However, not all of us feel that we have a story to tell – not like that man’s story. What happens if you grew up in a Christian home, gave your life to Jesus at age 4, and never looked back? Since we’re not necessarily allowed to ‘spice it up’ (i.e. throw in some stories about drugs and sex and stealing) how can we give a compelling account of what the Lord has done for us, and how he has had mercy on us?

Here are a couple of thoughts that might help:

1. Your passion is a story in itself. If Jesus is everything to you, and his love causes your heart to burst in amazement and appreciation; if you have felt the depths of his forgiveness and mercy; if you have ever meditated in wonder on the cross; if you have felt the Father’s embrace – if any of these things are true of you, then you have a story to tell.

It doesn’t matter to me whether a cod liver oil enthusiast came to it at a late age, having spent his former years denouncing it as a vile substitute for real medicine, and then experienced a change of heart and mind at a later stage, or whether he grew up consuming his daily dose and never deviated from the path. All that matters is his enthusiasm. If he’s passionate about it, and can testify how much it has benefitted his life, I’ll listen.

However, if you can’t articulate with any passion what Jesus has done for you, I think you need to start checking your spiritual pulse. Is there any sign of life? Are you really born again?

Those of us who grew up believing, and don’t remember a time when we didn’t believe, have so many reasons to be passionate about and grateful towards Jesus. We have enjoyed grace and favour we didn’t deserve, privileges we didn’t choose, protection we weren’t worthy of. And we know Jesus now and can speak about him with enthusiasm and passion now.

2. Your parents’ story is your story. My younger brother pointed this out to me just yesterday, and I thought is was such a great insight it had to be worth blogging about.

Your testimony does not begin with your childhood, it goes further back than that. (I don’t necessarily mean that we need to start before the foundation of the world, but you could go there if you wanted to.) The testimony of me and my brothers really begins in the 1960s, long before we were born. Our parents (and grandparents on my mother’s side) have their stories of how God rescued them, and these stories are part of our stories. I’m a Christian partly because of the powerful influence of my parents, and so my testimony begins far back, when Jesus rescued them.

Some Jewish people, even to this very day, would tell their testimony like this. “We were slaves in Egypt, and God rescued us…” The stories of our forefathers are part of our story.

So, perhaps it’s time to sit down with your parents, if possible, and ask them how they came to faith? Telling your testimony may well begin by telling theirs.

Of course, on the one hand, we need to work hard to make ourselves understood so that even newcomers walking into church for the first time won’t get totally bewildered by the new language they’re hearing. Preachers, especially, have to think about ways to fill words with meaningful descriptions, metaphors, and analogies. They have to place themselves in the pew and listen to themselves speaking, so as to make sure they are understood.

On the other hand, there are riches of truth in the Bible that simply cannot be expressed if we jettison the language of theology. The particular word Stetzer was about to unpack when he made this comment was “imputation”. What a beautiful word, if you know what it means.

Spurgeon credits a household servant for teaching him much of his theology. Now, she was either an exceptional woman, a stand-out Christian, or he lived in an age when ordinary Christians took the doctrines of Scripture seriously and were able to explain them to one another. I don’t know which is true, but I know which I’d prefer for Christians today.

Unless we work hard to understand our faith, how can we “teach one another” (Col 3:16), or raise our children in the faith (Deut 11:19), or disciple young Christians (Matt 28:18-20), or explain what makes our faith so beautiful to those who don’t yet know Jesus (1 Pet 3:15)?

If you can learn to order coffee, you can learn your theology.

He is somewhat of a legend in apologetics circles because of his gifting on the debating floor. In fact, he is such a formidable opponent that on numerous occasions atheists have either refused point-blank to engage him in public debate, or having accepted the invitation, turned it down at a later date with fairly lame excuses.

One example of a man who will not debate Craig is Professor Richard Dawkins.

I have never seen Craig debate, but I was excited to hear that he’s doing a tour here in the UK. There are a couple of events in London, including a training day held in our building. It would have been amazing to witness Stephen debating the religious authorities of his day, since “they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (Acts 6:10). Perhaps hearing Craig is the next best thing available today?

Intrigued? I certainly am.