We Fall Down
"...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
Part of the homework for my missions class this week is to review the Romans Road to Salvation, a set of scriptures often used in ministry training to help people explain the gospel. From there we'll move on to sharing our testimony in three to five minutes (since an interpreter on the mission field doubles the time). According to the culture you're in, there may be certain things to highlight and other things to keep out. I remember Ted Dekker's "Expanding Boundaries to Facilitate the Truth" talk at Mount Hermon 2004 about making our words connect with culture. He talked about how his parents had difficulty on the mission field until they described Jesus as a pig, the most valuable member of each family in that culture. God had killed His pig, His little son for them. The people's faces and hearts opened in understanding. Sacrifice. This, they could understand. They just needed to hear it in ways that made sense to them.
I find the same to be true in writing for this generation. People don't want the cute version of Jesus. They want the real Jesus, bloody, yet victorious, reaching down in to the midst of a messy lives. When I say that somebody stopped-dropped-and-rolled me away from hell, they get it. They want it. They just don't always trust the hands that bring it (including my own). They want to know who we really are, who are characters really are, what we've thrown over the wall, what we do when nobody's looking.
Though we're concerned with the language and constructs, today's readers are concerned with the truth--usually the uncut version. We've got to be concerned with the same thing and stop being afraid to bleed.
Jesus wasn't.
Studying those verses on the Romans Road made me think about the conversions scenes in Christian fiction. Some very gifted and respected authors have shared their ideas about these types of scenes. Some wonder if such scenes keep the genre from being considered art. Others see the scenes as a natural outworking of both the character's world and the author's worldview. Still others are Christians who write for the general market, but include such scenes as the stories allow. However you see these "birth stories", one thing is for sure--writing a good one is difficult.
(Note: If you're not a Christian, then think of some empassioned belief you hold: politics, family, social justice, cruelty to animals, the environment, etc. Religion isn't the only way to be preachy. :)
I've written a few conversions. My most memorable probably is Dana's ex-boyfriend in Made of Honor, a sexy rapper who once her name tattooed on his arm. Before knocking up her sister and running off, that is. Now he's back and preparing for a wedding. Who leads him to Christ? Dana's childhood love (who also got busy with said sister) and his Messianic Jewish best friend. Are they a group of perfect people? Nope. In fact, when Dana hears of this miraculous spiritual happening, she isn't feeling it at all. Though she prayed for this, she's been had before. Too many times, in fact...
And on it goes. Mostly though, my characters have had some point of believing in their lives but have somehow doubted or distanced themselves from it. I don't plan it that way, but that's how it's worked out so far. Some of them have a long way to go. Others of them, like the sister in the mix of all the guys in Made of Honor, just don't quite get it no matter how hard they try. (Dahlia might get her day someday. LOL)
I've been touched many times by testimonies, both fictional and true-to-life. Some say that such scenes are gratuitous in Christian fiction. I don't think it's intended that way. (In romance, Christian characters are usually expected to marry another believer, so maybe that is a factor).
Maybe the reason for the scene isn't the problem. Perhaps it's our inability to convey the pain and perplexity of life both before and after coming to faith that makes our depictions seem less than authentic. As Christian writers, each of us may be sent down a different path, one which may or may not include writing conversion scenes. So instead, we're going to shoot for what a call a conviction scene, that place along the way when a character realizes that something is beyond his or her control. The rules are the same as always. Read the piece, set the timer...and don't stop your fingers until the time us up. Oh yeah. Don't forget to bleed...
Prayer,
Thank you Lord for new birth, both in the spirit and the mind. Help us to dig deep into You and into ourselves, so that we might grab the chin of the world with our words and bid them look at the things they don't want to see. Help us to do the same when You grab our pens. Show us your path, Father, both for our letters and our lives.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
Today's Rhythm: Who am I? by Da T.R.U.T.H. featuring Tye Tribbett
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