A Job as a Technical Writer Changed My Perspective.
Christian writing should be as rich and demanding as the faith it represents. Are we dumbing it down too much?
This question came to mind when I read this quote by Neil Postman, an American author, educator, and cultural critic. He said, “I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.”
This is more than just a haunting thought. It’s a clarion call for an authentic representation of Christian faith — in our lives and our writing.
This notion puts all Christian writers in the crosshairs of effective communication. We want to present our transforming faith with gravity and grace, but we do not want to simplify it into cartoonish forms.
How can Christian writers, including pastors writing sermons, bring depth and seriousness and still reach the hearts and minds of readers? How can we reach people on their level of understanding without trivializing the Gospel?
Old-time preachers talked about “putting the cookies on the lower shelf.” That’s an idiom for using language that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. It describes someone who speaks or writes in a way that is straightforward and accessible to a wide range of listeners and readers.
Christian writers must master communicating like this without pandering to our audience.
What I Learned as a Technical Writer
I got my start as an editor for a national Christian publishing company. They had a stable of magazines and a book division, and I copy-edited everything placed on my desk. I learned a great deal about effective Christian communication during those days.
Yet, it wasn’t until I moved to a new country, where I knew few people, that I took a “tentmaker” job (Acts 18:1–4) to support my Christian work. It turned out that I learned more about Christian writing than I did as a Christian publisher employee.
Here is what I learned. You can apply these principles to your Christian writing to help share our serious and demanding faith and still meet the spiritual needs of people on their level of understanding.
Understand the Subject Matter
Christian writers are tasked with doing one thing well: mating human problems with Bible solutions. We can do that in a million different ways, but that is our prime directive. It applies to both fiction and nonfiction.
One of my assignments was writing the instructions for installing massive sliding glass doors in high-rise apartments. What did I know about the topic? Zero.
Therefore, I had to review the engineering plans. I didn’t understand them, so I also had to interview the group of engineers who created them. Then, I looked at the installation specs. It was clear to me that Tab A needed to be inserted into Slot B, but it was evident that it would be tricky beyond the second story of a high-rise. There are many factors to consider when handling a giant piece of glass on a tall building, like windspeed.
I had to interview a construction manager and have him mock up an installation for me. I got a clear idea about the process. Only then could I sit down and write the step-by-step instructions for construction workers with limited reading skills to install the glass doors.
But I didn’t stop there. Once I wrote the first draft of the instructions, I worked with a pair of Chinese construction workers who were only marginally familiar with the process and English. I asked them to install one of the doors while watching them go through my written procedure. I wasn’t looking for weaknesses in their ability to understand as much as I was looking for weaknesses in my ability to explain each step with clarity.
It all boils down to that old quote attributed to comic Jerry Lewis, economist Alan Greenspan, and dozens of others:
“I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
A long process? Sure. But an effective one. You need at least two comprehending people (the sender and the receiver) before you can be somewhat sure communication has occurred.
I have long been concerned about Christian writers understanding their topic on more than a visceral level. Most think that since they went to Sunday School, they are theologians. They think they understand their subject matter when they often do not. Christian writers must become more rigorous in understanding the Bible principles they discuss.
Understand Your Audience
The second important thing I learned as a technical writer was to understand my audience better. Most Christian writers, I have found, are writing for themselves, not others. That is a severe limitation for sharing Christian values.
When I was doing technical writing, I got clarity from my company CEO, engineers, construction managers, and installers. Yet, only the installers were my audience. None of the others mattered. I was filtering what they said into actionable steps.
How can Christian writers understand their audience? By engaging individuals on the topic and listening to them. Listening is the key. A Christian writer should never limit their writing to their own experiences; they must consult with the broadest spectrum of people possible so they can write books or blog posts on a given topic that are actually helpful to people.
Structure Content with Clarity
Christian writers need to understand their subject matter. That requires research and interviews to get the facts straight. It is essential to talk to others and get feedback about their views. Once you have this information, it is crucial to structure the content with clarity.
How can we structure content with clarity in mind? Technical manuals, by their nature, are procedural. That supports an age-old teaching method that takes learners from “the known to the unknown.” Assume your readers know little about your topic, and bring them up to speed in an orderly way.
Let others read what you have written. Do they comprehend what you had in mind?
In fiction and nonfiction, organized minds think in steps. You confuse readers when you disregard the order of events. Those who assume readers will understand what they are saying come from the “ready, fire, aim” school of writing, which is not reader-centric.
Simplify the Deep Things of God
Technical writing and Christian writing share important communication principles. When I do both, I think of myself as a translator. The Christian faith is “demanding and serious,” as Neil Postman says, and it is our job to translate often complex ideas into simple terms. We are commissioned to share the deep things of God without trivializing them.
Jesus accomplished this task by telling stories. We will get his good results when we do the same thing. Turn the complexity into simplicity by knowing your audience, knowing the truth, and offering a feast for the reader’s eye and mind to consume.
Sources cited:
Unless otherwise noted, Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
