Book Review: Writing for Life and Ministry

Writing for Life and Ministry

A Practical Guide to the Writing Process for Teachers and Preachers

by Brandon J O'Brien

 Moody Publishers 

Christian 

Pub Date 07 Jul 2020 

I am reviewing a copy of Writing for Life and Ministry through Moody Publishers and Netgalley:

Writing In Life and Ministry is a different kind of writing book.

If you are an active member in ministry, whichever ministry that maybe it is inevitable that you will have to do some form of writing.  Maybe the task of writing excites you, you can’t wait to get your creative juices flowing, or perhaps you procrastinate leaving only blank pages.  Not everyone is called to write a book but it is inevitable that you will have to write something, perhaps a newsletter, a blog post, or even an email.

If you are new to writing you may feel overwhelmed and feel as if you don’t have a voice, rest assured you do, and you will find it.  

No matter what you are writing it is important that you know the audience you are writing for, and define the relationship between writer and reader.  Effective writers know themselves and know what they are trying to say.

As Christian writers it is important to remember we are not writing only for ourselves but we are writing to glorify God.  

As was stated earlier we need to know our audience but we need to do that without alienating anyone else who may be reading what we have written.  

It is a good idea to start your research for whichever project you are going to be writing that you start by focusing on personal reflection.  Setting a timer for thirty minutes and writing whatever comes to mind is a good idea.  The idea of this exercise is to help you find out what you already know.  

After spending some time in self reflection you should focus on finding out what the key issues and questions are.  It is important that you also research the issues and questions relevant to the topic you are going to write about.  You are encouraged too to revisit your personal reflections.

Outlining the topic, you are going to write on is also encouraged.  Setting a timer for 30 minutes, in order to brainstorm your topic of choice is encouraged as well.  Spend at the very least an hour on research though you will likely need more time than that.  Outline, and then it is a good idea to write a Mission Statement for your work.

After doing everything mentioned above, you can start working on your first draft.  This is the second of a three stage process, planning, drafting and revising.  This is stage 2 drafting.  It is important that you write your first draft to an appropriate length.  If you don’t have a deadline to get your work finished, it is a good idea to set a deadline.

During the revision process you will likely end up deleting most of what you have written, in order to make room for the final product.

I give Writing for Life and Ministry five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!