"Give Thanks": What Does That Actually Mean?

Today is the American Thanksgiving.

For most of you, this means that you're spending time with family and extended family, making turkey and chicken and other Thanksgiving goodies, and preparing to stuff yourself silly (if you haven't already).

For us in Liberia, it means we have a chance to relax and enjoy the company of some other Americans (and their American food).  And yes, I fully plan on stuffing myself silly.

Besides the food, though, Thanksgiving is known for (what else?) "giving thanks".  But what does this look like?  We've heard "give thanks" so often; what does it actually mean?

The sheer number of references to thanksgiving in Scripture is overwhelming.  Here's just a sampling:

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Psalms 7:17: "I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High."

Psalms 35:18: "I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you."

Psalms 69:30: "I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving."

Psalms 105:1: "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

1 Corinthians 1:4: "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus."

2 Corinthians 9:11: "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

Ephesians 5:4: "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."

Ephesians 5:19-20: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Philippians 4:6: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

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They even had entire psalms devoted for one purpose: to give thanks.  To praise God for what He has given us.

Obviously it's important, and obviously we're supposed to do it.

How do we do it?

Recently I've been reading a book by Francis A. Schaeffer called "True Spirituality".  Listen to his notes on giving thanks:

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Then we find in Colossians 3:15: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to that which ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful."  And verse 17: "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."  And again in Colossians 4:2: "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."

These words about thanksgiving are in one sense hard words.  They are beautiful, but they do not give us any room to move—the "all things" includes all things.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  And this is linked to the next verse, verse 19: "Quench not the Spirit."  Surely one thing is clear.  God says to us: in everything give thanks.

I think we can see all this in its proper perspective if we go back to Romans 1:21: "Because that, when they knew God, the glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasoning, and their foolish heart was darkened."  This is the central point: they were not thankful.  Instead of giving thanks they "became vain in their reasoning and their foolish heart was darkened."  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.  The beginning of mens' rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart.  They did not have proper, thankful hearts—seeing themselves as creatures before the Creator and being bowed not only in their knees, but in their stubborn hearts.  The rebellion is a deliberate refusal to be the creature before the Creator, to the extent of being thankful.

Love must carry with it a "Thank you," not in a superficial or "official" way, but in being thankful and saying in the mind or with the voice, "Thank you" to God.

—"True Spirituality" by Francis A. Schaeffer, pgs. 11-12

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Thankgiving, then, is humbling ourselves before the Creator of all and praising Him for what He has been gracious to give us.  And when we're giving thanks, we must be giving thanks in everything.

Why do we give thanks?  Because God deserves the glory.

We are creatures before an almighty God—and yet He has seen fit to give us so many things, even the death of His own Son.  How can we not be grateful?  And that's what Thanksgiving is, and must be—gratefulness and praise flowing from our mouths to the God who has graciously given us all things!

Glorify to God for what He has done this Thanksgiving: for the food, for the company, for the blessings of the past year, and yes, even for the trials of the past year.  We are strong in His presence—but we must enter His presence with a thankful heart.

In everything, give thanks.

Fighting for Christ-Centered Christian Fiction

(A note to the reader, whether a writer or no: this post is something that's been on my heart for a long time, so I'd appreciate if you read it, and I'd love hearing your thoughts. I may be repeating myself in many ways, but I think it's a message worth repeating.)

I have been struggling with something for a quite a while. For a long time, I've been resolved to present Christian fiction that is clean, and leaves you feeling clean. In many ways, I feel that this resolution is contrary to other Christian fiction books out there. Ted Dekker comes to mind, and Travis Thrasher. As I've said many times (and I'm likely to say it many times more), fiction that is too dark leaves the reader feeling as if they've waded through muck, and it'll take a long scrubbing to get them clean again. Thus, I want to write something that cleans the reader instead of dirtying them.

I've resolved that for myself, yes. But the question is, where is the uncrossable line for any Christian writer? I believe there is one, a line that Christian writers sometimes cross in portraying depravity as too depraved, and failing to equally portray goodness. But many Christian fiction writers seem to think that there is a relativism in reading novels; if a book is “too much” for you it simply means that it's your own tastes that's the problem. Some people can handle more than the others; it's the “weaker faith” thing. What was clean and unclean food in New Testament times is the equivalent of clean and unclean books in modern day....right?

Some time ago I read a book called Avalon Falls by L. B. Graham, who wrote the excellent Christian fantasy saga The Binding of the Blade. I had read the sample (which was compelling) and convinced my sister to buy the Kindle edition, which was only $2.99.

That book once more brought these questions to my mind, not because of how good it was, but because I was surprised at how bad it was. Not in plot or character or anything, no. Stylistically it was fine, even great in spots, and certainly the first ten percent was good enough to get us to buy it.

But the content in the book, and the way it was portrayed, was almost shocking, especially after reading Graham's squeaky-clean Binding of the Blade series. There was cursing, sexual content (albeit addressed from afar, not in POV, and tactfully brief), and the scenes of two gruesome murders that could have used a lot less description. The main character was a non-Christian and the Christian themes of the book were kept at an arm's length.

In short, Graham did what I earlier described as “portraying depravity as too depraved”. In doing this, he also failed to balance it out. The rather poetic theme of the book (Avalon Falls; that is, even holy isles like the mythical Avalon have fallen) was far overshadowed by the grim mountain of human sin that had been built before it.

As I finished the book, I felt that I had wasted my time and sullied my mind. Such content from non-Christians I might have expected; but from a Christian author?

There are many times where I feel like giving up, but what carries me through is the fact that, even though mankind seems hopelessly fallen and that sometimes there doesn't seem to be a single honest person in this entire country, Christ can break through the darkness. Our depravity is expected, because mankind has fallen. But when I find this darkness in a Christian book, what am I supposed to think?

Doubtless it will be said that Avalon Falls, and books like it, are meant for non-Christian audiences. I'm sure the theme of the book may be somewhat evangelistic in that sense. But nevertheless, you do not feed a poisoned man poison. How will someone want the light if all you keep giving them is the assurance of their own darkness?

The weight of Avalon Falls has been weighing on my mind all night long. I deeply respect L. B. Graham for his dedication to his craft and to Christ, and I hope that the two-dollar royalty that he gained from our purchase of his book goes to a good purpose. But nevertheless, I feel that Avalon Falls, and books like it, have missed the mark. Christ has called us to something more.

Like I've said, after reading Avalon Falls, I felt down, almost depressed. As I'm wont to do when I have something on my mind, I wandered around and did nothing in particular for some time. Eventually my wandering led me to my Bible, and as soon as I started reading I felt as if a cloud had lifted from my mind. Here's what I read:

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16)

Even if the Bible never outright says not to write fiction that is too “dark”, and even seems to support the fiction relativists at times, I believe that the more we read the Bible, the brighter the light will shine in our writing. How can we think such thoughts, after all, if we believe that Christ himself will encourage our hearts and strengthen us in every good deed and even in our writing – our words?

Is there to be only light in fiction, then? By no means! Darkness can make the light brighter; but our job is to use that darkness only to enhance the light, not to let it “overwhelm” the light. My own novel deals with difficult subjects, but the difference is that the darkness only exists to glorify the light, just as it does in real life. In books like Avalon Falls, the author made the mistake of letting their own light go dim.

So what are we to do? We need to fight for Christ-centered Christian fiction – and better yet, write it.

The path of the New Testament is not to expose all of the bad deeds of humanity so that we all know how depraved we really are, but to let the light shine so blindingly bright that it not only burns out the bad deeds but allows the good deeds to grow. Christ has given us a righteousness from God, and He has paid with His blood; let us not waste it! May our light shine before men, so that their evil deeds look like straw before the everlasting glory of Christ!

Let it be an example to us, then. We cannot fight fire with fire. Fire consumes, but water may put out the fire, and feed the green things that grow. Words are powerful and precious; we cannot waste them!

Will we allow our words to describe the things that tarnish the mind and weigh down the heart, or will we use them to spur other Christians on toward love and good deeds? Will we not use them to put forth the gift of God – a righteousness apart from the law – to those who desperately need it?

As Christians, we are called to think about all of the things that are good – to hate what is evil, cling to what is good! We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Our minds have been renewed in Christ; our spirits are alive in Him – so why would we even think for a moment to write something that lets the darkness be greater than the light?

I charge you, Christian writer: do not waste your words. We have only a short time on this earth, and then we will give an account before God on what we have done on this earth. May we answer well on that day! May we say that we were not ashamed of the Gospel – and that we have done what He has called us to: to glorify His name. Whatever we do, we do it in the name of Christ: let us not dishonor that name above all names!

May glory be to God alone, and may Christ encourage your hearts and strengthen you as you act and as you write!

Blood on Paper

One writer famously said, “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

While this is not terribly practical advice, it is right in one respect: when you write a book – I mean, when you truly write a book, not when you're typing out escapist fiction – you are writing with your own blood.

In the Old Testament, blood is regarded as something sacred. Blood is, in some ways, the essence of who somebody is. Thus, when sin is paid for, it is paid for in blood; first by the sacrifice of a perfect lamb, and finally by the sacrifice of a perfect God.

And when we write novels, we pour ourselves into these characters. We pour our essence into them; we give our blood. Our blood is written on paper in the form of words. It is only when this happens that our stories really and truly come to life.

Before I started the Prophecies – or even after – I had the vague idea that I would write “something awesome”. Even as late as NaNo 2010 the goal of my writing was, in some ways, to glorify God; but my other objectives was just to make the story as cool as it could be.

It wasn't until I revised The War Horn and started work on Tornado C that I solidified my “writer's creed”: that my first and primary objective was to glorify God, and second to create something that would nourish the reader. In The War Horn, I glimpsed something of what a novel would be like when I had that “creed” as my primary purpose. The story was, and still is, the strongest of my tales in terms of theme. (Tornado C will challenge that position once I get to the climax, but that's a long way off.)

When I started outlining Tornado C, I was at a period of growth. I was learning how to further live with God at the center of my life, and how this plays out in another culture – and in my writing.

I discovered something incredible at that time: that all of my work was as straw if I didn't pour myself (and my beliefs) into them. “Writing what you know” doesn't just mean doing lots of research. It also means that the characters themselves won't have life unless you truly know them. And how will you know them?

I found out that if I put parts of myself into my characters, they took to the page in a way that none of my characters have ever done before.

Into the main character of Tornado C I poured the guilt I had before I had become a Christian, before I had discovered the wondrous theme of justification; into his companion, I put bitterness (which everyone knows to some extent), and the struggle with sin we all have; in another character, I put loneliness and, in some ways, embodied my adaption to a new culture and the differences I have with my own; in all of these, the frustration we have when God doesn't seem to hear when we speak to Him; in The Prophecy of Einarr, I have a character who realizes how dangerous surrender to God may be and the pride that holds them back, which I have taken from my own conversion; and in The Voice of God my main character will struggle with the ever-present question of why God does what He does, and why innocents often suffer more than the wicked.

As a result of this, my writing has come alive in new ways. I have often taken something that I wrestle with in my own life and embody it in the written word. If I write about struggles I have never had, will I help those who have them? Yet if I write about the things of life I know, won't the reader understand it better?

If I read a book about a missionary kid adapting in a new culture, I would deeply emphasize with them and their story. In America, I read about missionaries and their trials; now I understand them so much better. In the same way, if the characters of a novel have the same struggles that other people do, they will come alive to your reader.

Thus, writing what you know becomes pouring yourself into your novel. Bits and pieces of myself are found in all of my characters. Why? Because that is the only way I will truly know them, and know how to write them. My stories become my way of articulating my life and my faith.

So my advice to you is this: don't shirk back from becoming your characters and their stories. Pour yourself into them: your struggles, your faith, your experiences, your life, and your blood. Once your readers see your blood on paper, they'll recognize that the same blood flows in their own veins. And regardless of the number of sales you have or the amount of people that read your book, your readers will connect with your story in a way that they can't with the average penny-dreadful.

And that's a very good thing.

Can God Use Fiction Writing?

Some time ago I laid in silence and stared up at the ceiling, which I could hardly make out through my white, sheet-like mosquito net.

Temporarily sleepless nights are no strangers to me. More than once I've laid awake past midnight while wrestling over some question, whether it be spiritual, theological, or having to do with some hitch in my writing. This time it was the latter.

And I was asking the question, “Can God really use my fiction writing?”

Honestly, I had hit something of a rut with Tornado C. I saw where I was, and where I needed to be, but I couldn't seem to get up the inspiration and drive to get there. Instead, I found myself working on my Will Vullerman edits, or doing nothing at all. (When unable to write, I find it much easier to revise – and procrastination is easier than both.) I didn't want to work on Tornado C.

These thoughts are common to me, and probably to you too. Usually I can plow through this problem. However, there was another factor contributing to my sleepless state of mind.

That day I had started re-reading one of my favorite books, one I hadn't picked up for some time; it had been over a year, in fact, since I had last read it.

And there was a problem. I recognized some of the same elements in that story that were in my current novel. Little things here and there were almost identical to some of the themes and concepts in my own novel. While there was nothing blatantly plagiaristic – much of my novel was as original as a your run-of-the-mill swords-and-battles fantasy tale – there were parts of the novel, especially in theme, that sounded eerily similar to my own.

This is a problem I've struggled with since my very first novel. How can I write with originality? I've read killer plots before, and loved incredible characters; why couldn't I write the same?

Mentally, this discovery was rather crushing. If this novel – which has been one of my best ideas yet – wasn't totally original, how could I ever write something truly good?

Thus, midnight found me awake again, my hands folded behind my head and my elbows splayed out over my pillow, my legs crossed, my eyes staring blankly into the darkness above the circular plastic rods that held up my net. Inside, I was wrestling with this problem, looking at it from every angle and trying to make sense of the mess.

Finally, as what usually happens, I brought it before God. I laid out all of my frustration, both at the story and at my own negligence and procrastination. I let Him have it. Here's what I said, in short:

“Okay, God, I know you gave me this novel. And this concept. And especially this theme. But I don't know what to do anymore. The novel is flawed. I can't convey what I want to – it's not even original. I want to write this novel for Your glory, but how can I do that? How can you even use this novel? I'm not even a hundred pages into it, and it's riddled with problems and holes and characters that don't do what I want them to. At times, I don't even want to write the story anymore. Do you really want me to do this? Should I give it up altogether and work on something that actually seems to work – like my Will Vullerman stories? How can you even work with such a flawed story?”

I don't claim to hear from God. I didn't hear an audible voice; but to my spirit, I heard Him say, “If I want to use this novel for My glory, what is it to you? Don't you believe that I can use the most flawed vessel?”

And that answer left me speechless.

Well?

Did I believe that God could use Tornado C, despite how flawed it was, despite how flawed I was? Didn't I believe in a God who can do anything and everything He wanted? And if He wanted to use Tornado C...was I, a fallible mortal, going to stand in His way?

And eventually, I answered. And the answer was yes, I did believe that God could use anyone and anything.

What logically follows from this, then, is the question: “Then why aren't I writing my novel like I believe God can use it?”

To disobey His call to write my novel – to even procrastinate and do nothing when I know I should be writing – that is a sin. We are to do everything to His glory; so if we have dedicated something like a novel to His glory and we don't continue in it, we are keeping for ourselves the glory that rightfully belongs to God.

I'm writing this to encourage you, blog reader. If you're writing, and you're stuck, and you don't know if you can continue on writing this story...just remember.

Remember this: that if you have dedicated your novel to God, unless you hear otherwise from Him, you are to write in that novel and make it the best it can be. And He who has started this work will finish it. To do otherwise is to keep from giving God the glory.

And write with the knowledge that God is behind it, directing it, fueling it, and writing it. And guess what? When God is in charge of things, He can do it so much better than we can on our own.

Isn't that incredible? That the God of the universe – He who is infinitely creative – can create through us? That He can illustrate His own attributes and give Himself glory through our flawed writings?

That's a good God! And that's a good thought, is it not?

Soli Deo gloria. Glory to God alone!

The Mysterious August Absence of Yours Truly

In my previous post, I mentioned that I wouldn't be able to write in Tornado C for the month of August due to certain circumstances. The simple question may have crossed your mind: why?

It's a long story - but then again, most stories are. The short story doesn't exist, not really. Short stories are merely story fragments. (But I'm going on a rabbit trail, aren't I?)

In this post, I will (with multiple rabbit trails) attempt to explain why the month of August will be a non-writing month.

But first, I'll tell you in a one sentence. Then I'll explain. And what is that "one sentence"?

Between August 6-29, the entire Buller clan (including me) will be at large in the U.S. of A.

Yeah, that's a pretty decent reason to forgo writing for a month. We're visiting America - and it's going to be hectic. I'll hardly have time for sleep, much less writing. (And I don't sleep on plane flights, particularly twelve-hour ones. AND we're arriving in the morning. *headdesk*)

So why are we going to the States?

Well, if you recall, some time ago I wrote a post about why I wasn't going to America in the year of 2012. The reasons were perfectly legit: in addition to the unfortunate subject of money (and lack thereof), it would be potentially dangerous to go back before we had been here in Africa for a full year.

Why? Because we'd be tempted to stay. After all, the majority of culture shock and homesickness happens within the first year of moving to another culture and another country.

Thing is, though, you have to let go of something before you can receive it. In the same vein of "he who loses his life shall find it", we let go of our desire to go to America - and discovered that we were going to America after all. After examining ourselves - and taking away our almost insatiable desire to go to America - we found that our desires were fulfilled in the end, to the glory of Christ.

However, back to the original question—there are several reasons for this visit. First, well, who wouldn't want to visit their home country after being gone for eight months?

And second (the main reason), Mom's uncle offered to pay for our flights so that we'd be able to go to a large family reunion, which only happens every three or four years. (When I say large, think 100+ people...all related to each other.) This is important, especially since some of our older relatives are getting along in their years. So we're flying in for the reunion! :)

(Interestingly enough, in some bizarre way, we managed to get comparatively dirt-cheap tickets that were like half the starting price. We still don't know exactly how that happened.)

In addition, it's going to be insanely busy. We've got three states to visit, multiple churches to go to and update, and dozens of friends to see - all in a three-week period. And that's besides the massive family reunion.

In an excited summary: I'M GOING TO AMERICA IN A WEEK!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!

No, seriously, you have absolutely no idea how excited I am, for the very good reason that you've probably never been away from your home country for eight months. (Granted, I know there's a couple MKs out there. You, of all people, would be able to understand, right? Going back "home" for a visit is fantastic, and this is my first one since moving.)

But if you consider the idea of moving to another country, and reverse the feeling, you'll have a good idea what I mean. It's more than delight - it is (as my grandpa put it, when we picked him up from the airport here in Liberia) pure, unadulterated happiness.

As the ever-present G. K. Chesterton says, "What could be more delightful than to have in the same few minutes all the fascinating terrors of going abroad combined with all the humane security of coming home again?"

But enough of that. ^_^ Suffice it to say that we're extremely happy to be visiting America again.

Oh, and if any of you are visiting the Midwest (particularly in Kansas; Wichita and Kansas City mainly) email me or something. It would be awesome if I could meet up with some "internet friends" while visiting (although it's hardly plausible). Still, God's done stranger things!

Prepare yourself, America - for the Clan is coming back!

 

Writing Like There's No Tomorrow

"Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." —Matthew 12:34b-37

Words are a pretty big deal in the Bible. With words, God created everything. With words - and His Word, the Bible - God communicates to us. Jesus himself is the Word who became flesh. Matthew 12:37 even says that by our words we will be acquitted or condemned. It is through words that we preach the good news; it is with words that we can tear up and break down.

Words are important to anybody and everybody. But especially to us, the Christian writers. Words are our craft. They're our trade. Our entire business is with words. So if the above passage applies to anybody, it applies to us!

By our words we will be judged. Our words are just one of the different evidences of fruit in our lives. Jesus repeatedly talks about fruit, as do the Epistles; by the fruit you bear will you be known. Evil people bear bad fruit. Good people bear good fruit. That's the way it works.

So how does this apply to us?

Ask yourself this: what kind of fruit is evident in your writing? What kind of words are you speaking?

Every time I read this passage of Scripture, I'm drawn towards verse 36: we will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word we have spoken.

If you're like me, that hits hard. Because with words, it's so easy to say something carelessly. Granted, that's somewhat harder to do with writing, but still...everything counts. Whatever we do...we are to do it for Christ!

So if this is true, then we don't have time to waste, to put it bluntly. We can't waste our words! If Christ is not in what we write or speak, should we be doing it? If Christ can't be found in our current work-in-progress, should we be writing it? If we are not wholly devoted to Him who created the CONCEPT of words...what are we doing to rectify that?

But it's hard! The Bible has so much depth to it; how can we possibly compare? We don't. But we try anyway. We are to capture the echoes of our Gospel and the intangible joy of our Good News. That's what being a Christian writer is about.

We will have to answer for every careless word we speak - and every careless word we write. Every time we had an opportunity to share the Gospel in our stories but didn't; every time we waste words on something that will never last; we'll have to answer for that.

So what will we say on that day? That we didn't want to risk offending someone in our writing? I hope that you see the absurdity in this. Either we believe it or we don't; if God calls you to put something more "preachy" in your writing, then do it! Otherwise, do we really believe this at all? If we aren't willing to give up this novel to Him and write this novel FOR Him - then why claim the title of Christian writer?

Dear writers and fellow believers! I want to tell this to you as lovingly as possible, but I don't want to sugarcoat it. We cannot write without Him. He is the one who enabled us to write in the first place; so why would we, as Christian writers, write something without first committing it to Him? And if we've truly committed our writing to him, will we be writing fluff fiction? Or worse, fluff fiction with a cardboard God?

I'm not trying to guilt you or make you write something explicitly Christian. My question is, are you writing what God wants you to? Are you following His leading? If the answer is yes, then the Christian content in your writing is between you and God, not you and me.

However, my statement still stands: our lives are too short (and our Commission too great) to waste writing petty things.

Don't be afraid to write something that others will call preachy. Listen to this:

"'Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:13-14)

They cannot hear, and thus believe, without someone preaching to them. And if we're writing typical escapist fiction that has no depth whatsoever and no meaning to the reader...how is that preaching?

It's not!

"But what if we turn them off from the Gospel?" is a typical reply. Here's the beauty of it: God's the one who opens the hearts of those ready to receive the Gospel. Not us. Our job is to preach what God tells us to. He does the rest.

So what must we do?

We must continue to write - but write for Him and write about Him. Out of the overflow of our heart our mouth speaks and our pen writes. Let us be so overflowing with Him and His goodness that our writing is bursting! Let the overflow of our heart overflow into others' hearts - so that everyone can taste, with every word they read, the glory of our majestic King!

This is your call, Christian writer! You have to write like there's no tomorrow, no words wasted, everything committed to Him who is worthy to receive everything we are.  

What Is This Theme Stuff, Anyway?

What exactly is theme? Why does it matter? How do you even write it?

This is yet another of those rehashing-stuff-I've-mentioned-or-written-about-before posts. Yet every time you look at something, you get a new insight. An apple appears red at first; but then you can tell it's darker in some places and lighter in others. Then you get past the simple look and find that the inside isn't really red at all. And it tastes good, too.

My point is, theme is one of the most important parts of fiction for the Christian fiction writer, and must be studied, therefore, more than once. You get new stuff out of it with each fresh look.

What is theme?

Theme is simply the meaning in the story you write. This is not to be confused with the subcategory of theme, which I've nicknamed story-with-a-theme, partners to story-with-a-message and story-with-a-faith. (Rather confusing on my part, sorry.) In this post, however, theme simply means the meaning in a story and encompasses all three categories.

Now, theme is an essential part of every story. Without theme, a story is meaningless. It's fluff. It has no impact on your life. It's escapism. Not bad in itself, but why waste your time on a meaningless story when you could be doing something that's actually constructive?

Theme, however, is a big subject. There's a multitude of different ideas about how to do theme. I divide it into three aforementioned categories: theme (a "moral of the story"), message (a more concealed Christian theme, such as in allegories and Narnia), and faith (the kind of story in which faith in God is an integral part: Bryan Davis and Christopher Hopper's books are examples of this).

In this post, however, I'll address the action and abandon the analytics. (Alliteration. Hah!) Before you read much further, however, make sure you're in the right place. Your writing isn't yours, remember. It's God's. If you're trying to manufacture a theme without Him, and all truth is in Him, then are you really making a theme?

Now, there are many different opinions about writing theme. Writing genius Jeff Gerke, whom I respect quite a bit, suggests that story is king; you'll write a story and discover that you'll get a theme on the way. I disagree.

I am of the opinion that you need to find your theme to write it. I manage to work pretty well off the seat of my pants, but before I ever touch pen to paper, I know my theme.

How do you find your theme, then? What do you find in a theme? How does a theme work?

List time!

1) A theme must come integrally from the plot and characters. They all work together.

In my Will Vullerman short story, The Reality Ring, my character gets into a mess because he rather recklessly traps himself in an alternate reality. Why? Because he was a little bored with life. Running missions for the ASP was his life, and when that was taken away, he didn't have much left. The theme of the story was about Will rediscovering his purpose in life, and having a pretty rollicking adventure along the way. The story was tied to the theme, and vice versa.

This is why theme is often hard; because you're trying too hard. If you look closely, you'll find the theme was in there in the plot all along. All you need to do is find it and show the reader what it is. In battles, you'll find courage, heroism; in the quest, you'll discover perseverance, fortitude; in the long journey, friendship, fellowship, camaraderie; in the characters, redemption, love, and sacrifice. The themes are there, but like a diamond in the rock, you need to dig them out and make them shine.

2) A theme often involves character change.

As we saw in the above example, the theme is often found in a character change. In other words, my character learned something.

In The War Horn, my main character embarks on a quest, and the quest changes him. In the end, he can't be who he was anymore. He gives up himself and becomes a better person as a result, learning what freedom truly is. The theme drove the plot, so to speak. As Daniel Schwabauer puts it, a character changes when the cost of not changing becomes too high.

The theme quite often revolves around the character. Because in the character, we see ourselves. If we truly empathize with a character, it's because we understand him. When the character changes, we find that we can change too.

3) To show theme, thread it through the story.

Once you've discovered your theme, to make it most effective, you need to thread it through the story. Another of my Will Vullerman stories, In Stasis, had the theme of God's mercy woven throughout it. The ending was meaningful because I had foreshadowed it, so to speak, by introducing the theme in the beginning of the story. Again, in The Reality Ring, the theme was introduced from the very first page and tied up in the ending.

In The War Horn, my character repeatedly was given opportunities to truly see freedom as it must be, and not as he saw it. He failed each time, and each time the stakes grew higher. But by the end, the cost of not changing became too high, and he finally chose correctly. In that way, the theme was continued throughout the story, and finally resolved in the end. In fact, the last word of the book is free.

4) To help in showing theme, embody it in a symbol.

I first came up with the concept of a war horn after listening to an inspirational One Year Adventure Novel lecture called Symbols. In that lecture, Daniel Schwabauer explained that a theme or an ideal can be embodied in a symbol.

In The War Horn, the horn is the symbol of freedom, and also a reminder of my main character's lost father. At the climax of the story, rather than saying that my character chose freedom, I used the war horn to show my character's choice. (But for the full details of that theme, you'll have to read the book yourself!)

Symbols often make the reader dig for meaning. They create a feeling of satisfaction deep within the readers' souls that a simple statement can never do.

5) Reach out of the story and into real life.

The thing that makes a theme a theme is that it matters to us. The characters we love are the ones that spur us on. In a way, we say, "If he did it, so can I."

Thus, a theme shows us something that matters in actual life. In The Thirteenth Call, yet another Will Vullerman short story, Will comes to the conclusion that he can't do his mission alone. Time has run out and he has a slim chance of saving his friends' lives; and all the time he is haunted by the failure from his past. That's relevant to all of us, because we all have failures in our past that haunt our present, and we all need to know that there is Someone who is sovereign over it all.

Ultimately, our job is to point to the greatest Author of all. We reach out of our tale and show our reader that the God of this story is the God of their story. He's the Author of the saga of this world, and His gospel can be traced throughout the world's bloody history, the light in this otherwise dark tale. And He can take the darkness in each of us and transform us in His light.

So what do you think about theme? Are there any other ways you can think of to write theme? Can you think of any great themes in books you've read? Theme's one of my favorite subjects, after all. Let's talk.

The Christianity in Christian Fiction

The Christianity in Christian Fiction

I've made numerous posts on Christian fiction before, and I apologize if it feels like I'm saying the same thing over and over. But really, something as important as the Christ in Christian fiction must, in some ways, be repeated with different words. The more you hear about it, the more sense it makes, so to speak.

This post is about a very narrow subject: how do we improve the Christianity in Christian fiction?

I think all of us, at one point or another, have compared ourselves to the greats of Christian fiction, such as C. S. Lewis. I've wondered myself, "How in the world can I write something with such depth of meaning?"

I can say that my prose is fairly good, my characters are decent, my plot is improving, my POV almost impeccable (that's the one thing I'm very good at, really) and my quality of writing in general is at least "good enough". But in my eyes, that's all meaningless without the depth that comes with Christian fiction.

Some authors manage to create this depth and touch on things that we know subconsciously but not mentally. One reason that I admire Chesterton so much is that he can put into words the things that we can't say ourselves, such as his chapter of Orthodoxy called "The Ethics of Elfland". The thing I dislike about my own writing is that's it's hard for me to put depth of meaning into my work.

This morning, however, I answered my own question. In the shower, no less.

So how do we improve the spiritual depth of our writing?

The secret lies not in improving our writing but improving our spirit. The way we cultivate meaning in our stories is to cultivate meaning in our lives. Lewis was a theologian long before he wrote Narnia.

In other words, Christ—and our pursuit of Him—must come before everything. Including writing. We must be willing to give up writing if that means we can glorify him better in another place. We must be willing to give up everything in this world in the hope of glorifying him more.

A. W. Tozer put well: "We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety; this is especially true when those treasures are our loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed."

You may have heard that the best way to achieve good writing is to learn from good writing. If you're writing fantasy, read Tolkien. If you're doing detective stories or murder mysteries, read Sherlock Holmes or Chesterton. Read widely and you will write widely.

In the same way, to achieve good spiritual depth in our writing, we must read theology with fantasy. We must have Chesterton right beside Lawhead, Sproul up with Tolkien. Sure, I stay up late reading Christian thrillers, but I stay up late reading Tozer as well. I read The Art and Craft of Writing Christian Fiction extensively, but I must read the Bible even more.

That's the balance we must have in order to write Christian fiction. There's a reason the "Christian" is before the "fiction", and it's not just a quirk of grammar. Our faith must come before our writing, and we must pursue God before we can pursue a writing career. If the option is to read the Bible for an hour or write for an hour, I don't care what kind of a deadline you have, the Bible comes first.

Any depth we write cannot be borrowed. If we write before we pray, I seriously doubt that we won't be creating another throwaway Christian novel with the "Christian" tacked on because of a set of beliefs we have.

But if we pray before we write, and we put God before anything else, our writing will change. Instead of milk, we'll have meat; instead of fluff, we'll have fire.

Instead of fiction that's Christian, we'll have Christian fiction.

And that's the way it should be.

What is Allegory?

Allegory is traditionally labeled as a retelling of the Bible. The Pilgrim's Progress comes to mind, and C. S. Lewis's Narnia books.

But far too often, allegory comes out predictable and preachy. (On the predictable part, I'm thinking of Chuck Black's Kingdom series. While I enjoyed them, I didn't love them because they were a blatant retelling of the Bible. You probably disagree, but it IS rather predictable, no?)

So what do we do? Christians who want to write Christian fiction have two choices: write allegory or write Christian fiction—that is, fiction with Christian characters. Most go for the latter, but I believe there's a power in allegory that today's writers have not completely harnessed.

My upcoming novel (codenamed Tornado C) is somewhat allegorical. But more and more, I'm rebelling against the traditional way of labeling allegory. Retelling another story isn't much more than copying. Too often, allegory comes out cliche and predictable.

So how can we write allegory and keep it unpredictable?

We need to change our definition of allegory. Writing that is deep and meaningful AND allegorical is hard to come by. Really, all the allegory I can think of that really works is Lewis's Narnia books.

And yet, Lewis didn't intentionally "copy" the Bible. He instead said that it was the story of Christ coming in another world and another time.

Therein lies the key, I think.

Allegory is not retelling a story: it's retelling a truth.

Can you see the difference? Retelling a story leads to a strict copy of the Bible: retelling a truth leaves room for speculation and truly original story.

Tornado C has something of a Christ-parallel in it. (Don't look at me like that.  I promise you, it's good.)  And yet, if you tried to formulate theology off of that parallel, it would come way off. Because the purpose of that parallel is NOT to retell Christ's story, but to retell self-sacrifice and show the importance of the voice of God in our lives.

And really, thinking of allegory in this way frees us. Trying to copy the Bible not only fails (because we're human), it harnesses us to the theology of the Bible; we HAVE to tell it in this way, otherwise our theme would be skewed. You can't have Christ coming in a sinless world if you're writing allegory; otherwise, the theology behind the book wouldn't work! If there's no sin to save us from, then that could translate into the real world and make people think that they don't need Christ!

And yet, that's what Hopper does in his White Lion Chronicles, because he didn't write traditional allegory. He retold the truth of a Savior, not the story of Christ.

This could transform the way we look at Christian fiction. It would free us to speculate and thus write truly original novels.

If you only remember one thing about this post, remember this: don't try to retell the STORY of the Bible, but instead show the TRUTH of the Bible. That's true allegory. And that's how we can write powerful, original Christian speculative fiction.

The Writer's Purpose

(Note: this post is something of a sequel post to another article I've written, We Are The Writers. If you haven't read We Are The Writers already, I'd encourage you to read it before continuing on to this post. And one more note...this post is long and fairly impassioned. Only read it if you have time to focus on it.)

So here's what I've said: writers are paradoxes. Writers are some of the most meaningful people in the world. Writers are insanely sane.

Whether or not the logic processes that I used to explain this paradox are valid or not (isn't that ironic?), I think we can all say that writers have something in them that makes them be more meaningful when writing meaningful things. I recieved mixed feelings about my last post and created something of a discussion, and I'm not surprised. It was a crazy post, after all.

I called it one of my greatest posts. But in hindsight, THIS post is the culmination of my writing on this blog. This is the heartbeat of my writer's existence.  And, like I said, this will be long.

In this post, I'll dive into something dearer and deeper to me than the awesomeness of writers: the PURPOSE of Christian writers. I have a feeling that this will be less controversial but more challenging to all of us. We Are The Writers presented ideas: The Writer's Purpose will provide direction for those idea-driven people. We Are The Writers presented philosophy: The Writer's Purpose will present theology. (And don't shy back at that word, theology. It invokes visions of fifty-pound Bibles and heavy seminary textbooks and St. Augustine. But it's important, so keep reading.)


The Purpose

What is the purpose of a Christian writer?

It's a simple question that has a simple enough answer. However, let me clarify that question: what is YOUR purpose as a Christian writer?

Like I said, the answer probably comes to mind easily.

Here's my own answer: my sole purpose as a Christian writer is to glorify God. My sole purpose in LIFE is to glorify God. After all, that's why I moved to West Africa!

But honestly, what does that mean? Someone once told me that "the glory of God" is the answer to every Sunday school question, but "the glory of God" doesn't answer this one: what does glorifying God mean?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that the way we glorify God the best is by living for Him. For example, when Jesus and, afterward, Christians, did miracles, the people glorified God. Healing people and doing Christ's work glorifies Him. Living for Him and praising Him glorifies Him. We are to live as "living sacrifices" to God, according to Romans 12.

Another passage states that whatever we do, we must do it as if we were doing it for Christ.

The way we glorify God is to impact the reader FOR CHRIST. We show that His goodness is so good that we cannot help but want it: we show that His holiness is so holy that we must throw ourselves on the ground and shout, "Woe to me!": we must show that His forgiveness is powerful and can wash the foulest clean, but that each man truly is foul and must be cleansed: we must show Him in EVERY aspect.

But I'm not saying you should write novels where all the characters get converted and the reader has a nice accept-Jesus-Christ-and-you-will-be-saved epilogue to tie it all together. Far from it. But the desire to escape cheesy writing and cliches does NOT let us escape the fact that we are still to glorify Him in WHATEVER we do.

So our purpose as writers is to glorify God. Simple enough, right?

But let me reinforce this: every book, every chapter, every WORD you write must be for the glory of God, if you are a Christian wanting to write a Christian novel. Many people have said, "Write what you're passionate about."

I'm not afraid to say it: my greatest passion in life is not writing. It isn't reading. It isn't blogging. It isn't even having good Christian fellowship or going to church.

My greatest passion in life is to see the glory of God spread to all nations and to live my life according to His purpose and FOR His GLORY, whether that be in writing or not, wherever He might call me.

Whether you write a novel or not, the decision to live solely for God will impact every single aspect of your life and fundamentally change your worldview.

If your passion is not for God, then you should not be writing a book you consider "Christian". If your passion is for a THEME, such as sacrifice, then you are off. If you hold anything besides God to be your greatest passion, then your novel will not accurately reflect the glory of God.

If you have any other motivation to write a novel than to glorify God, then you need to take a step back.

So that is our purpose, to glorify God. But what does glorifying God in writing look like?

That's what my second point is about.


The Action

These thoughts have been simmering in my head for a long time. The balance of theme and message and faith is a tricky one, but we must all choose where we will stand.

There are three ways that a Christian writer can write a book for God's glory. (The first one may be disputed, but I think it could be pulled off. I tried my best to pull it off in my novel The War Horn, actually, but in some places, it seeps into the second kind of story.)

1) First, the Story with the Theme. A theme is the most common way to express an ideal that originates from God. All three categories have a theme: but only one of them is the Story with the Theme, a story that uses theme and only theme.

What is theme? For the purpose of this post, a theme is a "good" ideal-like aspect of humanity. Forgiveness, love, and sacrifice are all powerful "themes".

The Story with the Theme uses the plot and characters to show the reader this "theme".

The most common example of The Story with the Theme is found in The Lord of the Rings. J. R. R. Tolkien hated allegory, but he did want to write books that would "cleanse" the world, in a way. He didn't want to write a novel to get a point across, but he (debatedly) wanted to write a novel with a theme to get across. (Note the difference in wording. He wrote a novel and included a theme, rather than making a theme off of which to write a novel.)

Sacrifice and heroism are two big themes in The Lord of the Rings, and, coupled with my faith, I find them quite inspiring. I, and millions of others, love Tolkien's books.

2) The Story with the Message is the second kind of story. It's a story with Christian MESSAGES, which is different than a theme. A message, for the purposes of this post, is sort of a "clearer" version of a theme. It's not necessarily black-and-white Christian, but to the one who looks for it, the parallels to Christianity are evident.

The example for this one is C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Many people have read them and never realized the Christian themes, but it's evident to most Christians, and certainly more evident than Tolkien's Christianity.

3) The Story with the Faith is the third kind. It's a story with an evident faith that includes in that story a message AND a theme. The "faith" in this kind is basically the worldview of the author clearly expressed in the events of the story and the characters.

The best example of this is found in Bryan Davis' writing. If you read any Christian speculative fiction, then you've undoubtedly heard of Bryan Davis. He's a Christian writer who writes his entire worldview into his books. His books always have a theme, a message, and often expresses his faith in Jesus Christ.


Where Will We Stand?

Where will you stand, writer?

To glorify God means that we will be fighting, you know. God is counter-culture, because men are sinners and He is holy. Our words may not be popular. We may be called "bigots" or "Bible-thumpers", but should that stop us?

Absolutely not!

We must stand firm. We must fight the fight of the faith, not only with the armor of God but with the words He has given us. Our words are our most powerful weapon, and we must wield them according to our King's commands.

But we have three kinds of story to balance, and to the average Christian writer, it's hard. Some of us don't want to be "preachy" and try to proselytize the audience, and yet we want to express our faith in a way that glorifies God. In many ways, we'll lean towards one or the other.

And it's hard. So, so hard. The Christian writer's job is to write in blood, for the pain and hardship of trying to make the intangible tangible is one of the most difficult jobs there is; and in the same way, we are writing with Someone's blood so that every page will reflect it.

So which way is better?

None of them are better than the other.

I think that God uses each and every style of Christian writing. And I think, in some ways, he uses others more. I've heard a story from Bryan Davis himself (I met him at a writing conference) about how his book literally saved someone's life. And for those of you who don't know it, Davis's journey to publication and his faith in his writing is truly a remarkable and Christ-filled tale.

And yet, I don't think many non-Christians will read Davis's books. They're clearly marketed for Christians, and thus are avoided, in most cases.

In the end, the decision is up to you and God.

Here's how I do it: every single novel I write, I place in God's hand. I tell Him, "This novel is Yours. Guide me as I write this." Sometimes they end up differently. The Book of Shaldu, for instance, is between The Story with the Message and The Story with the Faith (and will probably lean towards The Story with the Faith once I rewrite it), while The War Horn is mostly a Story with a Theme.

(This method also lets me pull off SOP - seat of pants - writing. But that's another subject altogether.)

And I pray that, in whatever way He might do it, that He would use my novels to further His Kingdom and glorify Him. And I pray the same for you: in whatever you might do, do it for God's glory. Wherever you stand in this journey we call writing, and wherever you might be in determining how God wants you to write, let me tell you this:

Do it for God's glory.

I have a baton in my room here in West Africa. When I graduated a missions class called Perspectives, I was handed the baton, and the baton read, "Every tribe, tongue, and nation or BUST!!!"

That's the war cry of missions. We Christian writers have our own war cry, however. "Write a story to glorify God—or BUST!"

Soli Deo gloria, blog readers.

Glory to God alone.