CHRISTIAN WRITING: A DYING ART?

Let the word of God so saturate your mind that you apply it to all areas of your life.
Gabriel S Konayuma
The psalmist tells us in Psalm 1:1,2 – “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But INTRODUCTION
his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” I be-
lieve, and I know you do too, that because the Psalmist practiced this art of meditating It is almost impossible to the history of the Church without talking of the writings of
on God’s word that he was able to write such powerful Psalms which have been such a men like St. Augustine, Ambrose, Martin Luther, John Knox, Charles Spurgeon, John
blessing to the children of Zion in their Christian pilgrimage. Wesley, Fanny Crosby, Frances Havergal, Arthur Pink, Martyn Lloyd-Jones etc. The
Bible itself which has withstood many attacks by its foes was handed down to us not as
Thirdly, we must read sound Christian literature widely. Brethren Christian writers are oral traditions but as writings miraculously preserved throughout the ages by God.
Christian readers. But why must you read sound Christian literature in order to be ef- Christian writing seems to be a dying art in our day especially here in Zambia. Why is
fective in your writing? May I propose two reasons: this so? This article seeks to answer such questions. We will consider the subject of
1) You will be exposed to various writing skills and so will be able to choose what you Christian writing under the following four major headings:
feel is a good skill or style for you to use.
2) You will be able to have your thinking refreshed and exposed to sound doctrine as it 1. The Definition of Christian Writing
has been distilled from the Scriptures by other believers in the household of faith. 2. The Biblical Basis of Christian Writing
Sometimes you may have to read heretical literature in order to properly refute it. 3. The Hindrances to Christian Writing
4. Practical Tips to Effective Christian Writing
Fourthly, we must know the needs of our needs of our readers and know our subject
very well. Failure to discern what your readers’ needs are, will render your writing 1. THE DEFINITION OF CHRISTIAN WRITING
irrelevant and the time you have spent in writing a waste of time. I am aware that some-
times because of declension our reader may not appreciate our writing now but Christian writing is the expression of Christian thought by a Christian through the vehi-
perhaps later as happened with the generation of Arthur Pink who did not appreciate his cle of written words meant to edify others and one self.
writings such as ‘Sovereignty of God ‘ as much as we have come to appreciate it now. Consider the words in our definition closely:
We need wisdom and to be prayerful to know what to write on at a give time to a given  Expression – i.e putting into a form which can be understood.
people.  Christian thought – The Christian faith is thought i.e a belief, a creed, a conviction,
a view, a hope. Christian thought touches:
Fifthly, we must set aside time to write. We normally fail to engage in writing as  Secular issues e.g. education, politics.
Christians because we expect time to fall on our laps just from nowhere. If you have a  Ethical issues e.g. abortion, cloning.
busy working life, I d’ like to suggest that you take advantage of moments when you are
on holiday or are on a trip. Look at your surroundings when on a trip, what impressions  Spiritual issues e.g. Church membership, Christian service.
do they give you of the Creator? Write to friends on God’s providence to you when you  Edify – is to build up. It is to uplift, strengthen, encourage. If you engage in
undertake a trip to some place. Have you recovered from some illness or undergone an Christian writing it must edify others and you too.
operation? Take up a pen and share with your brethren God’s dealings with you. All I
am saying is that if you do not have too much time on your hands snatch a bit here and
a bit there. Remember that every book that has been written began with a single line 2. THE BIBLICAL BASIS OF CHRISTIAN WRITING
which developed into a paragraph, then into a page, then into a chapter and eventually
into a book. The Bible is a good illustration of Christian writing. Scripture means writing, thus Holy
Scriptures means Holy writing. We must ask ourselves the following questions:

References Who wrote the Scriptures?

It is men of God (2 Pet. 1:21). It was written by prophets like Moses, kings like David,
Ferguson, S. B. (1992), Read Any Good Books? Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust. a doctor like Luke, fishermen like Peter.

Why were the Scriptures written?

Gabriel S Konayuma The apostle John tells us that they were written that men may believe that Jesus is the
E-mail: gkonayuma@gmail.com Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). The apostle Paul alludes to the same reasons in
Timothy 3:15-17. In short, the scriptures were written for our salvation and
sanctification.
4 1

© 2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma © 2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma

In application to our subject let’s consider the following two questions.
of blessing they were to the saints in these lands! Truly, the pen is mightier than the
sword! What you write now will affect generations to come. Where you can not be
physically you can be with your writing. Ferguson (1992:7 ) in his booklet ‘Read Any
Good Books?’ writes – “We need to catch a vision of the value and power of the
Who should engage in Christian writing?
printed word – not only for our own personal use, but for its international use, and for
Any believer who has known the grace of God in salvation can be Christian writer.

This is regardless of one’s age or education. The issue is: Do you know the Lord Jesus
the way in which we pray for Christian literature”.
Fourthly, a good preaching ministry. Impossible! You may exclaim. Surely how can a
Christ as your Lord and Saviour? If yes, then you can testify to others through writing
of God’s saving grace.
good preaching ministry be a hindrance to Christian writing. May I suggest to you that
it can be a hindrance when church members feel that their pastor or minister adequately
deals with various subjects so there is no need to write on them. This is being selfish
with the truth. Why not write your pastor’s or ministry’s sermons for the sake of those
Why should we engage in Christian writing?
who are not privileged to have a sound pulpit ministry like yours? Aren’t we beneficiar-
1) For the salvation of sinners i.e. for evangelistic purposes. We must write
ies of Spurgeon’s sermons because of church members who took it upon themselves to
evangelistic tracts, booklets, and even books. These must be suited to the target groups
we are writing for i.e. children, teenagers, adults, educated, uneducated, religious or
write his sermons?
irreligious.
2) For the sanctification of saints. Our writing must assist saints to be more godly and
Fifthly, the spread of electronic media and equipment. The spread of electronic media
holy. Whether our writing is on doctrinal, devotional, polemical, pastor historical
and gadgets in our day, much as it has made our life easier has also killed the art of
subjects, it must have that end in view. /How will my writing help a child of Zion in
their walk with God?’ is the question we must always put before ourselves when we put
writing in not a few saints. I have in mind items like a telephone, a computer and the
internet, a television , a video cassette recorder etc. Is it not true that most of us would
rather chat with someone on the phone or send a two – lined e-mail message than sit
pen to paper.
The above two reasons must be our chief concern as we engage in Christian writing.
down to write a well thought out letter to a saint? What about spending more than three
hours before a television set daily, don’t we find it easier than writing a Christian over
Of course there are several areas which we can concentrate on. I will address this when
we consider the fourth major heading.
modern electronic gadgets.

Having looked at the hindrances to Christian writing, let me hasten on to deal with the
3. THE HINDRANCES TO CHRISTIAN WRITING
crux of this article i.e. Practical tips to effective Christian writing.
Why is there such a poor response when articles are asked for by Christian magazine
editors? Why is Christian writing becoming a dying art? May I suggest what I consider
are the five major reasons for this trend. 4. PRACTICAL TIPS TO EFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN WRITING

Firstly, We must maintain regular and fervent communion with God. Dear friends,
Firstly, ignorance on what to write on. This is when we feel that there is so much to
write on and we don’t know what to start with. On the other hand we tend to think
Christian writing is not about displaying excellent writing skills (though these are im-
portant!) but about saints burdened with burning issues which they want other saints to
benefit from. You just have to look at Matthew Henry’s commentaries to see that here
everything of importance has already been written on by other Christians.
is a commentary born from man who walked with God .When we you look at the re-
formed and evangelical hymns which we enjoy e.g ‘To God Be The Glory Great Things
Secondly, lack of discipline. Often we are not prepared to pay the price or hard work
He hath Done’ by Fanny Crosby, Take My Life And Let It Be’ by Frances Havergal,
and discipline needed to be a writer. Dear friend, writing is a lonely business. Read the
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross’ by Isaac Watts, ‘And Can It Be That I Should
prefaces of various writers or ask them and you will confirm this fact. Writing shuts us
Gain?’ By Charles Wesley you can not help but see that these were men and women
out from talking and the company of people. It calls for us to think and meditate. This
is where many give up when it comes to writing.
who communed with God and wrote hymns born out of that communion. Dear friends
we must ‘take time to be holy and spend much time in secret with Jesus alone’. Then
Thirdly, a lack of appreciation of the power and value of writing. Some believe that
our writing will be used if God to bless his children here below.
preaching is the best and only way of communicating the gospel. Have you ever con-
Secondly, we must meditate on God‘s word. One of the dangers writers face is to rush
sidered that you have never heard Noah, Paul or Spurgeon preach but you have read
what they wrote, long after they died? Look at Russia and other nations in the “Iron
Curtain’ in years gone by. Though evangelical churches were officially banned, the
to write what they feel must be written without pondering deeply on what the Bible says
about certain subject. Do not only read God’s word or study it, but do meditate on it.
Bible and other Christian writing were ‘smuggled’ into these lands. What a great means

2 3

© 2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma © 2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma