Seriously Great Advice for Christian Writers

I just read Greg Laurie's e-devotional for today and found it very pertinent to Christian writers (http://www.harvest.org/). Greg admonishes us, as Christians, to "T.H.I.N.K. About it!"

It's so easy to "sound off" when we read or hear something that offends the Christian faith. But those gut reactions need to be filtered through Paul's admonition to "speak the truth in love" if we're going to be effective apologists.

Greg Laurie recommends we consider the acronym "T.H.I.N.K." before we speak.

T- Is it Truthful?
H- Is it Helpful?
I- Is it Inspiring?
N- Is it Necessary?
K- Is it Kind?"

I can't “think” of better advice to Christian writers.

One of the best examples of a writer who communicates this way is Randy Ingermanson. Randy says his only "claim to fame" is that he's "the only theoretical physicist who writes Christian fiction," but I believe he's being too modest. He has written some powerful Christian fiction (http://www.ingermanson.com/books/index.php), but he also produces the largest e-zine for writers in the world.

His e-zine services 14,000 subscribers and receives 4000 to 6000 hits on a typical day. When I asked him how many countries those 14,000 subscribers were from he wasn't sure. His guess was between 50 and 100.

His e-zine is a "must-read" for Christian writers. His advice is invaluable. (He helped me solve a huge problem with the beginning of my current WIP.)

When he's not working on his e-zine or his current novel manuscript, Randy is writing thoughtful, respectful responses to critics of the faith. Check out his response to the Jesus Tomb controversy if you're interested (http://www.ingermanson.com/jesus/art/stats.php).

Randy does what thoughtful Christian writers must do and he does it well. He engages with this culture in a way that makes a difference by speaking the truth in love.

Go to http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com/blog if you'd like to sign up for his free Writer's e-zine.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6