Missionary Writing: Truth Hidden in the Obvious

"The first step in missionary writing is to pray. That sounds obvious, but it is frequently overlooked in the headlong rush to write." - Jeff Calloway

 

That which seems like it should be obvious, often isn't. And, what is obvious to one person often isn't to the next. Sometimes, what was obvious to me yesterday is no longer obvious to me today. I'm not disagreeing with Jeff's statement above, but rather I'm saying it is sometimes O.k., even highly desirable, to state the obvious. Think about the person who talks about the elephant in the room. Sometimes talking about the things that are obvious (but that no one is talking about) can really loosen things up. Sometimes, like when you are working out a math "story problem", it is useful to just state what it is that you know you know. That's the way much of the book "Missionary Writing," by Jeff Calloway was to me: it has a lot of things in it that seem like maybe they should be obvious, but until someone points them out to you, you might not think of them.

Surprise!

I assumed when I got this book, that it would be about how to write home to friends, family and church members about what it is that you are doing while on your missionary trip. What are you learning about? What are you seeing the Lord do in his work among the people you are ministering to? That's about the only kind of thing I had been exposed to regarding missionary writing. But, that's not what Jeff had in mind at all. His book is about how to be a missionary through use of the written word! It is the complete opposite direction from what I had thought was the obvious direction for a book like this.

Although not what I expected, this book has been helpful to me in my quest to be a better writer in several ways. First, it is practical. This book is a how-to. It doesn't have a lot of flowery language or metaphors. It is a straight forward, easy to understand book on how to write as a missionary. Beyond that, though, it has advice that applies well to how to be a better writer in general. For example, it has a great section on seeing with fresh eyes. Although the words were about being a missionary to your readers, about showing people the Lord with your written words instead of just with your speech or your bodily presence, I kept seeing things that apply equally well to how to write a sermon or even how to write persuasive materials unrelated to Christianity. Also, it worked for me like a long set of writing prompts: it helped me look around and realize how many things around me were "obvious" (as in, right in front of me), but until one takes the time to deeply consider them, they are easy to overlook. Jeff has clearly spent a lot of time considering his subject. As someone who has lots of experience with missions and missionaries, the things he writes about are probably second nature to him, but he has the gift of writing it down in such a way that they seem like we should all have been doing it his way all along, because it is just "obviously" a really good way to do things. After having read Jeff's book, I see so many more things that I could write about than before having read it. He opened my eyes to vast quantities of material that are all around me (yet, I was having trouble seeing).

Seeing with New Eyes

I hope I’m not going on about this obviousness thing way too long, but it really is a big deal. To get an idea how big a deal this is, think about the areas of your life where you know a lot about a subject, but you've been using the things you know so much and for so long that you've forgotten that you ever learned them. The fact you are reading this means there is a VERY large number of these things that you know without knowing that you know them. Think of taking care of a baby. The baby doesn't know how to eat (at least not with fork and knife), or bathe itself, or walk, talk, or use a toilet. It can't dress itself. It can't do math or drive or pay bills. The list is almost endless, yet these are things that we, as adults, do almost without thinking. (Maybe we have to think about math and paying bills...maybe we have to think about those quite a bit, but you get the point. The baby can't do them at all and most of us can do them without a lot of help.) I loved this book partially because it tells us one thing after another that are foundational truths to the work of being a missionary. These truths are the things that allow a person to walk and talk like a missionary: ideas like chapter 4, "Understanding Those I Am Writing For". These truths are so foundational (like being able to walk and talk) that we can sometimes forget about them. And, these are things a newcomer to the field might not think to do the way the author suggests.

A Confession

Over the years, I've gotten better at writing. However, I still sometimes just run out of things to say. I also get tired of writing. Sometimes I'm frustrated by the lack of response my writing receives. In fact, I was recently so frustrated that I hadn't written anything substantial for this blog in months and also hadn't written anything for the Lord on twitter in a long time. But, a number of the books I've recently gotten from StoryCartel.com changed all that and Missionary Writing is one of them.

Other Content

Aside from the effect it has had on me, from a nuts and bolts perspective, you should know some of the breadth of content in this book. Aside from a section on "seeing with fresh eyes," it also has a great section on vision casting. That is, not on seeing the things around you in a new way, but rather the process of coming up with a vision for where you want to go with your writing. There’s a section on tools to use to help you with the process and the business end of your writing. To make any of the above things work, he starts with a section describing the subject of missionary writing (definitions, basis, mission, calling and some common roadblocks).

Summary

This short, but practical, book has a breadth of topics related to missionary writing. It opened my eyes to a wealth of ideas related to broadening the possibilities for things I could write about and I expect I’ll refer back to this little book over and over again when I need help with my writing. I found it useful and would recommend it to others writing with an intent to further Christ’s kingdom regardless of whether they are approaching believers or prospective converts.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, so I could make a few cents off it if you decide to buy through my links. If that bothers you, get it through Amazon without using my links. Either way is fine with me, as my goal is to see the kingdom of God advanced, and the more people who are looking for ways to do that the better off we’ll all be. God bless you in your efforts to do that! :-)

I Said Something New

I said something new tonight. I often find myself saying the same things over and over again. Even though I like to think that what I tell people and what I ask people is spirit lead, people so often come up with the same comments, the same questions, week after week, my responses often end up being the same. But, tonight was different. I said something new, that I hadn't prepped for particularly and yet that I liked and I found effective. So, I thought I would share it with you here.

Someone new came by the street corner I usually go to in order to witness or do street preaching. We got to talking and when it seemed like we were running out of things to talk about regarding his questions or comments about the preaching, I told him something he wasn't expecting, but which made sense to him. People often say things like, "You can make the Bible say anything you want," but I don't believe that. Naturally, people can twist the scriptures; but we are all responsible for figuring out for ourselves what is true. None of us will be judged in the end based on what our pastors or other spiritual leaders believe. We are only going to be judged based on whether we did what we PERSONALLY knew to be right. I asked him if he reads the Bible on a regular basis. He said he does. I asked him how he reads it and I gave him some examples of different ways people might do that. He said he generally reads the things around what his pastor preached on the prior Sunday. So, I encouraged him to read the WHOLE Bible and ask himself two questions. First, what is the purpose of what he's reading? And second, what is he supposed to get out of what he's reading?

When we read the Bible, if we are to apply what we've read, we have to understand the context. One of the easiest ways to misinterpret the Bible is to pull something out of context. The thing that can be difficult is figuring out how NOT to pull things out of context! By that, I mean there are a lot of different ways to ask the two questions I posed to him. What's the purpose of the Bible as a whole? What's the purpose of the particular chapter I'm reading at any given time? What's the purpose of the book of the Bible that I happen to be reading? Those same variations on the question of the purpose of the material can be applied to "What am I supposed to get out of it?"

He had said that we were putting way too much emphasis on sin in our message. My response was, "If you haven't even read the whole Bible, how do you know what the proper emphasis should be?" More than 3/4 of the Bible is Old Testament, and yet more than a few people who call themselves Christians think it just doesn't even apply to them. All they pay attention to is the New Testament. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever. God doesn't change, and many people still throw out the Old Testament all together. Rather than thinking that the purpose of the Bible (as a whole) is to just show us how overwhelmingly in love with us God is, I believe that the main purpose of the Bible is to show us how important it is that we stay as far away from sin as we can. The Bible tells us how really bad sin is and that it is a large part of God's love for us that he showed us a way back to him in spite of how really bad we've been by sinning. Then, also, it shows us that we don't need to keep on living that way any more.

There were numerous other things that we discussed, but the upshot of the whole conversation was that he really appreciated me and my friends and what we were doing and he said he would start reading the Bible differently now. He told me he'd start studying it more and really start thinking about the big picture rather than just thinking about the content of his pastor's sermons.

I've started praying differently lately, too. These are the common elements I've generally started asking for prior to going out to preach or witness to people. I ask that God send people with open hearts, ears and eyes to see, hear and understand the truth. I also ask that he give me the right words to say to people at the right times and in the right ways to the right people. I've been finding that he's answering those prayers. As I see that he answers my prayers, I believe I'm praying with more confidence. And, over time, I'm seeing him answer those kinds of prayers more and more. I find it overwhelmingly worth while and exciting to see people willing to reconsider their lives and their walk with Christ and the things they believe about God and the Bible. I see these things just about every week.

God's word does not return unto him void, but accomplishes that for which He intended it. Praise be to God and God bless all of you in your efforts to serve him!