Helper, Missionary, Prophet, Teacher: Write to Serve

A guest post by Dan and Denise Harmer:

His writing has been translated into hundreds of languages, sold more than any in history, and touched untold millions of lives, yet we don’t even know his name. Our mystery servant writer was none other than the faithful amanuensis (scribe) of the apostle Paul. At times this author labored in a dank prison cell recording each word. Talk about a collaboration. The Holy Spirit working through Paul while this guy jots down each line, lifting his feet on occasion to allow the rats to scurry by.

Fast forward two thousand years. I would give away body parts to have a drop of that impact and influence for Christ, yet since the time I first conceived this post, I have realized struggles with my own servant’s heart attitude. My pastor is fond of saying “If you want to check to see if you have a servant’s heart, take note of how you react when someone treats you like one.”

Ouch!

I have the honor, right now, of collaborating with a Marine. An officer serving his second stint in Afghanistan. Read more

The Most Important Question We Will Ever Ask

“Why?”

Yes, the most important question we will ever ask is “why?”  Or better yet, “Can you help me understand?”

If you read my recent book review of The Noticer by Andy Andrews, and the subsequent update I added yesterday, you’ll discover that today’s post echoes the central theme of the book: “Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.”

For the last five years, I have been trying to influence college students to question what they see, hear, or read. When we question — in the true spirit of wanting to know and understand — we are willing to withhold judgment until we have a complete picture or a clear perspective.

Today, with Andy’s permission, I want to share a note he wrote back when I asked “why?” At first, I tried to excerpt the note to give you the gist of his response, but then I realized that the sincerity and concern with which he wrote would be lost.  So I include the entire piece.

Why share this personal note? Read on… Read more

Five Reasons to Unleash the “Servant Writer” in You

I’m on a mission to start a “Writing to Serve” movement across this country — to ignite a fire to unleash every Servant Writer.  

First, let me clarify what I mean by a “Servant Writer.”  A Servant Writer is one who writes first and foremost with the goal to serve the needs of others, to make a difference, and to bring glory to God — the source of every gift and blessing we have.  Publication, notoriety, monetary success, and self-expression are perks, which may or may not be part of the reward package for your effort.

If you are not already writing to serve, you may be reading these words, mumbling to yourself, “I’m not a writer… I’ve never written anything… In fact, I hate writing… writing is not my thing…writing takes too much time… too much work…too much energy…” Or worse yet, “I do want to write — it has been a secret dream, but… I’m not a good writer…. I’m too old to learn… I don’t have time to learn… I don’t have time to write…”

Let me give you five compelling reasons why I believe there’s a Servant Writer in you.  If you can agree with at least one of them, I have a challenge for you… Read more

Writing for Influence

Bill and Pam Farrel spend much of their time writing, speaking, and changing lives — they know what it means to write for influence.  By popular demand, I’m posting the notes of Bill’s dynamic and popular “Writing for Influence” workshop presented at the Ezra Center for Excellence. This was the sequel to ”The Servant Writer“  workshop (which inspired this website).  Both workshops emphasized that servant writers do not merely write for themselves; they write primarily because they have a calling to improve lives — their writing serves the needs of others. If you think you are called to be a “Servant Writer” and want to “Write for Influence,” here are some basic assumptions:

• You have an interest in writing
• You have honed your basic writing skills
• You are not afraid of criticism
• You think writing may be a part of God’s plan for your life

As you can imagine, this writing workshop got to the core of the issue.  Read more