Writing as a Ministry

Introduction & Table of Contents

Welcome to greenville.edu, the online presence of Greenville College, and Writing as a Ministry, an eBook resource for aspiring and professional writers. Presented by former GC Professor Elva McAllaster, Writing as a Ministry, provides practical suggestions for enhancing future writing projects.

Foreward

Robyn Florian, Internet Communications, Office of College Relations & Marketing, Greenville College
"Moody's 1987 Write-to-Publish Conference" Newspaper Article

Author Biography: Dr. Elva McAllaster

Chapter 1

• Preface
  
• Point I: Read
  
• Point 2: Get on with the rest of your life.
  
• Point 3: Do acquire a few basic tools for your library.
• Point 4: Develop a pervasive curiosity about words, a fascination with words.
• Point 5: Develop a self-awareness of yourself as a writer.
• Point 6: Get instruction when you can.
• Point 7: Experiment with serendipity thinking.
• Point 8: Develop sensory alertness.
• Point 9: Keep Journals.
• Point 10: Build a deep and working knowledge of Scripture.
• Point 11: Learn to know where humanity hurts.

Chapter 2

• Preface
• Point 12: Articles can indeed minister to readers.
• Point 13: The writer needs to have courage to take risks, to use initiatives.
• Point 14: Catch opportunities when they come.
• Point 15: Be alert to the material all around you.
• Point 16: Remember the value of the interview and of the "as told to" article.
• Point 17: Remember the value of the "how to" article in all of its variations.
• Point 18: Match your submissions very carefully to the appropriate market.
• Point 19: Keep abreast of the current needs.
• Point 20: Learn to live with discouragement.
• Point 21: Learn to live with optimism.

Chapter 3

• Preface
• Dr. Elva McAllaster Writings
• Point 22: Follow your own leading.
• Point 23: Having one's ideas circulate in book form is a reason for special doxology.
• Point 24: Books do make impacts on lives
• Point 25: For many Christians, writing a book or several books has been one part of their larger ministries.
• Point 26: For some people, writing books has become a primary Christian ministry.
• Point 27: Sometimes a book will emerge from the author's willingness to be vulnerable, to be candid, to be self-disclosing.
• Point 28: A book may immerge from the author's desire to help one person.
• Point 29: Some books need to be written as a ministry to yourself or for limited circulation, but do not need to be published.
• Point 30: We do not need to know to whom we're ministering nor how.

Chapter 4

• Preface
• Point 31: Some writers do not and should not have a speaking ministry.
• Point 32: For some writers, the speaking ministry is the transient part of their service.
• Point 33: For some people, a speaking ministry is actually a prelude to a writing ministry.
• Point 34: For many of us, writing and speaking obviously intertwine.
• Point 35: To speak the ideas too freely may lessen the compulsion to write those ideas.
• Point 36: Things may change during different seasons of our lives.
• Point 37: If you speak it, file it.
• Point 38: There can be a special joy and awareness of mission when you speak to the eyes in front of you, if it's right for that time and circumstance, and if speaking is indeed your designation.
• Point 39: The speaker/listener opportunity will not come again.
• Point 40: When the speaking ministry comes, speaking needs an immediacy of prayer preparation.
• Point 41: There's a saying that happiness is always a byproduct.
• Point 42: We will often need to make a conscious effort to leave the results with God.
• Point 43: Sometimes, a total success may be composed of many little failures.
• Point 44: You may learn long after that you have ministered to someone.
• Point 45: The speaking ministry may become really large scale.
• Point 46: A word for all of us, whatever the varying degrees of our ministry. From Colossians 4:6--I'm using the New International phrasing--"Let your conversation be always full of grace seasoned with salt so you may know how to answer everyone."

Chapter 5

• Preface
• Point 47: One of the ministries, it seems to me, of the Christian writer can be to recommend books to one's friends.
• Point 48: You may encounter a chance to talk about books more formally by doing a book review.
• Point 49: There are needs in curriculum writing and other kinds of instructional materials.
• Point 50: Does your local church need a writer of news?
• Point 51: A church you attend may have a parish newsletter, and it may well be that one of your steps into writing ministry will be in writing little editorials.
• Point 52: Professional writing in your field and secular writing may be its own kind of ministry.
• Point 53: Writers are people who are aware.
• Point 54: What about the personalized greeting card?
• Point 55: The writing of letters.
• Point 56: You may have a ministry, actually, through letters to editors.
• Point 57: There is a ministry to oneself in the writing experience.
• Point 58: You may find a ministry as an encourager for other writers.
• Point 59: I think we may say reverently that one may have a ministry to God Himself.

Introducing Greenville College

Greenville College is a four-year, Christian college providing a quality liberal arts education for over 1200 traditional, adult-degree-completion and graduate students. Founded in 1892, Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, about 45 miles from St. Louis on I-70, and is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church.

View a brief profile about Greenville College and it's programs ...

Last updated: March 20, 2002