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Let the word of God so saturate your mind that you apply it to all areas of your life.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

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

on Gods word that he was able to write such powerful Psalms which have been such a

blessing to the children of Zion in their Christian pilgrimage.

Thirdly, we must read sound Christian literature widely. Brethren Christian writers areChristian readers. But why must you read sound Christian literature in order to be ef-

fective in your writing? May I propose two reasons:

1) You will be exposed to various writing skills and so will be able to choose what you

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

has been distilled from the Scriptures by other believers in the household of faith.

Sometimes you may have to read heretical literature in order to properly refute it.

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

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

perhaps later as happened with the generation of Arthur Pink who did not appreciate hiswritings such as Sovereignty of God as much as we have come to appreciate it now.

We need wisdom and to be prayerful to know what to write on at a give time to a given

people.

Fifthly, we must set aside time to write. We normally fail to engage in writing as

Christians because we expect time to fall on our laps just from nowhere. If you have a

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

do they give you of the Creator? Write to friends on Gods providence to you when you

undertake a trip to some place. Have you recovered from some illness or undergone an

operation? Take up a pen and share with your brethren Gods 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

which developed into a paragraph, then into a page, then into a chapter and eventuallyinto a book.

References

Ferguson, S. B. (1992), Read Any Good Books? Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust.

Gabriel S Konayuma

E-mail: gkonayuma@gmail.com

2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma

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INTRODUCTION

It is almost impossible to the history of the Church without talking of the writings of

men like St. Augustine, Ambrose, Martin Luther, John Knox, Charles Spurgeon, John

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

oral traditions but as writings miraculously preserved throughout the ages by God.Christian writing seems to be a dying art in our day especially here in Zambia. Why is

this so? This article seeks to answer such questions. We will consider the subject ofChristian writing under the following four major headings:

1. The Definition of Christian Writing2. The Biblical Basis of Christian Writing

3. The Hindrances to Christian Writing

4. Practical Tips to Effective Christian Writing

1. THE DEFINITION OF CHRISTIAN WRITING

Christian writing is the expression of Christian thought by a Christian through the vehi-

cle of written words meant to edify others and one self.

Consider the words in our definition closely:

Expression i.e putting into a form which can be understood.

Christian thought The Christian faith is thought i.e a belief, a creed, a conviction,

a view, a hope. Christian thought touches:

Secular issues e.g. education, politics.

Ethical issues e.g. abortion, cloning.

Spiritual issues e.g. Church membership, Christian service.

Edify is to build up. It is to uplift, strengthen, encourage. If you engage in

Christian writing it must edify others and you too.

2. THE BIBLICAL BASIS OF CHRISTIAN WRITING

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:

Who wrote the Scriptures?

It is men of God (2 Pet. 1:21). It was written by prophets like Moses, kings like David,a doctor like Luke, fishermen like Peter.

Why were the Scriptures written?

The apostle John tells us that they were written that men may believe that Jesus is the

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.

CHRISTIAN WRITING: A DYING ART?

Gabriel S Konayuma

2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma

mailto:gkonayuma@gmail.com

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In application to our subject lets consider the following two questions.

Who should engage in Christian writing?

Any believer who has known the grace of God in salvation can be Christian writer.

This is regardless of ones age or education. The issue is: Do you know the Lord Jesus

Christ as your Lord and Saviour? If yes, then you can testify to others through writing

of Gods saving grace.

Why should we engage in Christian writing?

1) For the salvation of sinners i.e. for evangelistic purposes. We must write

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

irreligious.

2) For the sanctification of saints. Our writing must assist saints to be more godly and

holy. Whether our writing is on doctrinal, devotional, polemical, pastor historical

subjects, it must have that end in view. /How will my writing help a child of Zion intheir walk with God? is the question we must always put before ourselves when we put

pen to paper.

The above two reasons must be our chief concern as we engage in Christian writing.Of course there are several areas which we can concentrate on. I will address this when

we consider the fourth major heading.

3. THE HINDRANCES TO 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.

Firstly, ignorance on what to write on. This is when we feel that there is so much to

write on and we dont know what to start with. On the other hand we tend to think

everything of importance has already been written on by other Christians.

Secondly, lack of discipline. Often we are not prepared to pay the price or hard workand discipline needed to be a writer. Dear friend, writing is a lonely business. Read theprefaces of various writers or ask them and you will confirm this fact. Writing shuts us

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.

Thirdly, a lack of appreciation of the power and value of writing. Some believe that

preaching is the best and only way of communicating the gospel. Have you ever con-

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

Bible and other Christian writing were smuggled into these lands. What a great means

2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma

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of blessing they were to the saints in these lands! Truly, the pen is mightier than thesword! 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

printed word not only for our own personal use, but for its international use, and for

the way in which we pray for Christian literature.

Fourthly, a good preaching ministry. Impossible! You may exclaim. Surely how can agood 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 adequatelydeals with various subjects so there is no need to write on them. This is being selfish

with the truth. Why not write your pastors or ministrys sermons for the sake of those

who are not privileged to have a sound pulpit ministry like yours? Arent we beneficiar-

ies of Spurgeons sermons because of church members who took it upon themselves to

write his sermons?

Fifthly, the spread of electronic media and equipment. The spread of electronic media

and gadgets in our day, much as it has made our life easier has also killed the art ofwriting 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 sitdown to write a well thought out letter to a saint? What about spending more than three

hours before a television set daily, dont we find it easier than writing a Christian overmodern electronic gadgets.

Having looked at the hindrances to Christian writing, let me hasten on to deal with the

crux of this article i.e. Practical tips to effective Christian writing.

4. PRACTICAL TIPS TO EFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN WRITING

Firstly, We must maintain regular and fervent communion with God. Dear friends,

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 tobenefit from. You just have to look at Matthew Henrys commentaries to see that here

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 ThingsHe hath Done by Fanny Crosby, Take My Life And Let It Be by Frances Havergal,

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross by Isaac Watts, And Can It Be That I Should

Gain? By Charles Wesley you can not help but see that these were men and women

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

our writing will be used if God to bless his children here below.

Secondly, we must meditate on Gods word. One of the dangers writers face is to rush

to write what they feel must be writ ten without pondering deeply on what the Bible says

about certain subject. Do not only read Gods word or study it, but do meditate on it.

2006 by Gabriel S. Konayuma