There’s a lot of chatter these days about writing and blogging and the merits of doing both whether anyone is reading or not. Though we hardly need another voice to add to the mix, the beauty of blogging allows me to offer my thoughts on the subject simply because this tiny corner of the internet permits me to do so.
I write because I have always written.
My parents gave me a diary with a lock and key when I was seven years old. The first sentences I wrote without prompting are scrawled in second grade penmanship on the first page of that diary. It was 1988, and the diary had a Precious Moments picture on the front. I was missing a tooth and wearing my hair in a side ponytail. I wrote in that diary regularly and hid it between my mattresses because I’d read in a book that this was a safe place to keep secrets.
I continued to keep a journal all throughout my elementary, middle and high school years, throughout college, marriage, infertility, motherhood, ministry, and continue the habit today. All told, my stack of words is about thirty books deep. I remember sitting on my bed one night when I was in college and writing down all the things I hated about my major. I loathed my social work classes, was terrified of the practicum required, and worried that I would never make it in the field. I didn’t want to be a social worker but thought it was a good way for me to fulfill the calling I was sure God had given me to serve Him. I had an epiphany that night of furious journaling that maybe serving God might actually include the gifts He’d given me. I switched my major to English during my junior year and spent the next 18 months reading and writing. I graduated with a degree in creative writing but spent the next twelve years blogging in secret because I was afraid to go public with my writing. Though I had enjoyed all my writing classes, I wondered if I’d wasted my degree.
Then, in the spring of 2016, I emerged from an intense year of physical and emotional suffering. Needing an outlet for what God had taught me in my trials, I wrote a blog post and clicked a button that made my blog public. I was terrified to do it, but I did it anyway. My life changed that day, and everything I’d kept a secret became a form of ministry that has resulted in three years of public blogging, regular speaking engagements, numerous articles, and two books.
Today, I still write because I have always written. But, I walk the line between writing for you and writing for me. Because the truth is I would write if no one ever read another word. Writing is purging. Writing is processing. Writing is the way I know what it is I actually believe. Writing is putting down the truth of the gospel and unwinding all the ways it’s true. And now, in God’s immense kindness, writing is ministry.
It didn’t use to matter so much what I wrote here. It was for me and maybe a couple of friends. But as blogging has become an opportunity to make much of God for other readers I’ve never met, the responsibility to get every word just right is huge. I’ve never studied so much nor edited so frequently. When the words began finding their way into manuscripts, I became afraid. I moved from a confident writer to one who must pray for strength to open her laptop every morning. James’ words ring in my ears louder than I wish they did: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). This isn’t exactly the kind of teaching James envisioned, I’d venture to say, but it’s wise to consider the warning. I keep it in mind when I write because if I’m not pointing you to Christ, then I’m a wasting your time and squandering my gift.
So what if you’re not a writer? What does any of this have to do with you? Writing became an avenue of ministry when I didn’t think it could be. I thought I had to be in a distinct field of service in order to call it such. But we can minister to others with our skills when we pair our work with gospel hope. We should make much of God with every gift or talent or skill God has given us. Your industry doesn’t have to be a certified ministry to be kingdom work.
We can minister to others with our skills when we pair our work with gospel hope. We should make much of God with every gift or talent or skill God has given us. Share on X
If you’re a teacher, love your students by preparing and caring for them. Make much of God in the classroom. If you’re an accountant, do your work ethically and speak of Christ in your office. If you’re a plumber, work with efficiency and use your opportunities in the homes of customers to make much of Jesus. If you’re a stay-at-home-parent, work as unto the Lord and let the words of the gospel be spoken much in your home. If you’re a doctor or nurse, treat your patients with kindness, knowledge, and real hope. If you’re a writer, use tools of your trade to point readers to Christ. The computers and pens, the plungers and snakes, the scalpel and stethoscope, the laundry and the dishes—our implements of trade can be used to make much of God in the place He has given us good work to do.
The world needs Christians to use their skills with integrity and excellence so that when we speak of Christ, they see that every corner of our lives has been transformed by the gospel. For some, work will be quickly called ministry, but truly, every task that is done for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom can point believers and unbelievers alike to Christ.
Writing is just one of those tasks.
Whether you’re here for the personal stories or the things I learn from Scripture, I’m glad you’re here. I would write even if you weren’t here, but I’m so glad you’re on the other side of the screen reading my offering of words. I hope they’re an arrow that points you to Jesus.
The world needs Christians to use their skills with integrity and excellence so that when we speak of Christ, they see that every corner of our lives has been transformed by the gospel. Share on X
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If you’re here for the writing, here are some more thoughts on writing and blogging:
Tim Challies on Three Kinds of Blogs and Why You Shouldn’t Quit Blogging
Jen Oshman on Why Write? and Stewarding the Skill of Writing
James Williams on Writing as Local Ministry
Dave Jenkins on Why it Matters What We Write
Jen Brogdon on Don’t Call Me a Blogger
Jana Carlson on Writing for God’s Glory
Pierce Taylor Hibbs on Writing to Strangers for the Savior
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Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Glenna Marshall is married to her pastor, William, and lives in rural Southeast Missouri where she tries and fails to keep up with her two energetic sons. She is the author of The Promise is His Presence (P&R) and Everyday Faithfulness (Crossway), and Memorizing Scripture (Moody). Connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.