Into the Fire

Um. Hmm. Well . . . Huh.

What are you really saying when you say the Christian message, theme, gospel, whatever, isn’t “in your face” in a story, a novel, an article, whatever? That it’s subliminal? That it’s in the background? That it won’t be noticeable to those who aren’t believers in Jesus Christ? That the point is showcasing good versus evil? That it’s just a “clean” read? What?

If I was an agent/editor examining a query for a novel—and, yes, this is just me—if I read in the submission that the Christianity wasn’t “in your face”, I wouldn’t read any farther. Don’t roll your eyes and huff away to another blog just yet. Don’t you want to know why? Okay, don’t answer that. I’m going to tell you anyway.

If something isn’t “in your face”, then the connotation is “it” isn’t aggressively put forth. Alright. If the gospel message is aggressively put forth some of us would associate it with potentially strong preaching as in from the pulpit or what we might hear at a tent meeting with an evangelist stirring up the people. Some would think if the Christian theme isn’t “in your face”, it’s hidden, possibly cleverly woven into the story so as not to be missed but concealed without overt terms to give it away or proclamations of belief systems. Others of us would assume if something is in your face, it is plain. Perhaps no holds barred plain, but out there and obvious for sure.

For me, when a writer states the Christian theme, message, gospel, etc., isn’t “in your face”, they are rationalizing including the message at all or making an excuse for not including it. By so doing, they are also—and I wholeheartedly admit this probably isn’t intentional—giving a backhanded slam to those writers who have chosen to put the message into readers’ “faces”. We all know each novel has a specific audience, some a lot broader than others. We know who we are as writers—and readers, for that matter—in that we might prefer characters who learn who Jesus is through the course of a story or via characters who live godly lives but struggle with this, that, and the other, or we prefer subtle themes contrasting good and evil in the contemporary or a fantasy world.

I know it’s just semantics, but there seems to be a trend here which goes something like this: Let’s just write a good, enticing, clean story with people who might offer a quick prayer in the midst of crisis or refer to a vague church background or somehow implicate a spiritual awareness without vocalizing it in obvious ways. The appeal will be broader, and just maybe God will use it to get some lost soul thinking about Him. Okay. Great. Just don’t infer to “in your face” Christianity in a story as somehow inferior.

A lot of the decision making process to include overt Christianity depends upon the genre of a story. Fantasy novels proclaim and are known for the themes of good versus evil. Christian fantasy authors often incorporate all kinds of Christian symbols within that thematic framework, and, frankly, this is where the vagaries seem to work the best. It’s easier to incorporate the concept of evil being a form of the devil and the good somehow being godlike or a type of savior.

Knowing what you intend to tell in your story is key. And whatever you decide is your mission in telling the story . . . just do it. Don’t make excuses for it. Don’t insinuate your way is best. Don’t rationalize your reason for doing it. Don’t insult those who choose to do it differently. Okay?

In your face Christianity is not a bad thing. Like any other approach: as long as it’s well written.

Father, as the old hymn states: I love to tell the story . . . Thank you, Jesus. I need you in my moment to moment existence, and I need you in my stories. Thank you.