Writing & Publishing Not a writer, but I write

[Johne]

I didn't go looking for this but it popped up this afternoon in my feed.


And I do this using fiction.

 

[Johne]

Again, I didn’t go looking for this, but it popped up in my feed…

 

[Richard Abelseth]

Again, I didn’t go looking for this, but it popped up in my feed…
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I think that defines the reason why I want to enter this discussion, not only with my church administrators but all church administrators. What I have discovered is that relationships can become the ultimate goal, not for the reason of evangelism and discipleship, but for monetary reasons. When this happens, the church becomes a business when something is being purchased and something is being sold. Therefore, the natural propensity, as a church leader, is to back away from controversial moral issues and take a neutral stance, much as a secular business would. The goal here is to maintain unity, peace, and congregational stability. I will confess that I have been for most of my saved life, naive and unaware of this. It is only recently that I have become enlightened. Bible characters that were called and used by God to communicate his message of repentance, redemption, and salvation, were never allowed to compromise for the sake of personal gain. The few that tried that, quickly wished that they had not.  

There is no reason for me to explain the situation that concerns me in a few words. In just a couple of days, I wrote a fifteen-thousand-word article that spells out what I am seeing. If someone has a dispute with anything in the article, I am fine with that. If I wrote it, I will defend it, until someone “proves” me wrong.  

I did submit one chapter in my article to my church administrators. Their response has been deafening silence. They should have responded to each point. I am reminded of what happened to the prophet Jeremiah when he delivered a message from God to the priests. They said: “let’s kill him.” Pretty the same with Christ, and a host of others. Are we here to satisfy man or God?

If my church has any dispute with the points in my article and felt that I was misrepresenting God, they must confront me and let the truth come forth. Also, if I’m not correctly representing God, they should remove me from leading worship at the church. That is their obligation. I have no monetary gain to be realized. I am not writing anything to gain a single cent in this world. What I wrote is for the benefit of the church.

What’s interesting is that I have submitted not a single word of the article to this site, yet the responses to the topic alone have people on this site in a literal uproar.  

 

[Johne]

I did submit one chapter in my article to my church administrators. Their response has been deafening silence.

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This is the risk any writer takes. It goes back to a primary question–do we write for ourselves or for others? (You touch on this this later in your comments.)

I very much want for others to like what I write, but they're not my audience, not really. I write first and foremost for me, for my own pleasure as a writer and as a reader. As far as I know, there was no audience for golem detective stories until I began writing them, and I'm building one up now, post by post, paragraph by paragraph, snippet by snippet.

I hear you, but if you'll accept a gentle observation: I'd go a little easy on your church leaders. Their struggle to keep the church viable and effective has never been harder in my lifetime, and I suspect it's only going to get worse. Pray for them, and pray for peace.

What’s interesting is that I have submitted not a single word of the article to this site, yet the responses to the topic alone have people on this site in a literal uproar.  

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Regardless of what it says in the dictionary, 'figurative' still does not mean 'literal.'   People on writing forums love to debate writing. That's part and parcel to the forums experience. If people here respond to your posts with 'lively discussion,' well, I think we're doing a little better at giving you the kind of dialogue you may have been looking for.

 

[suspensewriter]

Why not post one part of your article here on the Critique Forum?

 

[Nicola]

I would sit down and just pound out my heart on paper. In reading what I had written, I started to understand what I truly believed and how I really felt. It was not until I put it down on paper that I could understand my own heart and mind.

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Glory be! Don't you love when that happens? We do that all the time around here.

I think you are responding to the message God gave you. When He sets out to bless He splatters and flings it far and wide, not just for one person.

I'm glad you are getting feedback here. Honing your argument, your sword, and building relationships in a congenial atmosphere. 

Remember that the initial message is not "one and done." God will keep speaking. Keep listening! Keep pounding it out on paper! The rest will follow in His time, in His way.