Why I'm Beginning to Write
If you had told me 10 years ago that I would one day start a blog, I probably would have laughed in your face. Even the term “blogging” paints a picture in my mind of a millennial hunched over a laptop at Starbucks, furiously typing their thoughts for exactly two people to read—with one of them being their mother.
Although I don’t like Starbucks, I am a millennial, and I do hope my mom will read my posts (you will read them...right, Mom?).
So why am I beginning to write? For a few reasons.
1. Writers Write
“Writers write.”
This is a statement I heard several years ago and was reminded of again in recent days. It seems like such an overly simplistic adage, but the principle is still true: if you want to become something, you have to actually start doing what that type of person does.
About seven years ago, I started my pressure washing business to help subsidize my income as an assistant pastor. In the months leading up to that, I tried to learn all that I could about the exterior cleaning industry and all the ins and outs of pressure washing and soft washing. I watched countless YouTube videos, joined numerous Facebook groups for professional pressure washers, and even read e-books from other pressure washing business owners. But if that was all I did, I wouldn’t have been a pressure washing business owner; I would have just been a guy with an odd overabundance of knowledge about pressure washing. To start my business, I had to actually start doing the things that a business owner does!
So it is with writing. I’ve decided to stop thinking about it and reading about it and actually start doing it.
“Don’t be ‘a writer’. Be writing.” -William Faulkner
2. The Desire to Write Books
I’ve always enjoyed reading, even from a very young age. I remember all the times my mom would take me to the library, and I would leave there with my arms piled high with all sorts of books that caught my interest. Before we would even get home, I would have my nose buried in my first book of choice and be completely lost in whatever I was reading.
As I’ve grown older, I’m thankful that I haven’t lost that joy of reading. To be able to sit down and read the thoughts and words of others, and be helped, encouraged, inspired, or educated by them years after they were written, is something I hope I never lose the wonder of.
As a young preacher quickly approaching my first decade of being in the ministry, I’ve become increasingly grateful for other preachers who have poured out their hearts on the written page over the years. These are men who wrote not for fame and not in theory, but men who have walked with God and have faithfully served in the trenches of ministry for years. Their willingness to invest countless hours through the medium of writing for the sake of the next generation of preachers is something I will always be grateful for.
Among other things, writing books to help and encourage others, as I have been, is something I hope to do one day.
3. Writing Forces Understanding
Writing can be an unforgiving mirror that reveals that you don’t know as much as you thought you did about a subject. Most people have no trouble talking about something that they have a basic understanding of for at least a little while. But when you’re forced to put what you’re trying to say into the written word, it demands that you have a true grasp of the subject.
“People often assume they know how to write because they know how to speak. There are deep and important connections between spoken and written language, but they’re not the same thing.” -Richard Rhodes, How to Write
If I were having a conversation with someone about turkey hunting, I could probably hold my own for at least a little while with the general hunting knowledge I have and the little I know about turkey hunting. But please, don’t ask me to write a paper about it. It would be a very short paper indeed.
However, if the subject was about bass fishing, that’s a different matter. I grew up fishing with my dad and brothers and enjoyed it, but I couldn’t say I was great at it. But a few years ago, while on our family vacation near Branson, I did a little bass fishing and instantly got bit by the bass fishing bug (or should I say, I got hooked?). If you asked me about bass fishing now, I could easily talk at length or write pages of information for the aspiring bass fisherman.
I could tell you how to choose your first baitcasting rod and what types of lures would work best for its particular length and stiffness. I could expound on the finer points of fishing a top-water frog and “walking the dog” with it to trigger that explosive topwater bite from bass in the shallows. I could list the pros and cons of using a Colorado blade versus a willow-leaf blade on your spinnerbaits, along with which colors of plastic worms work best in different water conditions. And of course, I’d be more than happy to tell you the story of catching my 6 lb 5 oz personal-best largemouth bass a couple of years back.
In other words, I can write intelligently and authoritatively about that subject because it’s something that I’ve put in the time to learn.
As I take these first steps into the world of writing, I’ll be writing about various topics and issues that matter to me. But the most important subject matter I’ll ever write about is truths and principles from God’s Word. Whether you’re preaching, teaching, or writing about Biblical truths, you can’t afford to “wing it”. God’s Word is too precious to approach it with that level of carelessness.
Therefore, I must put in the time. I must put in the study. I must put in the work.
And so I write, if for no other reason than that it will challenge, test, and force me to continually be a student of God’s Word.
4. The Call to Preach
In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul instructs the young preacher boy, Timothy, to “Preach the Word.” The word “preach” comes from the Greek word kērýssō, the same word used to describe the actions of a king’s herald. The herald was the person sent by a king to deliver his message. He did not give his own message or his opinions of the king’s message; he was to simply deliver the king’s message with authority and urgency.
As a preacher, I have a divine duty to preach the Word of God. Simply put, I am responsible for faithfully communicating the truths found in God’s Word to others. It is truly a solemn calling to preach the Bible.
Thankfully, preachers are not responsible for the outcome of their preaching—we are simply commanded to herald the King’s message. I cannot force someone to be saved, nor can I change a heart through sheer logic and sound reasoning through the power of my words. It takes the power of God’s Word and the working of the Holy Spirit to change a person’s heart.
However, there is an element of persuasion that preachers are supposed to exhibit. After all, we are the King’s herald, and we have an urgent message for all to hear. This element of persuasion can be found in a variety of Scripture passages:
God Himself calls us to use the reasoning that we’ve been given.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18
Agrippa acknowledged that he was nearly persuaded to become a Christian.
“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Acts 26:28
In his letter to Titus, Paul urged him to hold fast to God’s Word for the purpose of exhortation and convincing.
“Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” Titus 1:9
Writing is not preaching, and preaching is not writing. But I believe that the discipline of writing will strengthen a preacher’s ability to reason, to organize his thoughts, and to present his case for truth in a manner that will better equip him to fulfill his calling.
5. Another Voice for Truth
Lastly, I’m beginning to write simply because we need more voices in the public square who will unashamedly stand for truth.
There is no shortage of writers, podcasters, and influencers who spread an anti-Christian and humanistic worldview to all who will listen. This should not come as a surprise. We are, after all, living in an increasingly wicked world as we approach Christ’s return.
But should we just cede the public square of the internet to the world? Of course not. As Christians, we are commanded to be salt and light—to have a purifying and restraining influence on our world, and to shine the light of truth, even when it seems to only be getting darker. Whether it be through preaching, writing, podcasting, or video, Christians ought to be involved and use their voices in whatever way they can.
“...by not writing, we are surrendering the printed arena to those who oppose the Word of God. I can promise you, the devil has his writers working overtime! Error screams while truth sits silently by. Christian writing infiltrates domains closed to Bible preaching. Every generation needs young preachers, but it also needs sacred scribes. Both give truth a voice.” -Jerry Ross, Did God Put a Book Inside of You?
There are a number of preachers I follow on social media who use their platform to write and discuss topics related to Christianity, the ministry, and social issues. As a young preacher, I can’t express how much those men encourage, motivate, and challenge me by simply adding their voices in the midst of the noise of the online world. If you’re one of those men reading this, thank you.
I understand that I will largely be writing for myself, and I fully expect a good majority of my posts to essentially be me shouting into the void. But if God can use this discipline of writing to better equip me as a Christian and a preacher and perhaps be another voice for truth, it’ll be well worth the time and effort.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve read this far, please accept my thanks and/or my apologies (whichever best applies). With few exceptions, most of my posts will be shorter and more focused.
In my next post, I’ll explain why I chose True and Faithful as the name of this blog, and examine those two words in the light of Scripture.
Most of my posts will focus on topics related to Christianity, the Bible, and the ministry. From time to time, I’ll also write about some personal interest topics.
All thoughts are my own. Except for basic proofreading, and unless otherwise noted, no AI will be used in my posts. (And yes, that includes the em dash. As one author wrote, “You can pry my em dash from my cold, dead hands.”)
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“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5
True and Faithful is a weekly blog by Andrew Beadles. Subscribe to receive new posts.