Breaking the Good News to your readers

Television news and articles on the Internet often give the impression that no good news exists! We constantly hear about failures and falls – the fall of meteorites, the fall of the economy, the fall of politicians, pastors, past heroes, and church membership – all of which can be expected in a fallen world. But here’s the Good News! Christ rescues and forgives. Christ saves.

As Christians, we ARE the Body of Christ on earth, which means, of course, we CAN make a difference! How? Through empowerment by the Holy Spirit and the power of the pen, pencil, print, and Internet….

I’ll be eager to hear your suggestions about this in the Comments section below. Meanwhile, these starters come to mind:

Listen.

Get comfortable. Get quiet. Pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Empty your thoughts. Quiet your mind. Give God a chance to speak to you. How? However, God chooses! Often this will be an impression, inspired thought, or sudden recollection of a word from the Bible that seems especially relevant and timely.

Observe. Notice. Use your good senses!

For example, notice your own reactions to people, ads, news, sermons, events. What troubles you? Do you feel grieved, as I do, when you hear someone bad-mouth God, Christ, Christianity, and the church? Do you wonder, as I do, what Jesus thinks of the bickering and “gang rivalry” that occurs among Christians and various denominations? Do you hear about problems but know of biblical solutions you can address in a poem, article, book, or Bible story retold in a fresh but accurate way?

Identify.

To whom do you intend to speak? If children, are you drawn to a particular age group? If adults, do you feel a stronger connection with young people, middle-aged readers, retirees, or elderly persons? Do you interact with those prospective readers often enough to know what’s on their minds, on their plates, or under their feet?

Focus.

When you know who your readers will be, think about a topic or theme you want to discuss that will most likely interest them. Then sharpen your focus as you identify your writing goal or purpose. i.e., What do you hope your poem, fiction, or nonfiction will accomplish? Do you want to encourage faith? Do you see yourself as an evangelizer whose writings can coax non-Christians to Christ? Do you hope to help heal rifts and misunderstandings in the Body of Christ? How would you go about each of those goals?

Consider.

• In what ways will the Kingdom of God and Will of God attract your readers?

• In what ways would you like for the church to adapt to our changing culture but not lose the power of the Gospel message?

• In what ways can you encourage readers to take the first command in Genesis 1:28 as God's word to protect the environment?

• In what ways can you encourage readers to take the “wreck” out of recreation and put godly acts into action?

• In what way can your writing show true love for God, other Christians, and “those people” we don’t relate to or even like?

• In what winsome ways can all of us accurately, intelligently, empathetically, lovingly, and prayerfully break the good Good News to our readers?

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© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler - poet-author of 26 traditionally published books in all genres, and a lifelong lover of Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the church Body of Christ in all its parts - wrote the Christian Writer's Guide e-book with you and the above thoughts in mind.

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Evangelism and the Spoken Word Performer: interview with Christian poet and Boeing 777 pilot Phil Long

Mary: Phil, I haven’t seen or heard anything as innovative or effective as your poetry performances since Carmen evangelized and captivated crowds in the 1980’s by singing Gospel stories such as Lazarus. How did you get started with your amazing ministry?

Phil: I’d been a closet poet and writer for 30 years before I discovered slam poetry on a layover as a commercial airline pilot. I recognized the potential for engaging people with the hope of the Gospel, and the beauty of the art involved was appealing too, so I dove in.

Mary: How do people generally respond?

Phil: Audiences respond well when the poetry is written for and to them. I have found that to succeed in this community of spoken word artists one must not only have something that they want to say but also respect the audience. This is particularly true in a poetry slam where the audience judges one's poetry and decides who advances to the next round of the competition to perform again.

Mary: So true! Yet so many poets seem to think that published or public poetry is only about themselves and their own words. Your ministry, however, physically draws people, so you can see their faces and energy, and immediately sense their reactions, which poets and writers usually cannot do. Most of us work alone at our personal computers or laptops, but your ministry sounds like it involves other people from the start. Does it?

Phil: I, too, write alone, but there is no question that spoken word poetry is interactive and viscerally personal. You get to see "the whites of their eyes" and hear them react audibly as you perform. You watch your art strike and move the audience. This, of course, means that you need an audience. I have performed and networked for over 3 years now, and that effort is producing more gigs and more contacts. I collaborate with many individuals, churches, and organizations such as Prison Fellowship (approved speakers list), CRU (Evangelistic Speakers Forum), the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association (Next Generation Alliance), and others to complement their mission rather than promote any agenda of my own.

Mary: What do you hope will happen? Where do you see this ministry going?

Phil: That is the most exciting part for me! The young Christian poets I have encountered along the way are brilliant and native to this genre while I feel a bit like an outsider who has moved into the neighborhood. I am recruiting and building a collaborative community of Christian poets who write of their faith like it really matters primarily for spoken presentation with secular audiences. I'm finding this to be a surprisingly rare pursuit. I find that most Christian spoken word artists write for Christian audiences. The goal of a nonprofit poet community I am building, the Sacrificial Poet Project is to "promote faith conversations through the art of spoken word poetry." Our YouTube channels are "jesuspoetryslam" where we have showcased videos for some of our younger poets' work along with some non-Christians who write about our faith and "madatamyth" where my own, lesser, material is moldering. So, my main effort now is to expand success in this genre to other young Christian poets who write and perform for secular audiences.

Mary: Excellent! Although your work will undoubtedly encourage Christian poets and writers and strengthen faith in general, your performances for secular audiences make your ministry highly evangelical.

Phil: Well, writing that "preaches to the choir" lacks a certain authenticity and edge that we are looking for in this project, so I prefer to let the secular audiences decide who is a competent Sacrificial Poet. If a poet succeeds while presenting the hope of the Gospel to a hostile or indifferent audience, they have what it takes. There's a certain laziness of expression that infects one's writing when speaking to an audience that already shares your view. Personally, I find it invigorating to share my faith with people who may be antagonistic or skeptical, and doing so in a way that they will appreciate. The challenge, of course, is to remain true to the Gospel while doing so. It's a fine line.

Mary: Provocative term “Sacrificial Poet,” but I want to understand exactly what you mean, Phil, and readers will too. Expound on that a bit.

Phil: "Sacrificial Poet" is a term I've lifted from the poetry slam world. It describes a non-competition poet who is invited to the stage before every slam to perform an original piece so that the newly selected audience-judges can practice their untested judging skills. And since God is clearly a poet and a spoken word artist, and since we are His poema (Greek word for workmanship), and since we reflect Jesus Christ who is the ultimate Sacrificial Poet and The Word become flesh, it just seemed a natural fit on so many levels. Stunningly, really. We call our collaborative community of poets the Sacrificial Poet Project, and I'm actually amazed that the URL for our website wasn't already taken since this is not a new idea. For example, Acts 17 records the apostle Paul in an ancient example of the contemporary "open mic" scene that these Sacrificial Poets frequent today. If you remember, Paul quoted classical Stoic poets to his audience as a bridge to the hope they could find through God "in whom we live and move and have our being."

Mary: Well-said, Phil – and well-done. I hope what you're doing will encourage other Christian poets, writers, and performance artists to seek new ways to make the Gospel message come alive, so people can hear. May God continue to bless you and your good work.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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