What is Christian Writing? - Writing Class Series Week 1

Welcome to "The Inspiration and the Perspiration." This online class is designed to help you seek God for creative inspiration and develop that lump of clay through the writing process to a publishable book. Pull up a desk and make yourself at home. Our topic this week is, "What is Christian Writing?"

In order to discuss what "Christian Writing" is, we must first ask a more basic question. "What is Writing?" To be all academic for a moment, writing is a symbolic activity of meaning making. So what in the heck does that mean? First of all, words are symbols. If I hand you the letters d, o, and g, I am not handing you a dog. I am handing you three letters that make a word. We all understand that the letter symbols d, o, and g together make up the word dog, and that the word dog represents a furry four-legged creature of the canine family. Or maybe it represents an ugly female...hmm. Not a very nice meaning, but the word could be taken that way. It could mean a scary doberman baring his fangs, or a cuddly little puppy.

Are you starting to get the picture? Letters are symbols that make larger symbols called words. Words strung together begin to create meaning. Writing is a symbolic activity of meaning making. But what are we symbolizing? As writers, ultimately we are looking to communicate thoughts and ideas to our readers. As Christian writers, I hope we are sharing something from our hearts as well.

So who can be a writer? Basically, everyone has something to communicate, something to say. We are all creative beings made in the image of a creative God, and each of us has a unique voice. While a great imagination and good grammar skills certainly help, in the end I would say that most people with moderate education and intelligence can be taught to write. I think what really matters for a Christian writer is a) is God calling you to write, and b) are you willing to spend the time and hard work to become a good writer.

Now that we know what writing is and who can undertake the challenge of becoming a writer, let's get to the nitty gritty of defining Christian writing. Some people say that anything written by a Christian is therefore Christian writing. Others say that it must be geared toward a Christian audience or that it must contain an inherent Biblical message.

Francine Rivers, arguably the most famous Christian fiction author of our day, said this a few months ago on the Seekerville blog. "A Christian who writes can write anything, and not necessarily something that is glorifying to the Lord. They write for a market. A Christian writer centers their work on Jesus Christ. He is central to their story. The purpose of Christian fiction is to whet the appetite of the reader for the real thing: a relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and a passion for His Word. It’s not that one writer is better than the other. Each is called to a different purpose. A Christian who writes can still (and often does) weave their 'world view' into their stories. Their goal is to entertain. A Christian writer is focused on presenting Christ. And, of course, both want to sell books."

I'm not sure if I agree with her use of terms, but she brings up an interesting point about the difference in goals and audiences. Entertainment has to be the goal of the Christian who writes for a secular audience because the secular publisher is primarily concerned with business and making money. Although, in some instances, literary quality is also taken into consideration. Christian publishers still have to operate as a business in order to survive, but often have a heart to minister as well.

Due to the difference in audience, the Christian publisher can afford to offer books with ministry value and make money at the same time. Keep in mind that Christian publishers do expect writers to keep their books clean. This is because much of their audience buys Christian fiction in order to avoid profanity, gratuitous violence, and inappropriate sexual content.

On the other hand, I consider Christians who focus on the secular writing market to be doing a form of missionary work. While they are limited in how they can present the gospel, theirs can be a worthwhile ministry. I have a feeling Francine Rivers would agree that if their heart truly is for ministry, these individuals would qualify as Christian writers as well. So, maybe I do agree with her definition after all.

Christian writing should flow from the heart of a Christian where the spirit of God dwells. And whether overtly or subtely, it should in some way communicate God's message to the world. So now I'm going to take my own stab at defining Christian Writing. Are you ready...drum roll please...

Christian writing is any writing inspired by the Holy Spirit with the goal of advancing God's kingdom on earth.

Christian writing is, or rather should be, a writing ministry guided by the Holy Spirit. For some of you this definition may sound simple. A relief even. We have a helper along this journey and a clear purpose for undertaking it. Although we still have a long hard road of writing, revising, editing, publishing, and marketing ahead of us, we are doing this in God and through God. The pressure is off of us. If the work is of him, he will see it through to completion.

Maybe someone out there is thinking, "Great, God's going to hand me my writing on a silver platter." Guess again, buddy! You can't skip through the writing process and expect to create something worthwhile. Even the prophets in the Bible crafted their writing. We will discuss this more in week three.

But I bet for a few others joining us from cyberspace, the definition I offered sounds daunting. You're not quite sure if you know how to be led by the Holy Spirit, how to hear God's voice. Maybe you get vague impressions, but you never feel quite certain they're from God.

Well, don't worry. Next week the subject will be how to receive inspiration from the Holy Spirit. This is an issue close to my heart, which I have been studying and teaching for many years. I hope you'll come back and allow me to share my thoughts with you.

In the meantime, here are some questions for you. Please answer in the comment section below:

Are you called to write? What is your purpose as a writer?

What genre (type of writing as in nonfiction, novels, magazine articles) are you interested in writing?

What books are out there that are similar to what you desire to write?

If you're already a writer, can you hone your purpose and subgenre even more?

Homework: Continue to think and pray about your purpose as a writer throughout the week. Go online and research what is happening in your genre. What is being published today? Who is publishing it? Who is reading it? What books are winning awards? What books are best sellers? Also, please consider reading one popular book in your genre and one writing craft book in your genre over the course of the next eight weeks.