Rejoice When They Call You a Christian

No, this isn’t a post about persecution. At least, I don’t plan for it to be. We’ll see where the Lord takes it.

Rather, this post is explaining why we should label ourselves Christian writers and writers of Christian fiction.

And, yes, there’s a difference. A Christian writer is a person who is a born-again Christian that writes books. Now, that’s not to say these books are Christian, not by a long shot. There are plenty of Christians who write Harlequin novels (don’t ask me to vouch for the righteousness of their fruit, though), just as there are Christians writing Christian novels.

On the flip side, a writer of Christian fiction is a person who probably is but might not be a Christian that writes books focused on God. That might seem a little strange, to be a non-Christian writing a Christian book, but think about it. There were plenty of writers back in the day whose novels are so full of faith and Jesus, overflowing with convicting messages about God and life, but these writers didn’t actually confess to be Christians.

That’s why I include both titles.

Now that we cleared that up, on to the actual point of this post…

I recently read a post about Christian fiction and why you should - or technically, shouldn’t - write it. Now, I’m not going to dis the author or their opinions, because I see where they’re coming from...but at the same time, I don’t. So let me explain.

The author claims that Christian fiction misses the mark by making the life of a Christian seem perfect and all sunshine and roses - leaving out reality and the truth of sin and temptation. They state that secular fiction does a better job of that, therefore gaining more readers. Hence why they’ve personally chosen not to write “explicitly Christian” fiction.

This bothers me.

Why?

Because I’ve been reading Christian fiction since I was seven years old. My first Christian series was the Left Behind Kids series, then I moved onto Chuck Black’s Kingdom series, then Gilbert Morris’s Seven Sleepers series, then The Chronicles of Narnia, and the list goes on. Eventually, I started reading Christian YA fiction in the form of Melanie Dickerson’s fairytale retellings when I was ten/eleven, then Lynn Morris’s Regency novels introduced me to adult Christian fiction. Since then, I’ve read tons of Christian fiction from Frank E. Peretti to Francine Rivers.

And not once, in all of my reading, have I encountered a single book that failed to accurately portray sin, reality, temptation, and darkness. Not only are the books I read “explicitly Christian,” they’re also explicitly genuine. They deal with homosexuality, mental health, death, grief, miscarriages, abuse, rape, incest, premarital sex, racism, slavery, abortion. Now, I don’t mean these books just mention them in passing...I mean the main characters deal with them. Sometimes, the entire book centers around one or more of these topics.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (controversy aside): child trafficking, sex slavery, extramarital affairs, abuse, rape, etc.

Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers: homosexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, abuse, murder, racism, slavery, etc.

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers: abortion, premarital sex, extramarital affairs, suicide, depression, etc.

Unfailing Love by Julie Lessman: premarital sex, abuse, hate, unforgiveness, alcoholism, extramarital affairs, etc.

Shattered Rose by Tammy L. Gray: premarital sex, drinking and drugs, depression, suicide, anorexia, peer pressure, etc.

Mercy Undeserved by Kristina Hall: murder, alcoholism, hate, etc.

This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti: witchcraft, sex outside of marriage, drinking and drugs, violence and murder, etc.

A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White: premarital sex, rape, slavery, racism, etc.

At Love’s Command by Karen Witemeyer: racism, murder, etc.

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin: racism, sexism, murder, violence and discrimination, etc.

When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin: feminism, sexism, racism, socialism, discrimination, hate, murder, etc.

Prisoner at Heart by Grace A. Johnson: rape, miscarriage, murder, alcoholism, suicide, depression, premarital sex, prostitution, etc.

The list goes on. I can even name Christian novels from the 1950s to the 90s that fit a similar criteria. The jist of things is that, no, the Christian walk is not peace and happiness all the time, and Christian fiction more than portrays that. The examples above? These books didn’t just mention these subjects in passing - these are the struggles the heroes and heroines face. These are the temptations they fall prey to.

So why does Christian fiction have such a bad rap? If writers like Grace Livingston Hill, C.S. Lewis, Gilbert Morris, Jerry B. Jenkins, Frank E. Peretti, Eugenia Price, Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Tammy L. Gray, Julie Lessman, Bodie Thoene, Tamara Leigh, Laura Frantz, and many, many more have been writing bold Christian novels that authentically portray real life cultural and spiritual issues, then why do readers shy away from Christian fiction?

Here’s the thing. I don’t think they do. I know many non-Christians who avidly read Christian fiction. Why? Because it’s uplifting and inspirational, which secular fiction is not. Because it’s clean while still being real and accurate, which secular fiction is not. Because it handles tough subjects tastefully and from a biblical perspective, which secular fiction does not. Because it can be entertaining instead of a drag. Because it can lift your spirits instead of darkening them. Because even though Christian fiction really does deal with the hard things, it also emanates light and life - something nothing else does.

Christians have given Christian fiction a bad rap.

I have only ever heard bad things about Christian fiction from Christian people. I’m serious. Just like the blog post I referenced above...the only times I’ve ever heard that Christian fiction is “unrealistic” and “too fluffy” and “preachy” is from, you guessed it, Christians.

I think it’s time we stop putting our fellow Christians down and start building them up, spreading truth about Christianity and Christian fiction to give us a better reputation - rather than these demeaning lies that, yes, make Christian writers ashamed to call themselves writers of Christian fiction.

Hence the title of this post. My challenge for you, going into this new month, is to REJOICE when you are called a Christian. REJOICE when you weave Christian themes into your fantasy novel. REJOICE when God gives you a message to share. REJOICE when you announce that you’re going to write Christian fiction and not just be a “Christian writer.” Trust me, it was the best decision I’ve ever made (apart from becoming a Christian in the first place, of course), and the only people who have ever discouraged me against writing Christian fiction are Christians.

We are followers of Christ. Children of the Most High God. And we should not feel mocked or ashamed when we are called by His name - instead, we should rejoice. We should bear His name and carry it as a banner over our heads, proud of who we are in Him.

Jesus was not ashamed of us when He was beaten and mutilated for our transgressions and iniquities. Jesus was not ashamed of us when He trudged up Golgotha with our burden laden across his back. Jesus was not ashamed of us when He hung on the cross and gave up the ghost.

Why should we be ashamed of Him and of the “label” Christian when we are doing what He called us to do?

With love and blessings always,

Grace

Romans 1:16