I totally agree with your view and explanation. What an awesome God we serve… I would love to do an interview with you for my newsletter, this topic would be great!

http://renee-mccoy.blogspot.com

The thing about parables is that if you wrote a story with the characteristics of a parable most folks wouldn’t recognize it as Christian fiction. I’ve toyed around with some ideas of allegory, but nothing yet.

Ministry and money. Yes, a hot topic. I thought a lot about it as I got ready to go back to contract. Do I really need a publisher in order to have a writing ministry? I concluded that I didn’t and the self-publishing idea really grew in my mind. I’m still toying around with it.

More on my thoughts later. I really do want to hear yours.

Cheri, I can’t wait to read your post and find out about your decision regarding how your books should be categorized.

Thanks so much for this post. Points 2 and 3 are two that I definitely considered when deciding I no longer wanted my fiction writing to be formally included in the Christian Fiction genre. Dee Stewart adds a pertinent last comment in that consideration as well, “…However, when a writer states that their writing is also ministry, they need to be careful that their works edify the Body of Christ, glorify God and add to the Kingdom.”

I do understand other’s viewpoints. The spiritual walk is a personal one and each of us must do what we are comfortable with. I appreciate you talking about your views with such honesty, clarity and insight.

Think I’ll be blogging about this later.

Cheri

1. Parables: I agree. Unless the book is a novelized version of a parable, then no, it’s a novel or novella.

2 and 3. Charging for ministry: One of my best friends is an associate pastor for a presbyterian church in Denver and she is also a missionary that travels the world when on sabbatical. The church pays her a salary to service the church, as most employers would. Likewise, the church I belong to we provide for our pastors. We want them to devote their time –except family time– to ministering to us and the community.

As a missionary, however, she raised funds to go on her trips. She sends out a newsletter to keep her patrons posted on the mission trip.

Yet, when we speak on art as ministry, there are other things to consider. If a church commissions a painter, a playwright, potter or a poet to create art for that church’s edification then of course some monies are exchanged.

We could produce are works as gifts, whereby we give our books away like Billy Graham or Oral Roberts have done in the past with its purpose to Kingdom build.

But when it comes to writing commercial fiction we have taken a step outside of an intent to only minister. We are also–whether we want to admit or not–expecting an income, a fan base, and writer perks.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to write commercial. However, when a writer states that there writing is also ministry, they need to be careful that their works edify the Body of Christ, glorify God and add to the Kingdom.

Writing books is a business no matter the original intent of the author. If people were really concerned about the accessibly of books as a message as opposed to money in their pocket, books would be free. Lets keep it real.

Is writing a ministry? It’s certainly a way to minister by drawing the attention of readers toward Christ. For some, it’s a hobby. For others, a means of making a living. Still others, a ministry. None are wrong or less rarefied than the others, in my opinion. The hobbyist’s book may draw the most people to Christ. Did it not minister? Honestly, I believe each writer has to define this for herself. We should be careful about getting caught up in labels, and more importantly, in labeling anyone other than ourselves.

Money and ministry. Hmmm…. This one trips up so many people. Because some believe money and ministry should have no connection, taking Paul’s personal decision as creed, is the reason why some feel those in ministry should not prosper materially, even by long, hard work. It becomes the argument, for some, against giving or supporting the pastor and his family-where salary is not supplied or not enough to meet the basic needs.

On the other hand, as you point out, Paul did live off means supplied by others, at least in some circumstances. In the purest sense, if a writer wants to minister by way of her books and getting the message out is more important than the money, I suppose she might self-publish and give the books away. (The cost might be completely tax-deductible, although that ministry-minded writer may not care about taxes.) Asking the publishers to reduce prices is not realistic, because they are in the business of making money even if the writer feels she is not. Perhaps the writer buys as many author copies as she can, and gives them away for free–not to book reviewers but to readers.

God doesn’t have a problem with people earning a living. It’s what you do, how you do it, and how you handle the proceeds that matter, as those things affect your heart and your choices may diminish your witness.