Write About Now

I’m sitting in a hotel lobby in Kansas City reading the online version of this year’s NACC program book and looking forward to the convention’s kickoff tomorrow. Interestingly, I had already decided to write about the use of literature in preaching when my eye fell on the program’s list of the top ten books leaders are reading right now. One is the new Harry Potter novel, and another is War and Peace

I’m not sure how the NACC compiled its list,  but I wish I could copy and paste it into the syllabus of every English 101 course at our Bible colleges. Many students at these schools—especially freshmen males—believe literature classes are a waste of time because “I’m going to PREACH. I don’t need all this stuff.”

And I strongly disagree. For one thing, great literature—like all great art—explores the human condition. These books, plays and poetry illuminate and draw conclusions about God, love, and sacrifice. This is true of literature from every country and every age, and it’s true regardless of the author’s spiritual background. In fact, sometimes works like The Grapes of Wrath, Death of a Salesman, or the poems of Sylvia Plath speak most profoundly about the need for a Savior. Because all people reflect the image of God, their creations can’t help but point to him.

Speaking more pragmatically, these students should read literature because it’s also a rich source of illustrations and other sermon material. Paul Williams demonstrates this with his use of The Odyssey in his recent editorial on poverty. And I’m guessing War and Peace is on the NACC’s list not because it’s such a fun read—it comes in at over 1,000 pages and every character has three different last names which end in “ovitch”—but because it is an epic story full of insights about God—insights that will preach.

Churches have adopted the use of visual stories, in the form of movie and television clips, as powerful tools to communicate the Gospel in a fresh way. I wish we could develop a similar appreciation for written stories, because both art forms can point to The Story.