I'm not a boater. Not fond of deep water. Of any kind. So I could say wherever there's a boat on water, it won't be me rocking it.
But metaphorically speaking, yeah, I'm rocking the boat. I'm trying to tip it over and empty its contents, sending them all into the nether-regions of inaccessibility. I'm not adhering to the author protocol, the CBA acceptable norm, the politically correct quietness, or the falsely encouraging "never give up" platitude of the publishing industry.
Christianity is a decision to believe Jesus is God, came to earth to deliver His people from their sins by putting those sins to death on a cross and enduring a brutal death which He allowed, was resurrected to life, and sits at the right hand of the Father while being omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. Christianity means the Holy Spirit who is God takes up residence supernaturally in those people who choose to believe Jesus is who He says He is, who accept His sacrifice through repentance and forgiveness, and yield their lives to God. Period. Then those Christians follow Jesus by learning God's word, living God's word – hard as it sometimes is – and sharing God's word under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thumbnail sketch of Christianity. No rocking the boat here.
"Christian" publishers of fiction live by the rules of their individual houses. Some set mission-oriented goals. Others set requirements, standards, and practices. Authors/writers wishing to enter the world of Christian publishing do their best to find the group which fits them best. Making no waves and sailing on smooth waters, for some of them it's easy and without conflict. For others, there are some choppy waters, some righting the ship, some taming of rough seas, but they survive the tipping boat and stay the course. The uneven trip reminds them that at any time they could hear the "Man overboard!" echoing in their water-filled ears.
For the last few years since the economy tanked, since the publishers got skittish, since e-publishing appeared like a daunting iceberg, and since Christian fiction imploded into more of the "safe", "clean", and "chaste" directives, I, for one, am reading less of it. I have always emphasized there are wonderful and exciting exceptions to these claims, but they are in short supply and vastly outnumbered by the safe-clean-chaste formulaic and predictable fare. I find this more than merely disheartening. I think it's disturbing.
As the world exalts its evil in every aspect of our societies, Christian fiction offers sweet and nice. Nothing wrong with sweet and nice or escapist literature as long as there is also the reality of life in the mix. Somewhere. In CBA there are horrifying serial killers a la the novels by Steven James and there are unlimited numbers of Amish fiction. There are cute little romances and then there is the beautiful and wondrous The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson.
A few of the best and most unique Christian authors have slipped away from CBA, turned loose by their publishers for lesser sales than they'd hoped to gain but only after somewhat shoddy marketing efforts by the publishers and a certain discomfort with their novels. The discomfort arose from CBA's notorious demographic making noise about various aspects of the novels written by these individuals. And accepting the fact that the CBA demographic won't tolerate much variation, these particular well known publishers pulled the plug on further offerings from these exceptional authors.
It's a shame when an industry as successful as Christian publishing becomes unwilling to take chances and appeal to a greater audience. It's sad to think the major Christian publishers remain satisfied with the status quo and the "traditions of men", to trail behind the entrepreneurs of publishing to remain safe with the tried – but tired – and true.
Father, you lead us all. The only thing that matters is following you. Help us to do that well. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 
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