticut, read about the practice of testimony, members approached the descriptions of people sharing their faith as if they were reading an anthropology article—an intriguing account about what other people from some entirely different culture did.

During the 2000 Lenten season, however, the congregation slowly began exploring the practice of testimony—a practice that would eventually revitalize their worship and transform their congregational culture. In Tell It Like It Is, Lillian Daniel, pastor of the congregation, describes how the practice of testimony strengthened lay leadership, fostered more intimate community, and drew the congregation closer to God.

Tell It Like It Is includes some of the testimonies worshipers heard and reflections from both those who spoke and those who listened to these stories about God at work in the world. Through the simple practice of speaking about God’s presence in their lives, Daniel and her congregation discovered that speaking about God’s transformation had the power to transform their church.