An Audience of One
By Nate Stevens
As Christian, faith-based authors, we have an audience of One.
Sure, we may write to inspire a growing audience of readers. We
may write appealing, relatable stories to people of differing experiences,
backgrounds, and upbringing. But let’s keep the
main thing the main thing.
And whatever you do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will
receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
I love deciphering God’s Word and finding the “story behind
the story.” Those details hold much wisdom we can apply to everyday life. From
these verses, I find encouragement and motivation for my writing. I trust you
will too.
· Whatever – This
seems overly simplistic, but it includes fiction and non-fiction, suspense and
documentaries, paperbacks, or the dreaded digital. Whether we research, write,
edit, publish, or market, it’s all included in whatever.
· Heartily – The Young’s
Literal Translation of the Bible lists this as “soul work.” The Amplified version
has it as “work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort].” Ecclesiastes
9:10
encourages a “with all your might” dedication. Although the actual writing may
seem the most appealing and natural, every aspect of the process deserves our wholehearted
effort and investment. Without to-the-bone editing, how will we hold our
readers’ attention? Without good marketing, how will others find our
masterpieces?
· As to the
Lord – Imagine if Jesus was our writing inspiration, our editor,
our publisher, our marketer. How would that affect our craft? It’s one thing to
satisfy the demands of a seemingly impatient agent, ruthless editor, or prickly
publisher. But quite another to satisfy the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let’s
perform every aspect of life for Him.
· Receive
the reward – Of course, winning the applause and awards
within the literary community is amazing. As a finalist in the Selah Awards, it
is gratifying to know my work is appreciated and valued by others. How much
more awesome to hear Jesus say, “I really loved your article / book titled … It
glorified Me, represented your best effort, and helped others along life’s
journey. Well done!”
· You serve
the Lord Christ – Again, this may seem overly simplistic, although
I suspect we may occasionally overlook it in the nitty-gritty grind of
producing literary artwork. It can be distracting to identify the readers’ needs
or pulse to give them what they want. We might even compromise God’s
truth to be politically correct. And the whole process can become quite
spiritually distracting. But we have an audience of One. What we do is for
God’s glory—no wavering, compromise, or distractions.
Writing is a complex, intense, sometimes disappointing but
highly rewarding craft. Using our God-given gift for His glory helps keep
things in perspective and makes Him smile.
Stay blessed, my friends!
Nate writes online articles for ChristianDevotions.us
and KingdomWinds.com as well as several other ministries. Additionally, he
co-founded and leads Fusion, a Christian singles ministry. A popular speaker
and teacher at conferences, seminars and Bible study groups, he speaks on a
wide variety of topics. Nate has two adult
children. He and his wife, Karen, live near Charlotte, North Carolina. Follow Nate and find more resources at: www.natestevens.net.
Always a good reminder, Nate.
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