Can we be in unity in these tough times? Thoughts from Jo Wanmer

 

Jesus washed the feet of his betrayers. 

Not his accusers, nor his enemies but his betrayers-the ones he called his friends. The ones he walked with and talked with, explaining deep hidden meanings, and trained in the ways of the Kingdom. Those who planned to protect him, no matter what. Those who claimed they were willing to die for him, but left him.

Knowing who he was (King of Kings) and knowing where he was going (to the cross) Jesus took the role of a servant, the lowliest servant, and washed their feet. Not their clean feet. Not feet protected by socks, but dusty, filthy, road-weary feet. This, one of his last parables, was acted out, touching every man’s flesh and every man’s heart.

As he sat back at the table, he shared that one pair of those clean feet were going to betray him. Shocking! So shocking, He struggled with it. He was troubled in spirit, agitated and disturbed. But yet his pain hadn’t stopped him serving the betrayer.

He shared his bread, an act of deep intimacy, with Judas and sent him out to fulfil his act of betrayal. Turning back to the others, Jesus talked about the glory of God. In this setting he utters the famous words, ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ His meaning must have filtered into their hearts as the water was still drying between their toes. ‘Love one another so much that you are willing to wash the feet of even the one that would betray you to death.’ What a powerful demonstration of unconditional love! Love is the way the Father’s glory is manifested.

In the same scene, at the same table, Jesus prays for His disciples, and for us, those that believe because of the disciples teaching. ‘Lord, make them one as we are one.’ His disciples were a varied bunch. Did he really expect a tax collector to be unified with a zealot? Or a fisherman? Or does he have a different idea of unity?

He had just given them a practical demonstration of love. He remained in unity, even with Judas. When love is practised, unity happens.

 As Christian authors and readers we write…not only books and short pieces, but emails, posts on social media, articles and blogs. Are we being known as Christians by our love that's displayed in our words?

In these difficult times, we don’t all agree on theology, politics, vaccines and other topics. How can we walk in unity when we see things so differently? Unity is not about total agreement, seeing things the same. It is about love and displaying that love unconditionally. We can still honour our brothers and sisters in Christ, even if we disagree with them. We can still walk in the spirit of love, joy, peace and patience, staying in unity of the Spirit. It is not our job to judge others, correct them or argue with them, but to pray for them and allow Jesus to do His work, (not our work) in their hearts. For each of us, it is our job to walk humbly before our Lord.

When we can stay in unity, even though differing in opinions, others will see God’s love because it will shine like His glory.

The enemy’s plan is to cause division. God’s heart is for unity. As always, we choose our response. May His grace be upon each one of us in these turbulent times.

Bible references: John 13, 17

Jo Wanmer lives in Queensland with Steve and Barclay, the toy poodle, who is begging for treats! Her published book 'Though the Bud be Bruised' was published in 2012. She also has articles in several anthologies. Her focus at the moment is listening to the heart of the Lord, though his written word, as times and churches are changing. 
     

 

 

Making rough places smooth...together. by Jo Wanmer

I sat on my back veranda in the sun. (I love Brisbane at this time of year; any time of year really!) My friends sipped their coffee. All was good in my world until the sun fell on my legs like a spotlight. Shock! Horror! Only thirty centimetres of leg showed below my three quarter length pants but...

You see the forest on my legs (I’d convinced myself no one would ever see) was highlighted, the blond hair so long it looked as though it needed brushing not shaving! I excused myself hoping they hadn’t noticed, and rushed to do the only possible thing. I changed to jeans that covered me to my toes.

The incident, traumatic as it was, reminded me of Paul the apostle, saying some parts of the body that are unpresentable should be treated with special honour. In other words, we cover up the ugly. I’m comforted to find at least my response is biblical.

Last weekend I attended the Omega Writers Retreat in Toowoomba. (My apologies to any attendees who may have been subjected to a glimpse of unbrushed leg hair!) We gathered as a body of Christian writers. Yes, a body. As Paul says, we are many diverse parts, but one body. There were fingers pounding keyboards, eyes reading, ears attentive, hands cooking. Wisdom was taught, expertise shared, counsel given and received. Together we made a whole, and even those of us who took the word ‘retreat’ literally and forgot the word ‘writing’, were treated with honour and love.

At CWD we too, are a family. Just this week there was a plea on Facebook for someone to read a MS. Another asked what a MS was. There is interaction and reaching out in love. And there can be also be lively debate and different points of view. But we treat each other with honour and respect, remaining in unity within our diversity. I love that.

But what happens when a writer displays an ugly side, submits or publishes an unshaved manuscript, or condemns another through a review or a cutting comment? How does our body of writers cover these episodes with special modesty as Paul says in 1 Cor 12:23?

I am forever thankful that my book was submitted to several mentors and editors before a publisher laid eyes on it. They covered its ugliness with gentle words... ‘If you’re willing to work hard I think I can teach you how to write.’  ‘It will need a lot of editing.’ ‘Show the story. Don’t tell us about it.’ Others taught seminars, led workshops, read and critiqued, edited and covered my shameful spelling.  Yes the Christian writing body worked very hard to stop me embarrassing myself.

Over the years in CWD I’ve watched as writers patiently imparted their knowledge again and again to ones who are still learning. They have graciously but firmly led them away from the danger of rogue publishers, pointed them to necessity of good editing and offered to read and make suggestions.  If necessary they will go off line to bring correction or rebuke. Why do they do this? Collectively we are known as Australasian Christian Writers. What one writer publishes effects our reputation as a whole. This is why we host conferences, retreats, chapters etc. and I believe we are seeing the results in the level of writing expertise being displayed.

The hardest thing to cover is pride, quickly followed by stupidity! I was working on a novel in NaNoWriMo several years ago and a member of CWD was also writing. She shared every step on Facebook about her efforts and reached the goal of 50,000 words before the deadline, 30^th November. Allowing only one night to edit, she posted the story as an ebook the next day, under a different name. I was thankful it wasn’t written in Christian genre for I was appalled at its unprofessionalism, mistakes and even storyline. But, with no editing work, how could it have been any other way?

Writing is a process and when that production uses others’ talents within the body of Christian writers, we all stand proud. And then, we, with unshamed faces, celebrate together.

I did get Steve’s chainsaw and cut down the forest on my legs. Likewise, thanks to the Christian writing community, I have pages and pages of advice from friends, publishers and editors about how to smooth out my current MS. One day soon I’ll get the courage to take the axe to some of my beloved words so the storyline is more easily seen. 

Currently Jo Wanmer is enjoying the Queensland sunshine and wind in her hair. When she's not touring with Steve or minding wonderful grandchildren, she's communicating hope. She is a pastor at a small family church at Burpengary called Access and loves speaking anywhere people want to hear of the love of God. 

Her book ‘Though the Bud be Bruised’ was published in 2012 and there are two more novels in the pipeline. Her passion is to bring the love, healing and hope of Jesus to men and women who have walked through life’s valleys. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Changes and Gratitude by Nola Passmore

The beginning of each new year is a time to reflect and a time for change.  I’d like to do both of those things in this post, but let me start by announcing a change.  I’ve been the coordinator of Christian Writers Downunder for almost two years and it’s been a wonderful experience.  However, I’ve felt for awhile that God was directing me to take up some other opportunities and that it might be time to hand over the leadership.  I’m thrilled to announce that Jeanette O’Hagan (aka Jenny) has agreed to take over the reins.

Jenny will be familiar to you already, as she is the one who posts the blog links up every Monday and Thursday and has also been the driving force behind our first CWD anthology ‘Glimpses of Light’.  It’s been a blessing having her on the committee and I know she’ll bring a lot of energy, compassion, faith, wisdom and creativity to the coordinator role. One of the main tasks Jenny will be taking over is the coordination of the blog calendar.  I’d like to thank her for the tremendous help she’s been behind the scenes.  I’ve benefitted greatly from her expertise and friendship and I know she’ll do a brilliant job as coordinator.

I’d also like to thank our other committee member Anusha Atukorala for her incredible support and wisdom during the last couple of years.  Although CWD runs fairly smoothly, there has been the odd occasion where tricky issues were bubbling behind the scenes.  Anusha is a tremendous encourager and prayer warrior and I value all of the input she’s given.  One of her new tasks will be to introduce the blog posts on the Facebook page on Mondays and Thursdays.

I’ll still be on the committee, but we’ll be looking at adding another two or three people to the team. We’d appreciate your prayers as we think and pray about that.

I’ve learned such a lot in the last two years and it’s been a privilege to play a small part in facilitating a group involving such a wonderful bunch of writers, editors, illustrators, publishers and readers.

One of the things we did during my watch was to develop a mission statement for the group.  We decided that the main aims of the group were to:

• Glorify God in our writing
• Develop our God-given creative gifts
• Encourage other Christian writers and those in related fields

You can read a longer post about those aims here.

I think we’ve come a long way in working towards those goals.  I am continually blown away by the faith, talent, creativity and encouragement evident in the group.  We don’t always agree with each other, but I love the way we are able to discuss issues in a loving and respectful manner.  Each member is an important part of the whole and I appreciate all of your contributions. I’ve also valued the way in which we’ve been able to develop stronger links with the other Christian writers groups, particularly Omega Writers, Australasian Christian Writers and FaithWriters.  Thank you to the leaders of all of those groups for your enthusiasm and support.  We are truly stronger together than apart and I appreciate all of you so much.

I’d like to thank our previous coordinator Lee Franklin for entrusting me with the leadership and showing me the ropes. We wouldn’t have CWD if not for her initial vision.  I’d also like to thank our amazing bloggers.  I’ve really appreciated your willingness to step up and share your hearts and knowledge with us.  If you have some free time during the coming weeks, why not scroll back through some of the posts? We’ve had over 500 posts since CWD started in 2011, covering a wide variety of topics.  I am truly blessed by all of the amazing insights that have been shared and I look forward to that continuing for many years to come.

So what will I be doing?  I’ll be spending more time in face-to-face mentoring and workshopping opportunities, particularly with the Toowoomba branch of Omega Writers which I co-lead with Adele Jones.  I’ll also be putting more time into the freelance writing and editing business I run with my husband Tim (The Write Flourish) and I’ll be endeavouring to finish my novel.  I’m also currently enrolled in the Queensland Writers’ Centre online course ‘Year of the Edit’, so that will keep me busy.

I’m sure you’ll join me in welcoming Jenny as the new coordinator.  I know that the CWD ship will be in very good hands under her leadership.  You’ll hear more about her hopes and dreams for the group in Thursday’s blog post.

In concluding this season for me, I’d like to give the biggest vote of thanks to God.  He has guided us every step of the way and any good that has flowed from the group has come through Him.  There have been times when I felt I didn’t have the energy or ability to continue as the coordinator, but His strength and calm assurance has always been there.  Let’s keep Him first in our writing journeys and see what amazing things he has in store for us.

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Nola Passmore is a freelance writer who has had more than 150 short pieces published, including devotions, true stories, magazine articles, academic papers, poetry and short fiction.  She loves sharing what God has done in her life and encouraging others to do the same.  She and her husband Tim have their own freelance writing and editing business called The Write Flourish.  You can find her writing tips blog at their website:  http://www.thewriteflourish.com.au