by Jason Joyner | Oct 8, 2012 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, IJM, International Justice Mission, Mission Monday, reviews, social justice
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
The words of the prophet Micah are spoken in churches all over the world. Believers love this simple declarations of what Jesus asks of His people.
Christians try hard to walk humbly with the Lord. We strive to show mercy to people. However, we often ignore or struggle with the clause of “acting justly.” Especially for Western Christians, the command for justice is flat-out missed or simply misunderstood.
There is a new move of the Spirit, awakening His people to the need to provide justice for those who cannot speak up for themselves, to proclaim freedom to the captives, to minister to the widow and orphan. It is a slow burn, but it is exciting to see the embers leaping into flame in various places of the body.
A new spark is being provided by the new book
The Just Church by Jim Martin of the organization
International Justice Mission (IJM).
IJM has been fighting for justice for many years now and is one of the leading organizations battling injustices like forced labor, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of women and children, and modern-day slavery in all its forms.
Jim Martin has been working with them after transitioning out of the pastoral role in his church, becoming a church liason with IJM. This experience made him especially qualified to write The Just Church.
This book is a challenge to the body of Christ to reclaim the lost aspect of Micah 6:8 and to actively act justly in the world. There are other books that try to awaken Christians to the need of justice and to expose the problems of modern slavery and other forms of bondage towards vulnerable peoples that is easy to overlook in our daily lives. The Just Church is a book that takes the church on journey to forming a viable justice ministry to compliment evangelism and mercy ministry.
The book is laid out in three sections. The first section establishes a theory that faith doesn’t really grow without significant risk and suggests that justice ministry is a needed part of the church and can help develop a healthier discipleship in His people. The second section takes the reader through a practical journey on establishing a justice ministry in the local church. It isn’t a step by step approach, allowing for the individual characteristics of any body guide the process. The last part of the book is a series of appendices with Scriptures on justice, resources for following through, and study materials. Each chapter ends with a QR code that can be scanned by a smart phone or tablet, leading to a video with Jim summarizing each chapter’s main point.
It is well-written with an easy conversational style. Jim lays out the challenges inherit in this type of ministry and doesn’t sugar-coat it. It won’t be easy. But he recognizes the hope that is out there for people if Christians will rise up and stand in this gap, so the book is infused with this balance of challenge and hope.
Any critiques are minor. The videos are a very nice multimedia touch in this day and age – but I’m a fast reader so I’d rather not slow down and watch a movie. Those who like this feature will be pleased. Also, sometimes the book seems too much like a selling tool for IJM. I realize Jim works with them and is most familiar with their work, but there are other fine organizations out there doing similar work as well. This isn’t a big issue, and I support IJM financially myself.
Overall I am thrilled to have had a chance to read this book and see the new horizons coming in the fight against injustice. The need is starting to become known in the western Church. The Just Church takes the movement to the next step and provides a practical tool to those churches looking into how they can join in the justice ministry sphere. It isn’t for special groups like IJM or others listed on my links on my blog. The Bible speaks very clearly about God’s love of justice and it is every Christian’s responsibility to see the threefold thrust of Micah 6:8 walked out in the world today.
I’m thankful to Jim Martin and IJM for their work. I did receive a preview copy for promotional purposes, without any expectation of a positive review. My endorsement is heartfelt. The Just Church is a powerful tool in the battle against modern injustice. I highly recommend it.
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by Jason Joyner | Oct 4, 2012 | ACFW, Blog, conference, Dallas 2012, making the head spin, writing craft, Writing Wednesday
Back to real life.
That’s the reality as I sit at my computer and type out another blog post. But during four days in September, reality seemed different – like an alternate dimension. It was a place where one could discuss romance, murder, angels, dragons, superheroes, slaves, plucky Amish girls, and the occasional odd character.
That was the 2012 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in Dallas.
It was my first conference. With 700 attendees it seemed daunting at times to this new author with a baby-fresh manuscript clutched in his trembling hands (it was more a leg that trembled, but that’s for another time). Facebook makes it seem we’re all friends, but even though I recognized many people thanks to social media, I didn’t really know anyone there.
Thankfully that changed.
The great thing about this conference is that it is rooted in the Christian part of its name. There are worship times, devotions, a prayer room, and most importantly there are Christians. It seems obvious, but the people there demonstrated Christ-like behavior in welcoming everyone. From the first-timers orientation to sitting at a meal with total strangers and leaving as friends at the end, people usually gave a lot of grace to each other. There was always an easy way to do introductions if you were stuck: Where are you from and what do you write?
The emcee, Brandilyn Collins, did a great job making people feel engaged in the meals and main sessions. She let us all know that it was okay to argue with your characters because we had the whole hotel floor to ourselves, without any Normals around to wonder what is wrong with you. We were advised to not plot murders in the elevator or main lobby, but otherwise you were with people who got you. People who understood your imagination, your fascination with stories, and the need to go hide as an introvert every so often.
I’ve seen other conference attendees post their take-away points from Dallas, and writers are nothing if not imitators. What are things that struck me?
1. There are a lot of people with similar dreams. Seven hundred might not seem like a lot, but to gather that many like-minded folks to focus on writing was way cool. As a writer I’m not alone in my aspirations. Many others are walking a similar path, treading behind people who are ahead in the journey but are willing to give back. One great point is all the effort made by volunteers to staff workshops, mentoring visits, and just giving to the newbie writers walking around awestruck.
2. There are lot of different people in the ACFW… but there could be a lot more diversity too. There is a wide variety of writers there, but the majority wrote women’s fiction, Amish or historical fiction, or romance. Nothing wrong with that – I’ll read any of those if they’re well written (disclaimer: I haven’t read an Amish novel, not because I haven’t found a well-written one, I just haven’t looked). There’s obviously a huge market for those books. The ACFW started as the American Christian Romance Writers after all.
The guys were outnumbered 80% to 20% probably, but men who had been in the past said this was a huge difference to prior conferences when the males could fill 1-2 tables. We held our own though ;). There were even fewer minorities. The speculative fiction writers would glom on to each other for support. Horror? Yeah, I didn’t meet anyone who wrote that (maybe Mike Duran counts).
I’m not saying this to criticize the ACFW. It is an organization representative of its market – the people who frequent Christian bookstores. In other words, white middle-class evangelicals. The larger problem is that those churches don’t always reach out of their demographic, but that’s a much larger issue. I hope the ACFW can be a champion for diversity in the stories they tell to nudge the evangelical camp toward a larger acceptance.
3. I really need to write speculative fiction. Not for great sales numbers, but for the cool company. My book is suspense. I felt more kinship with the spec fic crowd. Everything I love to read or watch is led by spec fic, so I am surprised I don’t have inspiration to write it. Maybe someday.
4. There’s a lot to learn. I’ve been in intense programs before. A physician assistant program is like drinking from a fire hose. The writing program isn’t that overwhelming. Still, applying technical information in an artistic way is crossing the left brain with the right brain. That creates eddies in brain waves. I want to take what I gleaned and polish my novel up as much as I can. It all can’t go into it though. There was too much to use it all. I have to make choices.
I don’t like these kind of choices.
5. ACFW is working very hard. The conference was a huge success. I can’t imagine pulling together all of the logistics for this. There were leaders and there were a ton of volunteers helping things come off. There were a couple of little snafus. Probably more behind the scenes got missed than most people would see but on the outside it came off great. I know the timing was right for me to go this year. I wish I had gone earlier though.
I met online friends such as John Otte and Mike Duran and enjoyed getting to know them personally. I made new friends like Morgan Busse and Joe Courtemanche that made the weekend enjoyable and thought-provoking. And I got double-crossed in a mean game of Fiasco.
I’m ready for next year in Indianapolis.
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by Jason Joyner | Oct 2, 2012 | Blog, Half The Sky, human trafficking, International Justice Mission, Mission Monday, social justice
Computer problems are not conducive to blogging.
With that out of the way, I wanted to quickly point out a couple of resources for people interested in justice issues and fighting things like human trafficking.
Half The Sky is a two part documentary on the plight of women worldwide, as there are so many instances of oppression on women throughout the world. The documentary shows things like rescuing girls from brothels, providing learning opportunities, and exposing the issues that affect so many women in the world. It is airing on PBS tonight and tomorrow night. It looks to be a powerful way to show the needs of fighting for women without rights or opportunity. Like the title implies, half of the population is treated less than human and is discriminated against in too many ways, especially in the Two-Thirds World.
Next week is the launch of the book The Just Church written by Jim Martin of International Justice Mission. I’m reading it to help promote the launch and it is challenging so far. I’m planning to have a review of it next week.
Two quick items to let people know about. These are major things in the world today. I believe they are very close to God’s heart, even if Half The Sky is a “secular” production.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 27, 2012 | Biblical worldview, big ideas, Blog, CSFF, Mike Duran, speculative fiction, The Telling
I left off last time on our CSFF tour feature of The Telling by Mike Duran with a teaser. I reviewed the book, but didn’t address the main idea of the book.
That requires a post of its own.
Mike’s main character has a gift he calls “the Telling.” It is basically prophecy – he gets words for people or others. It often comes with a physical sensation that makes him sick.
Prophecy isn’t controversial, is it?
The problem in the book is the ninth gate of hell that happens to be nearby and is threatening to take over the small California town of Endurance.
A gate of hell isn’t controversial, is it?
The demons that infiltrate Endurance make copies of people’s bodies, creepy doppelgangers that know the person’s every thought and desire.
That isn’t controversial, is it?
None of this would be controversial if it weren’t in the Christian fiction arena. The thing that could make it very risky is that there is a clear representation of faith and needing God’s touch in the midst of more unorthodox aspects of the story.
I don’t want to spoil the story, but needless to say Zeph Walker has some issues since he has a huge scar marring his mouth inflicted by a psychotic stepmother. After being hurt, he stopped using the Telling – or it left him. Either way, there’s a theme of finding your way back to faith. The tagline for the book is awesome: A prophet never loses his calling, only his way.
So the theme of coming back is a decidedly Christian one. However, since The Telling mixes God with mythical gates of hell, demons that don’t possess but make really good paper mache copies of people, strange demon fighters, and a blend of science and the occult – is it truly Christian fiction?
I say yes.
I don’t believe a novel has to be orthodox to be Christian fiction. Maybe it comes from too much familiarity with Mike Duran – I know that he loves Jesus and loves the Church and the Word. But we have a huge precedent with C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. Witches and talking horses and all sorts of magic run through the story, yet all but the most conservative of Christians accept it as one of the prime examples of exemplary Christian fiction. Even though J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t claim to be writing Christian fiction with The Lord Of The Rings, it is still considered a more veiled version of Narnia.
I know others will disagree. We had a fine gentleman with good thoughts leave the CSFF because too many stories we featured weren’t orthodox enough for him. So whose orthodoxy will we use? In mine, prophecy is good to go, but other Christians won’t agree to that at all. This will continue to be an issue no matter what we do.
I wish I had been able to visit the other blogs on the tour and see the chatter. Unfortunately between computer glitches and backed-up sewer lines in basements (honey, let’s do a spontaneous renovation of the downstairs) I haven’t seen much of anything. I aim to fix that and check out the opinions, because I’m sure this is going to be an interesting conversation. As always, our stalwart leader Becky Miller keeps up with the latest and greatest posts of the tour.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 27, 2012 | Blog, CSFF, Mike Duran, reviews, speculative fiction, The Telling
The CSFF is featuring Mike Duran and his latest book The Telling.
Like I mentioned yesterday, I met Mike at the ACFW Conference this last weekend and we talked a few times. When I mentioned the tour for his book, he told me to be honest with my opinion. Mike has posted about the lack of real critique in Christian fiction circles before, so it didn’t surprise me that he said to go for it.
But first, what is The Telling?
Zeph Walker is a disfigured loner in the town of Endurance, on the edge of Death Valley. Hiding out on his property, his only real contact with people is in his dilapidated Book Swap store. His hideous scar, stretching from his nose across his mouth to his chin, has earned him the name Zipperface.
But Zeph has not always been like this. He used to have The Telling. He would know things about people, situations, events. He turned his back on this gift long ago.
When two law enforcement agents show him a body in the morgue that is a carbon copy of himself, he begins to be drawn in to a mystery that has been brewing underground for years. For Endurance is known for being the location of one of the nine mythical gates of hell.
As Zeph meets new friends that are also finding suspicious things going on in their little town, a choice is presented. Face the threat and face the past, or succumb to the evil lurking in the abandoned mine nearby.
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As you can see, Mike Duran does not lack for imagination. When he announced his tagline on his blog: “A disfigured prophet must rise up to close one of the nine mythical gates of hell,” I knew we were in for a ride.
Mike has a distinct style. He writes supernatural fiction, dealing with the elements of angels, demons, spirits, and the ragged edge of faith. However, he does so with a lyrical style. Mike cares about the language used, and he takes great care to paint the picture of what is going on with metaphor and simile. His words don’t just move the plot along, but they weave a picture. This is one of Mike’s strengths, but it does make his writing a little more dense. The book is not an easy pick-up and read. There’s effort expended in working through the passages.
Like his first book, The Resurrection, he deals with flawed characters with significant weakness. Zeph was horribly scarred by his stepmother. Spunky senior citizen Annie Lane has fought isolation and feeling like she may have been passed by in her destiny. There’s even a lot of empathy for one of the antagonists, Fergus Coyne, who battles in his own decision on how to confront his past. The bottom line is that you care about these characters because they have significant doubts and challenges – things we can relate to as readers.
Now to the plot and the big idea of the book. I’m going to rate the writing to finish today, and tomorrow will tackle the implications of the themes.
Mike said he threw the kitchen sink at this book. Government conspiracy theories, prophecy, demons, body-snatching, and cactus jelly all in one swirl of suspense. This makes it very interesting. To me, it also made it tricky to follow everything that went on. I will admit that I read it in fits and starts due to my schedule, but the back and forth of the varied plot points got confusing – enough that it dampened some of the enjoyment. Between the twists and four different point of view characters, I had to step out of his world to figure out who was doing what and where it fit.
It is a good book. I didn’t feel it was a great read. Fellow writers are notorious to please, because we read books with different eyes than a standard fiction fan. If I had to rate it on a scale, I’d give it 3.5 stars out of 5. There’s a lot to think about in this book, there are interesting characters, and a skillful use of language, tempered by a mildly confusing plot.
I didn’t talk about the themes and big ideas. Check back tomorrow for that – I promise it is the most interesting part.
Also, check out the other posts on The Telling. Becky Miller lists all the posts so far.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 24, 2012 | Biblical worldview, Blog, books, critical thinking, CSFF, Mike Duran, speculative fiction, The Telling
It’s time to “Tell” you about the September Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour.
This one is a pleasure for me because the CSFF is featuring Mike Duran and his latest novel, The Telling.
Mike Duran is an author and prolific blogger. His blog Decompose is a fertile ground of ideas that make you think. Not only does Mike post provocative thoughts on faith, fiction, and culture, but the community of commenters he has following him often expand the posts into very interesting realms.
Mike is not afraid to ask the hard questions or probe issues regarding Christian fiction and speculative ideas. However, he has a deep love for the Church and regularly pokes at the foibles of atheist and relativistic thinking.
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| Mike and I chatting it up |
The best part about Mike is that he is real and he is interested in people and exploring these issues. I know this because I had the great pleasure of meeting him this last weekend at the ACFW Conference in Dallas.
If this post sounds gushing because I just met the guy and I’m talking him up, you can forget that idea. The web does not allow for really knowing people, no matter how much you think it does. The face-to-face with Mike and bouncing ideas off him and other like thinkers (here’s a shout to fellow CSFF tour member Morgan Busse) over meals was a highlight of the conference to me.
Over the next few days we’ll be talking about Mike and The Telling. I’m sure it will be a tour with a lot of discussion. I invite you to check out my fellow tourmates below for more information.
Jim Armstrong
Noah Arsenault
Keanan Brand
Beckie Burnham
Brenda Castro
Jeff Chapman
Christine
Theresa Dunlap
Victor Gentile
Nikole Hahn
Bruce Hennigan
Julie
Carol Keen
Emileigh Latham
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Anna Mittower
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Dona Watson
Shane Werlinger
Phyllis Wheeler
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 23, 2012 | Blog, fun, links, miscellaneous, stuck in an airport again
I posted a handy guide to passing time in an airport last year. But after so much time has passed, the old list may be passe.
The internet needs a NEW list of things to do in an airport.
Without further ado:
5. Jockey for the best place to park. The ideal spot? Comfy chairs, plug-ins for your laptops and other electronic necessities, and a TV playing something better than CNN Financial. I’m parked in front of a football game, in a black lounge chair, with multiple plug-ins. I win.
4. See if you can find someone watching a movie on their laptop and find a way to get close enough for the free entertainment. Disclaimer: if you get in trouble with people for peeping – you didn’t have to take my advice.
3. Get your exercise. Power walk up and down the concourse. You may want to find deodorant for this option.
2. Bonus points for this one – get your fellow passengers to join you in doing the Gangnam Style dance. Seriously, if you post a video link here doing it, I’ll send you a pack of gum or something.
1. Write a blog post. You can give people hints on how the pass the time… (Recycled from last year, but classics never go out of style)
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 19, 2012 | ACFW, Blog, conference, writing, Writing Wednesday
Here we go.
I’ve been on this writing adventure for a long time now. I started back into it as an adult writing fan fiction (shout out to KFF, yo!). I had forgotten how much I liked telling the stories that popped into my head.
I came up with an idea for a novel. My writing friend Athena Grayson helpfully shot the sick goose dead before it got very far off the ground.
Then I had another idea. This one had some promise.
I started writing.
That was…a while ago.
We won’t go into detail how long ago *cough*2005*cough*.
I followed writers, read blogs, hung out at writing forums, and started writing about writing myself. I read a lot of books. Read books on craft. Read suspense, mystery, crime, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, YA, and even a romance or two.
Very slowly, I wrote.
I kept waiting for the muse to hit to really write. I learned the muse sucks.
Then something changed. I learned to write no matter what. I set my mind to it and plugged away at it. In the last year I wrote twice as much as I had the previous six years.
Suddenly I had a first draft of a novel done.
Well shoot, now what do I do with it?
So here I sit in the airport terminal. Ready to fly off to Dallas to meet with a few other writers (about 700 or so, not many). I’ve made the commitment. I’m not doing this lightly. It is time to go for it.
Here I go. And if I have any advice to give, it would be this: go for it.
See you on the other side.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 19, 2012 | ACFW, Blog, conference, writing, Writing Wednesday
Here we go.
I’ve been on this writing adventure for a long time now. I started back into it as an adult writing fan fiction (shout out to KFF, yo!). I had forgotten how much I liked telling the stories that popped into my head.
I came up with an idea for a novel. My writing friend Athena Grayson helpfully shot the sick goose dead before it got very far off the ground.
Then I had another idea. This one had some promise.
I started writing.
That was…a while ago.
We won’t go into detail how long ago *cough*2005*cough*.
I followed writers, read blogs, hung out at writing forums, and started writing about writing myself. I read a lot of books. Read books on craft. Read suspense, mystery, crime, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary, YA, and even a romance or two.
Very slowly, I wrote.
I kept waiting for the muse to hit to really write. I learned the muse sucks.
Then something changed. I learned to write no matter what. I set my mind to it and plugged away at it. In the last year I wrote twice as much as I had the previous six years.
Suddenly I had a first draft of a novel done.
Well shoot, now what do I do with it?
So here I sit in the airport terminal. Ready to fly off to Dallas to meet with a few other writers (about 700 or so, not many). I’ve made the commitment. I’m not doing this lightly. It is time to go for it.
Here I go. And if I have any advice to give, it would be this: go for it.
See you on the other side.
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by Jason Joyner | Sep 14, 2012 | Blog, Free Friday, links, pirates, Talk Like a Pirate Day
Welcome aboard mateys, as this blog’s flagship holiday approaches.
International Talk Like A Pirate Day
As this intrepid explorer will be working and flying off to Dallas (a shame, as there are no oceans nearby), it seemed prudent to offer up the traditional pirate resources. Although piracy is not usually associated with prudence.
Every pirate needs a good source of navigation. How else do they find rum?
The age old question: pirates or ninjas. This landlubber writer makes his choice, and he’ll be paying Davy Jones a visit real soon.
Or, ye can settle the dispute yerself. Heave ho with the dodgeballs!
If ye are not proficient in yer pirate lingo, here be a handy translator.
There even be some food merchants who are forthcoming with plunder if ye speak to them winsomely.
Here some photographic evidence of piracy and plunder be revealing the buccaneer among ye.
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| Cutlass versus rum…cake |
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