My Most Important Message in 40 Years

All my conference keynotes condensed into one essential talk Audio and text:

After 40 years of traveling on the Christian writer’s conference circuit, I finally said no to airline security lines, delays, cancellations, lost luggage and layovers at Chicago’s airport which I refer to as O’Hell. No more grueling schedules from 8 am to 10 pm. And no more beds at conference centers which I suspect were designed by ISIS to torture infidels.

But I do miss being with my people: writers and other creatives. No one really understands tortured souls seeking to birth a piece of art that will change lives like other tortured souls.

So, [dramatic pause] I will be attempting to condense 40 years of keynotes into one 40-minute grand finale. So, make sure your seat is in the full, upright position and seat belt securely fastened, as I take look at three magical creatures: mermaids, unicorns and Christian creatives.

Mermaids

First, mermaid is apparently no longer politically correct. They now prefer merfolk.

So, merfolk are traditionally top half human and bottom half fish and come in both genders, thus the generic merfolk.

Second, the reality of mermaid tales—–pun intended—–are actually documented by a ship’s log on January 9, 1493, in the Caribbean, by none other than Christopher Columbus!

So, there you have it! A historical, eye witness account by a reliable source of mermaids! The famous explorer, however, was probably writing about this creature . . .

The manatee! Which explains why Columbus wrote they were “not half as beautiful as they are painted.”

How many bottles of rum do you have to chug to confuse paintings of mermaids with these hippos of the sea?

Sorry, merfolk are not real, so let’s move on to this creature:

Unicorns

However, unicorns are real! And as proof, we have none other than the Bible. In fact, unicorns are referred to nine times in the King James Version!

In Job 39:9-10, God asks:

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

And Numbers 23:22 records of the Israelites:

God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn.

But verily, verily, I sayeth unto thee, modern translations hath taken thy fun away by calling them simply ”wild ox.” Sigh.

It’s possible the unicorn the Bible is referring to is actually this beast:

A rhinoceros is certainly a powerful animal with a real horn coming out of his head!

And here’s a fun fact, its horn is not a horn abut all, but actually made of nose hair that is compacted and glued together by oil glands.

So, mermfolk are folk tales. Unicorns are real, but not white horses with rainbow manes. Which brings us to the most magical and mysterious creature of them all . . .

The Christian creative! This elusive being can be seen in coffee shops hunched over a lap top or sketch pad, apparently in a deep trance, receiving inspiration directly from above . . . or perhaps the triple espresso.

Let’s define “Christian creative” by taking out a clean sheet of paper for this pop quiz:

What is a Christian creative?

a) anyone who creates on Christian subjects

b) a Christian who creates on Christian subjects

c) a Christian who creates on any subject

d) A and B, but not C or

e) A + (B-C)=D2

I believe it’s C. And I have backing from the one and only Madeleine L’Engle of Wrinkle in Time fame. She was asked at a lecture, “What makes Christian writing Christian?”

I told her that if she is truly and deeply a Christian, what she writes in going to be Christian, whether she mentions Jesus or not. And if she is not, in the most profound sense, Christian, then what she writes is not going to be Christian, no matter how many times she invokes the name of the Lord.

And so, this talk focuses on the Christian in Christian creative.

In fact, I’m not sure there are even such things as Christian actors, artists, dancers, musicians, poets, potters, writers, etc.

Wait! Before you stop reading or listening, let me explain.

I worked at a Christian publishing house, where there had been four extra-marital affairs before I hired on. While there, the women in the office started complaining that they were being sexually harassed by the publisher. My editorial assistant, as she walked by his office, also caught him with his secretary on his lap.

Then I taught at a wonderful Christian university where the head of the writing department was accused of not just sexual harassment, but sexual assault.

And you’ve probably read of or got bitten by Christian self-publishers that have scammed writers eager to be published out of thousands of dollars. (Here’s a list of tips to avoid these piranhas of publishing.)

So, one of my editors and I had a long talk about our growing cynicism working at a Christian publishing house with a scandalous story line.

We agreed Christian writers are magical, mysterious myths!

We also came to the following conclusions:

Christian is not an adjective you can simply slap on an organization or ministry

Organizations and ministries are filled with people who are more like Christ, less like Christ or not Christ-followers at all.

Only God’s human creations can bear the title of Christian!

So, I’m convinced there are no such things as “Christian writers” or even “Christian writing.” There’s no such thing as godly grammar, sanctified syntax or even a providential plot line. Good writing is good writing whether you’re a pastor, a politician or a pornographer. You may want to write that down: Good writing is good writing whether you’re a pastor, a politician or a pornographer.

There’s nothing uniquely Christian about the creative arts either, any more than the skills of a Christian plumber, a Christian brain surgeon or a Christian rodeo clown.

But there are followers of Christ who live out their lives with Christian love and godly living.

So, we need to ask ourselves, how are we imitating Christ in everything we say or do in our creative endeavors!

Martin Luther sums up my perspective with this convicting comment:

The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes.

There’s a deep distinction between creatives who are Christian and those creatives who are not Christian. As L’Engle argued, if we are deeply and profoundly a Christ-follower, his light is going to shine through no matter what we are creating.

The apostle Paul writes about it as a fragrance that wafts from believers. Back in the day before “fragrance-free” conferences, I even wore “Eternity” cologne, which did smell heavenly.

So, hopefully, I gave off a sanctified scent as a newspaper reporter as I covered a small community bringing a sewer system to residents whose septic tanks were leaching E. coli into the creek running past the elementary school. That’s a smelly topic to tackle from a Christian worldview.

Here’s an amazing example: The Indiana Department of Education mandates teaching abstinence as the preferred birth control in public schools. So, after my books on sexuality for teens came out, I was invited to speak at public junior and senior high-school assemblies. Talk about a tough crowd!

I didn’t mention a word about God or my faith. I simply made a case for abstinence from a physical and mental health perspective using lots of university studies showing the benefits.

But inevitably, after talks, students would sidle up and whisper, “You’re a Christian aren’t you?” I have no idea how that happened. I wasn’t even wearing my Eternity cologne. But, again, as L’Engle writes our “deeply and profoundly” relationship with Christ is going to flow out in our art and our lives.

So, I’m a Christian who writes books and articles. I am a Christian who edited for three publishing houses. I’m now a Christian who helps students with their dissertations at a seminary. And hopefully, someone who writes hope and humor at jameswatkins.com.

Let’s look at four ways this plays out. First . . .

Identity: Christian Creative or Christian who creates?

First, a couple disclaimers: I’m not saying this is an either/or proposition. It’s where you put the accent mark or emphasis. And for many years, my identity was primarily a writer.

As early as could write, I would use my allowance to buy those blank hardback journals and create my own books.

I wrote a play about Admiral John Paul Jones for a fifth-grade production for the entire school.

I eventually became an editor of my high school paper.

And I got my first paying writing gig as a sophomore in college as editor of a teen magazine.

I was asked to write my first book while working with teen curriculum at a publishing house. Several other books were published by large publishers and I became an assignment writer for major magazines.

But then one day in the mid 1990s . . . the book contracts dried up. The magazines started going out of business.

And suddenly I was a writer with nothing to write!

So, with every rejection, my identity was chipped away. With every royalty report that showed slow sales, another piece of who I was broke off.

If your identity is wrapped up in being a creative, your identity is going to beaten up like a junior-high boy wearing a bow-tie.

And then I got a report showing one book had sold a “negative” number of books! I called my editor: “How’s that even possible?! Is this the Twilight Zone?!” She calmly told me that stores had sent more books back than they had sold. ”Oh.” Click.

There went my identity! My self-identity and self-esteem went up and down with all the volatility of a 13-year-old girl’s emotions. I tried to prop my identity up with book covers and awards on office wall. I kept an “encouragement file,” back in the day when people sent pieces of paper through something called the postal system that arrived once a day Monday-Saturday. That was an awful time when a response from an editor could take weeks or months. So in the Jurassic Journalism age, I found myself enslaved to mail M-A-I-L domination!

Unfortunately, those things are so temporary, so artificial, so unpredictable

And one of the places our identity is most threatened is at conferences with other creatives. What’s the first thing you do when you get a conference brochure or visit its website? See what “famous” people are on faculty? See how many articles and books they’ve written? Are they a prima ballerina? Do they have paintings at the Smithsonian? And so, we get seriously depressed because we have none of those!

I have 20 traditionally-published books and 3,000+ articles in print, and I still feel like a complete fraud among the “famous” faculty.

One time at an autograph party in Seattle, I ended up sitting next to Frank Peretti! Note to self: never, ever sit next to a best-selling author. I signed ten or twelve books all night, while Peretti had a line of autograph seekers all the way back to Nebraska!

So I was writing short essays in books just to keep a person in my line:

Dear friend,
Thank you for standing in line so I don’t look like a complete loser. I am so grateful and so appreciate it. Oh, here comes another person for my line, so you’re free to go.
3 John 2,
Jim

Fortunately, by God’s grace and providence, I came across Brennan Manning’s life-changing book: Abba’s Child. The entire premise is summed up in one powerful paragraph:

. . . make the Lord and his immense love for you constitutive of your personal worth. Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. God’s love for you and his choice of you constitute your worth.

So, if my identity is wrapped in God’s “immense” and “radical love,” then all the rejection slips in Colorado Springs and all the one-star reviews on Amazon will not affect who I am or how I view myself.

If my books are on the “worst-sellers” list, I’m still in God’s book of life.

And if no one wants my writing, I am so wanted, God sent the Word to die for me!

So, just like words have accents, we can put the emphasis on the first or second word of Christian creative: Christian creative or Christian who creates. Being simply a follower of Christ doesn’t need anything to make it satisfying or fulfilling. It’s based on a relationship with Jesus that is rock solid

However, getting published, making a dance company, getting that role or having a gallery pick up your art, is dependent on opinionated gate keepers! A fickle marketplace. Arm chair critics writing one-star reviews. All that shifting sand Jesus talks about.

So, the second huge difference I see between a Christian creative and a Christian who creates is . . .

Motivation: Driven or Called?

I was a driven person: type A, goal-oriented, competitive, impatient workaholic.

And so I was destined for publishing! I started out in the warehouse of a publishing house loading and driving a box truck to the post office. Then I worked my way up to editorial assistant, editor, acquisitions editor, and finally editorial director.

Fortunately, my identity had shifted from writer/editor to simply “beloved child of God.”

So, in the Great Purge of 2008, the bean counters of the house fired all the editors and marketers for a “new direction.” I was so glad I wasn’t a Christian editor. Nope! I was still a “beloved child of God” even without editing!

My drivenness was really put to the test when I launched out as a freelancer. I hustled to provide for my family with a wife in seminary, two kids in private Christian school and a loan on our house. A mortgage is a powerful source of motivation!

I had been taught to pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on you. I did just that as a freelancer. I was a horrible, slave-driving boss! I was teaching at 10-15 writers’ conference a year from spring to fall. While at conferences, I made sure to connect with every editor and professional writer. I had a whole drawer full of business cards. I made sure I constantly had unsolicited articles and book proposals out there in the mail. And after double hernia surgery, I actually met two books deadlines with an ice pack down my pants. I should have complained to HR, but I was HR!

All that to say, I was an exhausted, stressed mess with acid reflux, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

That is not God’s intention!

Gordon McDonald, in Ordering Your Private World, talks about Christian workers who are called and those who are driven. I’ve applied those concepts to creatives specifically.

Driven writers are motivated by the urgent, the temporary; called writers by the important, the eternal.

From Luke 10, we read

[Martha] had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to [Jesus] and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Stephen Covey in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People divides the demands on our time into four quadrants:

“Urgent and important” is the smoke detector going off as listen to this talk. Get out of the house–now!

“Not urgent and important” is time alone with God, quality time with your spouse and kids.

“Urgent, but not important” is racing for your phone, only to find out it’s a telemarketer pitching extended auto warranties.

And “Not urgent not important” is Netflix, social media and “Candy Crunch.”

Covey claims we spend most of our time in Quadrant 3, when we should be concentrating on Quadrant 2: your time with God and family. And it’s creating time that you have carved out of your schedule. It’s hard to feel an urgency to send out a book proposal or unsolicited articles.

Driven writers are motivated fads, “hot” issues; called writers by eternal issues.

At question and answer sessions, a sure sign of a newbie is the one asking, “What’s hot?!”

When articles can take a year to get into print and books can take two years to get on Amazon, when you show up at the platform, the train–that hot topic–has already left the station!

But 2 Cor 4:18 provides some excellent advice:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

So, what are some best-selling books of all time? Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost For His Highest, C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity or Thomas ‘a Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ.

And what do they all have in common? They’re all dead! That’s the secret to success in the arts! Actually, it’s more than that. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Imitation has been a best-seller for 600 years and ties for second as best-selling Christian book of all time behind the Bible with Pilgrim’s Progress. They are still second in sales to the Bible!

So, let me shamelessly self-promote two. And I can do that in good conscience because I didn’t even write them. I took well-known–and well-dead–devotional writers like Thomas ‘a Kempis, Brother Lawrence, Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and many others and put their words into modern English as devotionals.

I may not agree with all their theology, but these ancient devotional writers had a real and intimate relationship with Christ that I didn’t have. And they have completely changed my life!

You can still find their writing in books and online, but the translations are in antiquated English. So I’ve tried to accurately put them into modern English. So, check out The Imitation of Christ and Intimacy with Christ.

And now, back to our regularly-scheduled program:

More recently Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life has taken a timeless message and sold 65 million copies. It’s the number one best-selling nonfiction book! Why? It dealt with eternal themes: worship, fellowship, discipleship, service and evangelism. Those topics will be around until Jesus returns.

Driven writers’ lives are chaotic, disorganized, over-committed; called writers’ lives are peaceful, purposeful, well-paced.

I heard a great comment on our society by that prolific author Anonymous. ”Anyone who isn’t schizophrenic today, just isn’t thinking clearly.” My theory is that over-commitment and over-scheduling is the cause of our society’s schizophrenia.

So, here’s The Watkins Z-Unit Theory:

Y Z [amount of zeal] > A R [area of responsibility] = C [composure]

If your amount of zeal or energy is greater than your area of responsibility, you will experience composure. For instance . . .

Writer A is low energy, but also single and living in his parent’s basement, so light area of responsibility, thus he has composure.

Writer B is an Energizer Bunny on crack, and is working on three books and speaks 200 times a year. But, because his amount of zeal is higher than his area of responsibility, he too has composure.

However, Writer C has an average amount of energy, but has three young children, is pastor of a large church, and is trying to meet a book deadline. Because of this, the area of responsibility is greater than the amount of zeal, the equation is reversed making Writer C feel . . .

C = R A < Z Y

To be a composed creative, we need to down-size our schedules.

If you’ve said, “I don’t have time to create,” Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

What would happen if you gave up just one hour of TV each day That’s six hours a week. (I’ll give you Sundays off) 25 hours a month! 312 hours a year. That translates into eight 40-hour work weeks!

You do have time to create!

And here’s another way to keep peaceful, purposeful and well-paced. The all powerful:

Mission statement

I believe every writer needs a mission statement, because it instantly prioritizes your life.

My original statement: “To creatively communicate the good news of Christ in a creative and effective manner as possible with as many people of possible.” That’s kind of a mouth full, so now it’s simply: “To lift up Christ and his followers.”

The second your church finds out you’re a writer, you’re going to be asked to write the church newsletter and be secretary of the board. And once the school finds out you’re an artist, you’re creating posters to advertise the frozen-cookie dough fund-raiser. Musician? Guess who’s being asked to direct the Christmas program?

I was asked to be secretary of my church district’s board. It was an hour drive to the district office once a month. The meetings could last four hours. A one-hour drive home. And another hour of writing up the minutes. That totals up to 84 hours or over two 40-hour work weeks a year.

By politely saying, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t have time for that,” I just gained two weeks! I’m using my Quadrant 2 time to accomplish my mission statement. I don’t know how many hundreds–maybe thousandsndash;of hours I’ve saved, by just saying no. So practice in front of a mirror. Deep breath and let out a firm “No.”

If you don’t have a call, other people will have a call for you!

So, take just one hour a day to create and say no to everything that is not a part of your mission statement. Obviously, you have mission to your family and employer, but in your creating, honor that mission statement.

Finally, I keep coming back to Thomas a’ Kempis. This is a paraphrase from Donald Demaray.

A pure, single-minded, stable spirit doesn’t distract easily, even when doing many things; you do all to honor God, you rest inside, you don’t try to make yourself look big.

Be ready to do my will, and nothing will harm or hinder you. But if you manipulate things to get this or that, to get to this place or that for you own profit, you will always be restless, you will always be troubled.

Driven writers are impatient, frustrated; called writers are patient, submissive.

I love Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Matthew 11:28-30:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion [of creating]? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn is that Romans 8:28 applies to rejection. I came so close to being published by a huge, secular publisher several years ago and got rejected–just before they came out with The Joy of Gay Sex! “Thank you, Lord, I wasn’t in bed with that publisher!” Sorry, bad choice of words, but Romans 8:28!

I’ve had speaking engagements cancelled. Director, Marlene Bagnull, cancelled The Writer’s Day of Renewal, simply saying “I just don’t feel good about it.” What?! I already had airline tickets. But the weekend of the event was the crippling east coast blizzard of ’92! I could have been stranded at O’Hell. Romans 8:28!

Broken contracts. Romans 8:28!

Negative book sales. I still haven’t seen the “good” in that, but I have to trust Romans 8:28.

The moment I begin to question God’s providence, is the moment I begin to feel frustrated, impatient and angry. Yep, I occasionally revert back to “driven” mode, but I’m definitely not downing Rolaids like popcorn.

And remember that Proverbs 3:5-6 applies to your craft.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct . . . your creative career!” (JWV)

As I look back, my best assignments and book contracts have come without my hustling!

Okay, after 40 years in this business, I’ve done a lot of networking, so these were from people I had met or at least someone who knew someone. So, knowing people who know people is so important.

But my embarrassingly-well-paying job with a tech publisher was . . . unsolicited.

My opportunity to ghostwrite with a NYT‘s best-selling author was . . . unsolicited.

The honor to teach writing at a university’s renowned writing program was . . . You’re getting ahead of me, but yes, unsolicited!

Yes, you have to master the craft of writing. Yes, you have to get out there and network with the movers and shakers of your craft. But you don’t have to be driven. You don’t have to end up on three prescription medications!

So, now instead of having a “to do” list of things I want to accomplish, I wake up ask, “Okay, Jesus what are your plans for the day?” I want to be the kind of Christ-follower who when I wake up, the enemy sighs, “Oh crap! Jim is up!”

So, what’s your motivation? As a Christian who’s creative, are you driven or called?

Goal: Success or excellence?

Let’s begin with Paul perspective on “success.” In Philippians 3, the apostle talks about his linage: he’s a Hebrew of the Hebrews. His education. In New Testament times, every male was expected to memorize the first five books of the Old Testament. As if that is not an impressive enough accomplishment, Pharisees were required to memorize the entire Old Testament. And Paul studied under Gamelia, considered the wisest rabbi at the time! And as for status, he was a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the Supreme court of Judaism.

And yet in Philippians 3:8 he writes:

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage.

Most translations render it garage, trash or refuse, but the Greek word is actually skybalon which is literally “that which is eliminated.” Not to be indelicate, but Paul seems to be saying that compared to knowing Christ, success is a BM! It’s like saying:

“Hey, I just signed a six-figure BM!”

“Well, I’m number 2–pun intended–on the NYT’s BM!”

“Yeah, well I just bought a $200,000 BMW!”

I meant for that to be shocking, disgusting and repulsive, but it’s the truth! Compared to a close relationship with Christ, success is a great big steaming pile of skybalon!

Part of an artist’s angst is what Gayle Roper calls “mediocre success.” She writes, “I had been published enough to impress a few friends and my parents, but that was it.” Probably most of us are there.

But, it’s nothing new! Thomas ‘a Kempis experienced it as well. Again, from DeMaray’s paraphrase:

Others will get ahead while your desires are frustrated; others will get attention while your words are ignored. . . . All this will sometimes upset you.

.

Da ya think so, Tommy?! How do we deal with moderate success?

I can realize that success does not equal excellence.

A lot of what is being published is successful in the sense that it sells well but it’s not all excellent biblically. Publishers are getting more discerning and refusing to carry the “name it and claim it” authors. However, a lot of heresy still slips through. One best-seller claims there are nine members of the Trinity!

We need to be careful we don’t confuse excellence with success. Henri Nouwen writes:

The evangelical movement has become just a bit victimized by a success-oriented culture, wanting the church—like the corporation—to be successful. [But] the mystical tradition of communion with Christ is [more] important. ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me, then you will bear fruit.’ The fruit is not success.

I can’t control success, but I can control excellence

I can’t control talent, but I can control training.

I’m going to define talent as a God-given gift that is hard-wired into who you are. It’s essential if you’re going to succeed as an artist, musician, dancer or plate spinner.

When I was speaking in Africa, I was amazed at the people’s dancing skills. As tried to follow their rhythmic movements, one snickered to the other. I don’t know a single word in Zulu, but I think he was calling me “White Man Who Cannot Dance.”

You’re born with talents, but you’ve got to train if you’re going to use them proficiently.

So pat yourself on the back . . . you’re reading or listening to this. Watch instructional YouTube videos. Attend professional conferences, community college. Max out your credit card on perfecting your talent!

You can’t control timing and trends, but you can address timeless topics. I mentioned that earlier.

You can’t control assignments or gigs, but you have to work to be excellent in your craft.

You can’t control the title, art and layout of your book. But you can make tactful suggestions.

You work so hard to create an incredibly clever title–and they change it!

I ghostwrote a book for a publisher on personality types for families. The well-known person used lions, golden retrievers, beavers and otters as types. So I called it, Taming the Family Zoo. I thought it quite clever, but the publisher changed it to Connections: What Every Family Wants. Boring!

Another time for my second book about sex for teens, I gave the church youth group five possible titles. The one they all absolutely hated was Sex Is Not a Four-letter Word. My daughter cringed, saying, “I would never be seen with a book with ‘sex’ in the title. And it’s just gross that it has my last name on it!”

But, again, you’re getting ahead of me. Yep, that’s the title they went with!

You can’t control reviews and awards, but you can be excellent in everything you do.

And you can’t control book sales, but you can control self-promotion.

In book publishing platform is king. It’s how you can market your book for a publisher, because publishers want you to do the heavy-lifting of marketing. A major publisher didn’t even put my recent book on their socials when it came out!

So, publishers require you have a well-trafficked website and socials, a large emailing list, plus an active speaking schedule or podcast. Those things make up the marketing trinity

In pub boards, when editors and marketers get your proposal, they google your name
and if you don’t appear on the first page–it’s on to the next proposal!

But a warning about self-promotion from Virginia Muir, Tyndale House’s very first employee: “Success is what others give you; excellence is what you give others.”

I can strive for excellence.

An editor at a major Christian publisher, who wishes to keep anonymous . . . and keep her job told me, “Christians are the first to accept mediocrity.” Ouch, but true! I heard a worship leader tell the group. “Meh, that’s good enough for church”

So, a slight paraphrase of Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–create such things.

Throughout Scripture, we find the call to excellence:

Whatever you do . . . do it all so as to bring glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31 CJB).

Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23 AMP).

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be shamed . . . (2 Timothy 2:15 NLT).

I’ve learned to live with not being successful. Four of my books have won industry awards from Christianity Today and Christian Retailer. Magazines I’ve edited have won four Evangelical Press Association awards, two of them the best in category. And a fifth EPA award for reporting. Yada, yada, yada.

But not a single book has made the NYT’s best-sellers list. So I joke: I’m critically acclaimed, but commercially ashamed!

So, here’s another gold nugget from Abba’s Child:

Startled by the extravagant love of God, they do not require success, fame, wealth, or power to validate their worth.

And now, the last difference between Christian creatives and Christians who create:

Desire: Charting Sales or Changing Souls?

Dallas Williard writes in Leadership:

People who are discontented and angry at God about their day of small things miss the chance for God to do something. Wherever we are–no matter how small or despised that place may be, that is where God can use us and bless us. We may not achieve the dreams of our youth, but we can be sure God will bring us into the dreams he has for us.

I realized just a few years ago, “Hi. I’m Jim. I’m addicted to recognition.” And that has caused all kinds of problems professionally and personally. If you not familiar with recognition addiction, here’s the definition in The Watkins Very-Much-Abridged Dictionary:

recognition addiction [rek-uh-nish-uhn uh-dik-shuhn] (n.) The craving for public recognition or affirmation which, when not satisfied, leads to agitation, frustration, and attention-seeking behavior. Commonly observed in actors, musicians, pastors, speakers, writers and others in public life.

I realized I was more concerned about number of sales charted than the number of souls changed. That’s the definition true riches.

So, in conclusion:

Are you a Christian creator or a Christian who creates?

What is your identity?
Motivation?
Goal?
Desire?

So, for a benediction, here is 1 Corinthians 13 from The New Living Amplified Paraphrased King James Watkins Version for Creatives:

If I write with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a clattering printing press. If I have the gift of wisdom, and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I speak at national conventions, but have not love, I am nothing but static and feedback. If I give all my money to struggling singers in the subway but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient in accepting God’s timing of our creative career. Love is not jealous of other creative’s successes, neither boastful or proud of our own. Love does not demand its own way with editors. It is not irritable with requests for revisions, and it keeps no record of being wronged by anyone in the industry. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every expert’s rejection or even in royalty statements with negative numbers.

When we were beginning creatives, we thought and created as a child. But when we grew, we put away childish ideals and accepted the adult truths of the real world. Now we see things imperfectly in how God is using our creativity, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see with perfect clarity how God lovingly orchestrated every single step on our professional path. All that we know now is partial and incomplete, but then we will know everything completely, just as God now knows us completely as his beloved child.

Amen and amen.

Now, go forth and be a deep and profound Christian who creates!

Copyright © 2024 James N. Watkins. All rights reserved. (See Rights below.)

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I’d love for you to check out my “classic” keynotes:

Are Authors in Their Write Minds?
“Hi. I’m Jim. I have clinical depression. And ADD, ASD, OCD and probably other undiagnosed initials. So here’s a humorous and honest look at behavioral and biblical principles to use our weaknesses for God’s glory.

Confessions of an Author and Speaker
Three stages communicators go through in learning to connect with an audience in print, pixels, or person.

“I’m a Giant Killer!”
A motivational talk for battling the giants that confront so all. (Do you still have your smooth stone?)

“Keeping Your Dreams Alive”
An inspirational talk using the story of Joseph as an example of a dream received, the dreamer refined, the dream redefined, and finally, the dream realized in relationship to writing.

Soaring with Eagles, Walking with Emus
Encouragement for those who are “soaring” as well as those who are “walking” (or just standing) in their life and career.

The Ten Creative Commandments
We are filled with the Spirit of the creative God of creation, so why shouldn’t we should be the most creative people! Here are ten ways to develop your God-given creativity.