So, You Want to Write a Devotional
By Gary Mullen
As 2008 came to a close, I became worried about a trend I was watching in the general church. It seemed that more and more of the core leaders in the Christian Church were becoming dissatisfied with the idea of “Church.” The trend was being seen throughout the North American Church. No denomination seemed to be doing better with the problem than any other. But the dissatisfaction among those people who were shouldering the core work the church was doing was growing.
There was no doubt that the problem was and is multifaceted, but one question I struggled with was whether we were connecting with the Bible. Maybe even more importantly, I had to question my own connection with the Bible. I love to read the Bible. Still, I had to admit that at that time, my Bible reading was beginning to focus on the passages on which I was teaching, meaning some were being read frequently. In contrast, other passages (I mean, who really likes to read Leviticus?) were being totally missed. So, I made a deal with my congregation. For the next three years, we were going to read through the entire Bible, and in the process, I was going to post my thoughts on the Bible journey we were taking. My devotionals began on January 1, 2009. Seventeen years later, I am still writing.
Over the years, I have been asked by various people for hints on how to begin writing devotionals. Surprisingly, I do have a few.
Decide what you want to do. What is the plan? Are you going to write thematically? Do you want to write through a particular book of the Bible? What exactly do you want to do? I began my journey writing in a more seasonal style, working through the Bible, keeping in step with the various seasons of the church. After about year four, I traded my seasonal approach to the Bible for a chronological one. Decide what it is that you want to do.
Be selfish. I know, strange advice for a Christian, but the truth is that your devotionals will be best if you write for yourself. Write about what you think, enjoy, and consider important. My devotionals are filled with music and popular culture references because that is what I enjoy. I write a lot about community and care for the weak and the “least of these” because I consider these concepts important to the contemporary church. Your devotionals will connect best with others if they connect with you.
Grow a thick skin. It doesn’t matter what you write; someone is going to be offended. And maybe not just with what we might think is obvious. I am often criticized for my stand on Women in Ministry (I think some of the best Pastors in the CBWC happen to have two X chromosomes) or my stand on the LGBTQ community (I think we need to love each other through even significant differences)—but one critic calls me a “Per-verse Pastor” because I happen to write on one verse at a time. Someone won’t like what you write, regardless of what you do. And that’s okay.
Make sure you really want to do this. This is important, especially if you decide to post online. Some early advice I received was that a blog abandoned after a few weeks does a lot of damage. And unfortunately, I have seen a few of those myself. Set a schedule for when you want to post. If you are going to post every Tuesday, make sure that you do. I post daily, but I actually write eight devotionals a week, so I have a backlog to post when life interferes and I don’t have enough time to write.
Use a Grammar program. We all have problems with spelling and grammar, so make sure you have help. I use the paid “Grammarly” service. It isn’t perfect, but it is better than I am with grammar, and I don’t post anything (including this article) without it.
Have fun. You might not change the world, but that is okay. I know the one who gets the most out of my blog is me. If someone else comes along for the ride, great.
And if you want to find me, I’m at garrymullen.blogspot.com, or email me atgarrydavidmullen@gmail.com. Let me know where I can find your devotional writing.
