Crossing Over?

[Unregistered]

I thought I would throw in a new topic. For some Christian believers it is a touchy one. But here goes. How do you feel about Christian writers "crossing over"?

Personally I think it is something more of us need to do. We are salt and light to the world. What are your thoughts?

Rita Gerlach
author
http://users.starpower.net/rpkg/index.htm

[Unregistered]

It all depends on how you look at writing. Writing as a ministry, as a witness tool, often comes across poorly constructed, emphasizing message over method of presentation. And I think sometimes there's a sense of falsehood, of contrived efforts on the part of the author to control the "message" of the piece. Crossing over (that is, making a story universal), entails letting the characters in the story be their own persons. I think if we're more worried about writing something in sincerity than in trying to preach, we will be more widely accepted, more widely read. But most importantly, the times when a Christian message penetrates the text, the message will seem more sincere, truer.

[Unregistered]

Very well put.

[Unregistered]

I've read it this way. If you want to preach, write non-fiction. If you want to tell a story, write fiction.

Those of us who write Christian fiction should never tell the reader what he or she should gain from reading our story. Readers should be allowed to come to their own conclusions. This is where the writing cliche, "Show, don't tell," comes in handy.

As for crossing over, that's a phenomenon caused by readers (and God), not writers or their publishers. And it's a rare occurence.

So write what you feel God has called you to write. And don't worry about crossing over. It's all in God's hands.

[Unregistered]

I've personally authored both Christian fiction and Bible study books. Nevertheless, I write true-to-life fiction based on Christian principles. Yet, it seems that most fiction houses that do publish Christian fiction don't want it if it's reality based. This makes no sense to me in that Christians are bombarded daily by the enemy, thus how do they apply their principles in fantasy?
Bonita M Quesinberry, R.C.
http://www.geocities.com/pen_for_god/HavenPublishing
unicornhaven@earthlink.net

[Unregistered]

I agree that if God has blessed you with the gift of writing then this should be used, even if only part-time, as a light in the world.
For instance, I am an aspiring children's author. I have never really aspired to become a Christian children's writer. I am Christian, I will be a children's writer, but was not expecting to combine them.
Then one day, God called me through a dream to write stories for children that will help them to grow in relationship with Him. I do not expect that he wants this to be my only forum for writing. I love to write secular stories as well. But since He has called me to be a writer, I will use my gift in whatever way I can to help children understand God's love.

[cawheat]

I'm sort of the reverse instance of this post. I started writing, became a Christian, and am now moving my writing over into the Christian realm. I still do most of my work (weekly column, etc.) in the "secular" world, but you can definitely tell I am a Christian.

Most of my modest success with queries, etc. has come from Christian magazines and publishers.

I think if you are serving God's will, and doing it all to His glory, then it's all good. Hopefully, the ultimate goal of our writing "careers" (not our writing itself) is that when people get interested in you, the author, it will allow you to share you testimony.

[Unregistered]

Will just copy and paste a letter sent to a novice writer willing to tackle a very sensitive subject. Have yet to find any with the right motives who refrain from sensationalism, openions, attitudes and from trashing anybody about anything, have to keep it black and white in the same way "Legion" is written of in Mark 5 and Luke 8 story is documented but difficult to research to obtain the documentation.
==========
Hi

Was just peeking at some ads and noticed that you also do research
which is the major part of my biography, names and addresses of
first hand sources provided for interviews and or comments.

The topic has to do with demonic possession which is fully documented
but getting people to talk is another matter, some are household names
here in this part of California like my KTLA-5 TV newsbeauties who were
not celebrities at the time we met but today have to make appointments.

I have not cared to personally profit from the bio but rather just getting things out there as they happened without any sensationalism or attitudes or
trashing anybody about anything who I have interacted with, have had some
eager beavers wanting this material for a best seller due to the documentaion from first hand sources but have had all the popularity I care for in having been a news item in 1993-94 in chocking most of the christian community as well as many in the media in doing things that many today have had to fake or give the illusion of.

This listing of first hand sources are pastors for the most part but also the
news gang of KTLA-5 Morning News Los Angeles, CA. but even a PI friend
struck out in getting comments from any of these folks regarding events of
late 1993 thru most of 1994, can not blame some who have an image to
protect and things so far out that they are beyond belief but have on video
if it can be obtained from Trinity Broadcasting Network who made such a big
deal about things and new me as "Madd Jack" or God's Wild Ass who became
gentle after He sat on it.

As I related, I have no desire to make any money from the bio which I guess
would be a best seller if the research is complete with comments from others
but have to assure all that the motive is honest and not looking to equate any with people still looking for Bigfoot and Vampires etc. but just telling it like it was and how it is today in being free of what was in control of me in doing things beyond the human experience which included healing, easy to document since it was a pastor who was healed who was also a critic until then and had spent ten years trying to help me but not aware of what he was dealing with until the supernatural / parnormal things began to happen and realizing I had very little to do with any of it except go along for the ride to wherever it ended up. It is a story of deliverence rather than PSI entertainment but have had so many cult and new agers flooding me for information that I had to move to another city.

If you have a Bible then read of "Legion" in Mark 5 and Luke 8 as my story is
about the same if things are changed around a little and applied to the present time. Problem will be in the research with results rather than the writing itself, even my dad could not get any to talk-- Here is a letter he wrote to some who have first hand knowledge of me as well as some people to interview / research


Must be contacted in person and not through a secretary.
Calvary Chapel Golden Springs
C/O Raul Ries
22324 Golden Springs Drive
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
714/396-1884

Raul brought a teacher/skeptic on one of his live studies who did not
believe that two way stuff was going on between me and whoever I
interacted with, at the end of this man's study his comment was "I was
going to relate things from my notes, but a gust of wind just came up and
blew them all away." (timeframe is late 1993 early 1994)
============================
Dr. Gene Scott
P. O. Box 1
Los Angeles, CA 90053

Dr. Scott set up a full program that documents the interaction. His
comments were "I know you are talking to me but can't understand what you
are saying, but it feels good."
Scott brought Mayor Tom Bradley and another city official to see all that weird stuff
for themselves.
============================
Dr. James Dobson
Focus On The Family
Colorado Springs, CO 80995
800/232-6459

Dr. Dobson also brought people on his program (KWVW-fm) when he and I were doing
this uncommon two way communication, he was enthused at first but later
turned completely around after realizing that I was a dirty old man.
===========================
Dwight Thompson
PO Box 1122
Downey, CA 90240
909/371-4100

Thompson pleaded for the life of Oral Roberts during the first part of a telethon in October of 1993, cried over TV thinking I was some kind of death angel or something but I was the last to know what was going on.
==========================
Trinity Broadcasting Network
P. O. Box A
Santa Ana, CA 92711
Business Phone: (714) 832-2950

Some frendly some not, but much can be validated, Paul and Jan knew me as
Madd Jack or Baby Huey. We later became friends but in the beginning Paul made the statement that if he could find the person who put all that gross stuff on Jan's desk he would "paste one on them". so I invited Paul to do just that. they got to see the whole thing from the dungpile to deliverence.
===========================
Calvary Chapel Of Costa Mesa
C/O Chuck Smith
PO Box 8000
Costa Mesa, CA 92628
714/979-4422

Chuck can certainly tell it all but like all others have chosen to keep
silent about all of 1994 unless certain that motives are right for asking about
that period of time, detail would serve no purpose but often wish he
would just say "yes it happened" but no comment about it. Can also
confirm a healing although I knew nothing about this at the time, my daughter was taking a picture of us togeather and touched his back during the picture taking and that is when his back was healed. Was the last baptism of the year 1993, my beach baggies fell down in being too heavy when wet and ended up mooning everybody which they caught on
video.
Chuck is one of the few who I would trust to tell it straight.
--------------
David Rosales
Something David Rosales will remember is a comment I made
making reference to Roseanne as "my twin psycho" and that
heaven would seem like a lonely place without her in it.
http://www.calvaryccv.org/
12205 N. Pipeline Ave.
Chino, CA 91710
Church Office (909) 464-8255
Must speak with David personally, no second hand sources.
I would never allow anything about me to be written that comes
from any second hand source.
-------------
http://www.calvaryabq.org/
skipheitzig@calvaryabq.org
Pastor Skip Heitzig (6'7") would sometimes stop in the middle
of a sermon and tell me to "get in the back seat", I called him the
neat dude with the attitude. timeframe is early 1994.
-------------
Harvest Christian Fellowship
http://www.calvarychapel.com/harvest/index.htm
6115 Arlington Ave
Riverside, CA 92504
Pastor: Greg Laurie
Phone: 909-687-6902

Again you must contact these folks directly, secretary would
not know what you are talking about. Greg often quoted parts
of my letters in his Monday evening studies at Calvary Chapel
in Costa Mesa. he knew me as Legion, also saw the deliverence.
had never witnessed this weird two way communication before
until it began to happen with him on live broadcasts. satan is the
prince and power of the airwaves.
American Legion had a different meaning as it pertained to me.
===================
Letter from my dad to different pastors I interacted with:
Raul Ries
C/O Calvary Chapel Golden Springs
22324 Golden Springs Drive
Diamond Bar, CA 91765

Dear Sir:

The thing I want to ask you about is so bizarre that I hardly know how to
begin this letter. It has to do with my son Louis Talley. Only during the
last few days has Lou told me anything about some events in which he was
involved back in 1994.

Lou always has been rather reticent about his personal affairs, but now
he says he wants to bring everything out in the open. He has suggested
that I write to you and several others for the strange details of the
events I mentioned.

I knew he was writing letters almost daily back then, but I had no idea
what was taking place, only that he was suffering from the after effects
of Viet Nam. He has given me the names and addresses of a number of
prominent people who he says can verify what he tells me.

Louis claims that he was communicating via mental telepathy with these
people during live telecasts. He believes that he was demon possessed.
I’m hoping that you will tell me what transpired between you and him and
what you think of it.

He now has a website http://www.grizzadam.com/ (no longer active)

You might want to check it out.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Sincerely,
Cecil Talley
====================
I did not believe any of that stuff was really going on until others told me
about it, thought it was just paranoid schizophrenia or something but proved
to be much more.

I communicated with people on live broadcasts just as easily as if we had been
face to face, went both ways.

Can provide a lot more but first need to see how interested you would be in
doing the research and writing , free to keep whatever would come from a book as this is not my interest or pupose in anything but have wasted a lot of time and money and got nowhere due to the reseach being shallow or not trusted by the sources who have images to protect and can not afford to be identified with things that are either occult or related in any way with the things that new agers feed on.




Email: res057xv@uia.net

[wgjones3]

Crossing over... for a moment, I thought you were talking about that show on Sci-Fi.

As Christians, we are called to witness the love of Christ to the world at large. How we do that isn't really up to us. Well, it is, but it isn't. After all, it's God who has the plan, and we're just vehicles.

As a writer, my job is to tell a story. Period. I read once that the moral values of the writer always manifest in the story, and I think that's true. How many Christian novels have you read where the devil prevails at the end?

The thing that gets lost, though, is that true storytelling is an art. It isn't a discipline. Writing is the discipline. It takes a pairing of the two to create a good story, and if one area is lagging, the overall story will suffer.

One thing I find too much of in Christian writing is a dry, dictatorial approach to storytelling. Combine that with many Christian writers' zeal to inject a message where, often, there isn't one, and the result is bad. It makes for boring reading.

As Christians, we can overlook bad writing and even bad storytelling, because we can tune in to and appreciate the message. Someone who's never known Christ and who cares nothing about Christianity will not be so tolorant.

In order for a writer to reach the world with his work, there must be a delicate balance of storytelling and well-crafted writing. It's when the reader finds relevance in the work that it reaches their heart.

What's the best way to do this? Let go and let God work through you.

In Christ,
wgjones3

[ladypreacher]

What you wrote caught my attention when I first read it, but I didn't want to address the issue without some thought or consideration.

Do you think that the Kingdom of God will be advanced by "Crossing Over" into secular publishing?

What comes to my mind is the sweet spirited young women I've seen do the same in the music industry, and then get swallowed up in the darkness that they find there.

Salt and light are good things and can be shared in other ways. If we can brighten someone's day and leave behind a pleasant taste once who we are has been swallowed - then we have done our job.

Have you considered cross-publishing? I have written my first novel to do exactally that, with enough of the world to draw the secular readers in, and then filling them with enough of the things of God and His Holy Spirit to get them saved. Still, salvation is a choice. I have planted, someone else will undoubtably water, but it's the Holy Spirit that brings the increase.

My novel is purely Christian with no apologies, but the characters are diverse. I have every intention to market it in the Christian and the secular communities, through a Christian Publishing House. The Left Behind series are front and center at K-Mart. It can and has been done.

A note from the aurthor:(It will appear in my first novel.)
"I've heard it said that if you want to preach get a soap-box. What I have to say is, if you don't want to hear my preachin' then you can't read my book."

As someone commented before me, keep it interesting, tell a story that is believable, and let God use you for His glory.

[cawheat]

Amen, Ladypreacher! Amen!

[james_pence]

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie here, but wanted to add my two cents worth on this question.

I think the main issue is why you want to cross over. If it's just because of the attraction of writing for a secular publisher or the possibility of more money, and so on, then it's not the right thing to do. However, if you are wanting to cross over because of the possibility of communicating a Christian world view to a larger audience, then it's worth considering.

In our postmodern era, there is an unprecedented openness for people to communicate their beliefs in a public way. Granted, there's also a mentality that "whatever you want to believe is fine for you." But along with that is an increased openness to spiritual matters, particularly in fiction. Consider John Grisham's "The Testament." And even authors such as Dean Koontz and (gulp) Stephen King have explored questions of life after death, the existence of God, and even the goodness of God in the face of tragedy. If unbelievers are addressing these issues, should we not take the opportunity to publish in their forum, presuming God opens the door?

It all goes down to motive. Is it the money, the prestige, or the glory of God?

Jim

[wgjones3]

I may have missed the point of the thread. To me, crossing over means writing for a general audience, not a specific Christian audience. I don't see any reason why a writer would write a different story for a Christian publisher than he would for a secular one. Larry B. Jenkins published a book for Warner Brothers, and the values or integrity was no less than any of the Left Behind books.

I do think that it's important to realize that no matter who a person is published by, they are the ones writing the book, and, ultimately, they are the ones who will have to answer to God for what they did with the talents that He gave them. I know I won't measure very well at all in that respect.

If people outside the church read my work, then I want my work to be something that they'll find interesting, not irrelevant and preachy. They won't read something they perceive as Christian propaganda. In that respect, I want to "cross over."

If we as Christian writers create stories that are preachy, filled with bible verses and miraculous situations that wouldn't have happened had the characters not been so close to God, then nobody outside of the church will read it. What's the point of writing illustrated sermons for churched people? I do believe that it's important to show characters who have a complex, realistic relationship with God. After all, nobody wants to read about characters who are too perfect or too cartoonish to be believable, and that includes their relationship with God.

I don't know if I'm making sense or just digging the hole deeper, so I'll stop now. :)