The Oracles of Christian Men:
The “Christian Author” as a Unique and Necessary
Phenomenon of the Post-Modern Church
by
R. Alan Woods
c2007 Rhema Rising
Words are tools and as such they give expression to our reasoned thoughts. Words can be either spoken or in written form. A writer should and most often does take into account his audience before he/she chooses a topic and his/her thesis- the perspective through which an opinion is to be made- and an approach to presenting a focused point-of-view. A “Christian Author”, as I intend it’s meaning to be, is someone who writes on a variety of topics, either Biblical or extra-Biblical, from a uniquely Christian perspective that emanates from its subsequent “mind-set” in presenting a highly focused an “specialized” point-of-view that is intended primarily for an audience that is holy (sic) Christian in its world-view. For Christians, understanding “The Faith” requires the reading of the Bible both “devotionally” and “expositorially” which seems to justify the admonition of the apostle Paul who said ‘.....(You) should study the Word of God to show yourself to be approved of God’. For a Christian to become an author there are two primary disciplines that are required to be mastered. First, theology which emanates from the body of “canonical” scripture. the second is- if English is the predominate language of his/her audience- English composition in the specialized context of “creative” writing. The Christian author has fulfilled a need not able to be met by pastor/teachers. Pastor/teachers are limited intrinsically by the very constrictive nature of the expository techniques they are trained in seminary to master utilizing the two main interpretive analytical tools of hermeneutics and exegesis. A more analogous and appropriate description would be to describe them as pastor/interpreters. The typical pastor/interpreter also has some additional constraints as well- Time. He has but sixty minute allotted on any given Sunday to cover a Biblical topic taken from scripture and can only traverse a limited amount of territory and of that ground not much below the topsoil. It would take a week of Sundays to even come close to thoroughly exhaust a top on just one chapter in the Bible!!! The Christian author is not limited to just the interpretation of scripture per say, but is free to synthesize from it practical applications by filtering them through a uniquely Christian “world-view” and the subsequent mind-set which allows freedom to then write on a variety of “extra-Biblical” topics. He/She can then illustrate these focused topics to be applicable where the rubber-meets-the-road in a Christians daily life. The publishing industry has more than responded to the needs expressed by the Christian community and its uniquely focused post-modern world-view. This phenomenon has created a “cottage industry” which consists of a milieu of specialty Christian publishing houses which only publish and market books that are written by Christian authors. Publishers who have been traditionally “secular” heretofore in the context of the subject matter, world-view, and content contained within the books they have published have also responded to this felt need in the market place, and the subsequent specialized market trend this need has produced by developing “spin-off” companies that cater to this very market. It is exactly this manifested need that is born out of necessity that the “Christian community” of the post-modern church has expressed that has given rise to the phenomenon of the Christian author and has effectively legitimized his/her function while concurrently establishing it as a unique and sorely needed ministry for All Christians. The Christian community is hungry for the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that a menu of such a rich variety offers to them and from which they can make selections that will satiate that hunger. The Christian Author has become a five star gourmet chef on a global scale to Christians and the corporate expressions of spiritual community of which they are composed. 
