Until the cows turn their heads.

Witness of the Word, simply described, is “telling what you know to be true about Jesus and God.”  Fred B. Craddock is one of the great preachers of our time.  Here is a description of him:  “He is a diminutive, bespectacled man whose voice is so soft that he once compared it to ‘wind whistling through a splinter on the post.’ ” (Learn more about Fred Craddock in this CNN piece.)  When Fred went to college he was not given much encouragement to preach.  After his first speech in class the teacher blurted out “Do it again, I didn’t hear a word you said.”  Hardly praise.  Following that experience Fred was given pause.  Maybe he wasn’t called to tell what he knew to be true about Jesus and God afterall.  So he experimented with cows.  He would go out into a nearby pasture and tell stories with as much passion as he could to the cows.  He said “I thought if I could get Holsteins to raise their heads I would be heard in the churches.” (from Craddock Stories by Fred Craddock, Chalice Press, 2001. p. 7)

Telling what you know about Jesus and God may or may not make cows turn their heads (or any human being either).  But if you practice a bit, you just might be surprised.

Where might you be willing to practice your witness this week, all by yourself?

  The shower?  Your car?  On your run or morning walk?