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Lesson Four: Speaking For God
The Third CWG Commandment
You shall be a perpetual, disciplined student of the Word of God, one who daily immerses himself in the truth, rather than one who merely tastes of it. (Isaiah 50:4
Preparation and Prayer
Bring to the meeting:
» Your Bible and Notebook
» Your assignments from Lesson 3
» Any letters published since the last meeting
As you open your meeting, pray:
» For your audience: "God, help us to see our readers as You see them, not as the world sees them or as I might see them with my limited vision."
» That God would develop in you a desire to immerse yourself in the Word.
Establishing the Vision: The Sorry Spokesman Scripture: Proverbs 22:17-21
The crowd of reporters settles into the plush chairs of the brightly lit press room. A hush descends as the spokesman for the Chief of Foreign Policy strides purposefully to the lectern. After a brief introduction he begins to answer the questions fired from the audience.
"Mr. Secretary, can you tell us what the Chief intends to do about the crisis in the nation to our south?
"I'm not aware of his intentions; but I have some very strong opinions about what our role should be, I think..."
"Sir, is this the official stance of the department?"
"Well, I'm not sure, but I do have some quotes from the chief that seem to support my ideas."
"But you must have talked with him about his plans."
"As you know, the Chief is out of the country right now on an extended good-will campaign. I don't often get the opportunity to speak with him."
The reporters exchange confused glances. He IS the spokesman for the Foreign Policy Department, isn't he?
"Well then, Mr. Secretary, can you tell us what your leader's attitude is toward the escalating violence in the country just to the west? What should be our attitude and how can we help defuse the tension there?"
"I believe I've heard him say something about that, but I don't quite know if I have it right. Perhaps you would like to see what CNN said last night?"
A murmur arises in the crowded room as reporters try to make sense of this strange interview. The secretary begins to show signs of strain and searches for a friendly face.
"Mr. Secretary, I understand the Chief's staff carries state-of-the-art telecommunication equipment and can communicate with you 'round the clock from anywhere in the world. What news does he report about his mission?"
"Well, actually, I've been pretty busy running this office, as you can understand, and I haven't really checked my E-mail or Fax in a few days."
Now the crowd really begins to chatter and the secretary is losing the polish and arrogance that he wore so confidently moments before.
"Mr. Secretary, at least you should be able to describe the goals your chief has established for this office during his tenure here. What progress are you making here at home as you try to meet those goals?"
The secretary shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other, while jerking at the knot on his tie.
"Well, actually I don't know the chief or his plans very well." He pauses while the crowd raises a roar of incredulous disbelief. "Wait, wait, let me explain! You see, my parents have been friends of the chief for years, and I love politics- all the excitement, power, ritual and all- and I just thought I could help out in the office here, you know? I really have some great ideas and I have a whole file of quotes that I've heard from the Chief..."
He falters and looks helplessly around the room as disgusted reporters pack their notebooks into bulging briefcases and head to the door. The lights snap off while camera-men gather their cords and equipment into bags.
"What a waste of time," they murmur as they hurry to find someone in the department who knows something about Foreign Policy.
Knowing God
The above scene is so preposterous it is funny, isn't it? No one seeks to go out as a delegate or spokesperson of another without an intimate knowledge of the nature, beliefs, ideals, and goals of that person.
The sad truth, however, is that many Christians regularly undertake the task of speaking for God without really knowing Him. As Christian writers, we tend to find an issue about which we have an opinion, search for an isolated scripture which supports our opinion, and then adapt that to our writing. Very often this works and can be a good place for a start in making disciples. But it is fraught with danger if we never go deeper into His word. How much better to develop a deep, intimate knowledge of God and let His ideas flow through our renewed minds.
The Benefits of Intimacy
"The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." A thorough, prayerful study of God's word will:
Prepare us to hear His call- we will be sheep who recognize the voice of their shepherd (Isaiah 6:8, John 10:14-16, 27) and who will readily respond to the need of others to hear the truth.
Perfect our message- An intimate knowledge of Scripture is our only safeguard against wrong doctrine and ensures that what we write really comes from God. In Isaiah, God says His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. The only way to solve this dilemma is to allow His words and ideals to literally live in us and flow through our minds into every expression of our life.
Expand our subject matter- Scripture is full of stories and examples given for our instruction and encouragement. Some Christian writers feel they must tell the salvation story in every article. This simply isn't the case. First, as a practical matter, it is impossible to tell the story in every article. Second, secular editors won't tolerate it. Third, there are so many other truths that need to be told in a fallen world- truths that help prepare people's hearts for the gospel and which bring to maturity those who have believed.
Strengthen our confidence and our hope- Knowing God ensures we will no longer be tossed by waves and blown here and there by every wind of new and clever teachings but will recognize the truth. Scripture promises we will have an instructed tongue to know the word which sustains the weary and benefit from the encouragement of the Scriptures that we might have hope.
God has graciously revealed Himself through the events of Scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ. Just like Timothy, we need to "guard what has been entrusted to our care." (1 Tim. 6:20). While it is not necessary to be a Bible scholar or a brilliant theologian to communicate to readers of the secular press the truth of Jesus, let it be your goal to say with Solomon: "The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and he wrote what was upright and true."
Questions for Discussion
» Briefly go over the lists you made from Lesson Three. What issues did you identify? What scripture(s) did you find which address this issue? Is this scripture accurate? Is it confirmed by related passages in other parts of the Bible? Is its use consistent with the context from which it is pulled?
» In the story on page 1, the poor undersecretary tried to replace an intimate knowledge of his boss and his policies with a number of things. Can you identify these? What were the consequences of his actions?
» Paul says in Romans 10:2-4 that even our zeal for God can be misplaced if we do not depend on the full knowledge that God has provided. Can you recall a time in your life when you or someone close to you "spoke for God" and did not communicate His truth accurately? What were the consequences of that mistake?
Perfecting our Skills
Critique: RACE to excellence (refer to Lesson 2)
Spend some time going over the letters group members have brought for critique. Pay special attention to the following: What was the goal of the writer? Did he make his point early on? Is there one central theme to which the writer is faithful?
Writing an Op-ed or Commentary
The elements of a Point of View or guest commentary column generally follow the same pattern as a letter to an editor. The main difference is length; these types of columns usually allow you to use 400-800 words. (Check the limits of your own paper.)
1. Introduce your subject.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the topic, including the opposing view.
3. Introduce a Biblical principle.
4. Support your point of view (Biblical principle) with accurate statistics, relevant research or quotation, and with scripture.
5. Close in love, leaving a lasting impression.
The main advantage of this type of column is that you will have opportunity to develop your idea with more depth and use more facts to support your point. However, you will also have greater opportunity to completely confuse your reader unless you plan and organize your writing into a logical sequence of ideas.
Outlines-Roadmap to success. Outlines provide a road map to guide you from start to finish. Those who ignore maps often start out ahead, but usually get lost along the way and end up taking more time to make a point. Sometimes the sloppy, rambling ideas mean your reader will never make it to the end of the road and the conclusion you desire them to reach. It is not always necessary to use a formal, complicated outline. One simpler method is the "jot outline," described in the Technical Tips below.
Technical Tips
The Jot Outline.
As discussed in Lesson Three, first decide the purpose and theme of your article. Then simply:
1. Jot down as many thoughts as possible.
2. Eliminate the ideas that don't directly support your theme or purpose. Save for another article!
3. Place remaining thoughts in order by placing numbers next to them.
4. Write the paper.
Application
1. Polish the letter to the editor you critiqued during this meeting. Have you kept to your original theme? Have you included at least one scripture? Mail it!
2. Write a guest commentary/Op-Ed piece according to the guidelines of the publication you are targeting.
3. Immerse yourself in His word, and live so close to Him that you will hear Him when he calls you and know what He wants you to say.
4. Pray for one other member f your group and ask the Lord to encourage him/her through His words this month.
Thoughts to Ponder:
Heresy does not often start with a great lie; rather, it begins with a great truth which is distorted.
A man may be a heretic in the truth; and if he believe things only because his pastor says so, or the assembly so determines, without knowing other reason, though his believe be true, yet the very truth he holds becomes his heresy.
-John Milton: Areopagitica
Scripture references:
» Psalm 25:5
» Prov. 3:5-6
» Ecc. 12:10
» Isaiah 50:4
» Isaiah 55:8-11
» Daniel 11:32b
» Matt. 5:19
» Rom. 15:4
» Gal. 1:11
» Eph 4:14-15
» Col. 3:16
» 1 Tim. 6:20
This is the fourth of twelve lessons in the "Church Writing Group" curriculum. Reproduction of this lesson is permissible.
For more information contact The Amy Foundation, P.O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901, (517) 323-6233
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