The Talk Place

As I sit here with Writer's Block and an incomplete article in front of me, I am forced to address some very basic questions. Who is GRN, and what do we do? It may seem very obvious to those working within the Mission, but defining it eloquently is surprisingly difficult.

Having contacted many Christian magazines over the last few months and requesting that they publish an article about GRN, has been well received. About 90% of the magazines I have contacted have all been very positive, and interested in our work. That was actually the easy part. Next step was receiving an outline from each magazine, the expectation of what they were after, and the style they would like it written in. Not too hard. But now, seated here in front of my computer, trying to share the heart of the Mission in a way which is informative, yet shares the passion and excitement is very difficult.

The work and vision of GRN is absolutely thrilling! To be commited to sharing God's word in a world of lost and dying people in response to the Lord's Great Commission is incredibly satisfying.  The purpose of GRN is to tell the story of Jesus in every language, but sharing the process of how we do that can be so dry when written on paper. My struggle is how to share what we do in a way that touches and moves the reader to want to be a part of this extraordinary work. It's not about having people come flooding in to volunteer here, or to send us thousands of dollars (although that would all be lovely); it's about the reader having a heart and understanding for our work. 

One article that I completed this morning was technical, describing the engineering and developmental side of our playing equipment. To actually have a SABER in your hand; to switch it on and listen to the sound quality and foreign dialect sharing the gospel message is something I cannot describe. I can talk about the technology and design, and the capability of the player, but that does little to inspire most people to a place of "WOW".

Since I started work here earlier this year, just as the SABER was going to production, I have been amazed. I would go home and share yet again with my husband about how incredible the SABER design is. I took home some technical information and some pictures and he would feign a certain amount of interest to please me. For that I was grateful. On Tuesday night at the GRN Christmas party, my husband walked into the office and saw a real-life SABER. He touched it lovingly with his hand and said "Here it is. Isn't it amazing?" All of the paperwork and pictures he had looked at over the months, that had inspired so little interest, were forgotten as he held the SABER in his hand. It is that kind of excitement and connection that I would like to put onto paper. It's that kind of interest I want to be able to raise in the reader.

That's my challenge, and one I'm not sure I can meet. I find that as a writer, I am constantly going before God and asking for creative ideas. This time I am asking for more from God; I am asking for passion and excitement to be transferred from the pen to the spirit of the reader.  When that happens, it is then that people will want to be a part of the amazing work of GRN.