September 26

Today’s Readings: Psalm 30 & 19; Hosea 5:8-6:6; Luke 12:49-59; Romans 1:1-15

In African-American faith communities, there is a tradition of sharing faith journeys with one another as a part of the community’s spiritual life. The practice is usually referred to as giving one’s testimony. I’ve often wondered over the years why progressive mainline churches have been afraid to embrace the practice of sharing faith journeys. While I have a couple of theories about why that is the case, I thought today I would share just one of those with you. The reason I think many progressive communities are afraid to share faith journeys is the way they’ve come to think about how this process is done. We tend to see the faith journey sharing process as one dominated by a formula (i.e. string together tons of Scripture – including chapter and verse) and one that demands that the person listening to the faith journey arrive at the same place as the person who shared the faith journey. The best description of the purpose of sharing faith journeys I’ve found is in this morning’s reading from Romans. In that passage, Paul writes that we share faith journeys so "you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (vv 11 & 12). What a wonderful way of thinking about the process of sharing faith journeys -not as an imposition but as a means of encouragement.. Today I invite you to think about how your faith journey might be used as a means of encouraging someone else on their journey. Til next time...