Anyone remember Y2K?  The doom-and-gloom, the warnings, and the survivalist mentality swept the nation in the prelude to January 1, 2000. My husband and I were given several books on the subject and told the books could “save our lives.” I’ve kept them on our shelves for the sole purpose of showing my kids a slice of our nation’s history. (For the sake of complete disclosure, I will admit that we added a few more bottles of water to our stash and the pantry was well stocked on New Year’s Eve.) By January 2^nd of that year, a lot of authors, radio show hosts, pastors, publishers, and teachers must have felt just a wee bit of disappointment that their labor was for naught. And the embarrassment? Well, that had to have been painful, too. David Kinnaman and Greg Lyons, authors of UnChristian: What New Generation Really Believes, state that young intellectuals view Christians as judgmental, uninformed, and out-of-touch with reality. How can we, as a publishing community, begin to change that perception? As believers, how do we communicate important issues of the day without losing our relevance or our credibility?

1. Know the facts before you rush to write about the latest scare. Global warming is a perfect example: half the experts say the earth is warming; the other half note a cooling trend. If this is a topic you are passionate about, be prepared for the possibility that time and weather render your book obsolete.
2. Avoid a critical, judgmental attitude in your writing. We face a world of broken, wounded souls who need a sensitive, compassionate approach. Too often we write from our heads instead of our hearts, and fail to offer God’s grace to those in need.
3. Be cautious about making predictions. Here’s a quote from one of my Y2K gems: “I predict that y2k will not be moderate by any definition…a percentage of people will die from cold, another percentage from hunger, and a larger percentage will die from crime and disease…fleeing anarchical conditions in the cities.” Predictions, particularly those that incite fear, often do little to enhance the credibility of the author.
4. Make sure your premise is grounded in Biblical principles. “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness…it is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.” (James 3:17, TLB) Are the truths you have written communicated in a way that is straightforward and sincere? Can readers find those same truths echoed in the pages of the Bible?

The printed word is a powerful vehicle for communicating the Gospel in a way that is relevant, trustworthy, and effective.  Let’s use it to be a voice for truth in a society desperate for a new way to live.