Our Purpose

As writers we seek to tell stories that entertain people, that make them think, that in some way bring a smile to their face. As Christians we seek to spread God's word in any fashion that we can. As Christian writers, we seek to do both. Our purpose is to minister to our fellow Christians as well as nonbelievers. I am part of a Christian writers critique group, and the question has been raised several times about the content of the stories we should post. It seemed obvious to me since we were a Christian writers group, we should post Christian stories or stories that we are trying to put a Christian message into. Many of us at some point in our past had tried writing for the secular market. Because, let's face it, that's where the money is. The Christian section in most bookstores is pretty scant. Even the Christian bookstores in my area have a poor selection of Christian fiction. They seem focused on study bibles and gift type things. And there aren't very many Christian magazines that publish fiction, and the ones that do don't publish much of it. Not real attractive to a young writer seeking a career in the Christian market. But eventually we all came to our senses and realized, fame and fortune or not, God put us on this Earth to serve His purpose, and he gave us our writing talent for that purpose. We should serve God in everything we do, not just when we go to church or when we're in the presence of other church members. We should serve God when we go to work. We should serve God when we go to school. We should serve God when we're out shopping. We should serve God when we're brushing our teeth in the morning. We should serve God in every aspect of our lives, so it makes sense that we should serve Him when we write.

If you can't think of a way to include God's message into your story, then you probably shouldn't be writing the story. There are enough people in the world today writing godless stories and getting paid plenty of the devil's money for it. We don't need our fellow Christians doing the same thing. Does that mean that you can't write stories that would appeal to a secular audience? Of course not. We're trying to reach those secular people. But if your story doesn't in some fashion bring God's message to light, then you've wasted your time. Does this mean that you can't send your story to a secular publisher? Again, of course not. The chances of your story making it past a secular editor are slight. But if God wills it and it happens, all the better. Secular magazines have larger circulations and secular book publishers have larger print runs, spreading your message to more people.

How do I include God's message into my story without sounding too preachy? This takes practice, and learning your bible inside and out is the key. Through His word and through the guidance of His Holy Spirit, God will show you how to teach his message in any fashion that you desire. The bible is full of wisdom. Whether you believe in God or Jesus or not, you can't deny that the bible is full of wisdom. In your story, you can very simply present some of this wisdom in the situations you put your characters into. In many of my stories, I take a character who does not believe in God or Jesus and show how he eventually comes to realize the truth. Or I take a Christian character and a non-Christian character, and the non-Christian character eventually comes to know the truth through the example of the Christian one. Or I take a Christian character and show his struggles with carnality and the continuous battles we all have with the world. This is especially true for new Christians. It's hard to let go of that old lifestyle, even though we know it's wrong.

There are many ways to include God's message in your work. I have friends that aren't Christians, but I don't discard them or start throwing the bible at them. I live an example, and sometimes they get curious and ask me questions. That's when I give them a bit of God's wisdom. I don't start dragging them to church with me. I don't start quoting scriptures at them, chiding them for their lifestyle. Later they may get a little more curious and ask me another question. There's another opportunity. Our job is to present God's truth to the world in some form or another, and let them make their own decision. God gave each one of us a free will, and part of that free will is making the decision to follow Him. If you start trying to shove chunks of theology and righteousness into your stories, you're apt to lose those nonbelievers. But if you do it subtly through examples, you'll keep their attention and be able to show God's truth in the end, letting them make their own decision.