Category: 2015 FCWC

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“Stats” or Bridge?

by Jan Johnson

 

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my book giveaway drawing… you know, the drawing nobody entered?

Well, I wrote about it partly to tell you where the book ended up, and partly in the interests of full disclosure–I don’t want to give a false impression that I’m some wildly popular, successful blogger or anything. But later I re-read the post and thought it may have sounded a bit… whiny.

I hate whining.

I should write a post, I thought, to emphasize that I’m okay with my small start and am definitely not whining. But I got busy and didn’t write it… yet…

Then I went to the Faith and Culture Writers retreat and conference in Portland, as I described last week. Excellent speakers taught on a wide variety of topics relevant to us creatives. Looking back over my notes, I found one common thread that appeared, one way or other, in every single talk. Here’s the gist of it:

To really connect with your readers you must know your identity and write authentically from your passion. Do not chase market trends or compare yourself to anyone else.

No kidding, this idea popped up in every session, from “Embrace Your Inner Weird” to “Learning from Great Literature” to “Ten Things I Hate About Your Blog.” After hearing it twelve or fifteen times, phrased in a variety of ways, it made quite an impact on me. (I may have mentioned that during the conference I suffered from information overload. Otherwise it might have had that impact sooner.)

I don’t obsess about the number of subscribers my blog has. Besides the “comparison” thing, blog statistics are pretty much meaningless anyway. Many people click “subscribe” if they see one post they kind of like, or if they want to sell me something–and they never come back. One time someone followed my blog, leaving this comment on one of my especially heartfelt, carefully crafted posts:

“Follow back?”

Did she even read any of the post?

That lack of depth or engagement sends a message: “Jan, you are just a commodity this person wants to use.”

A four-digit number of followers would feel good, but only if those individuals benefit from what I have to say. I want to build a bridge between myself and my readers and, hopefully, between us and Christ. So why pump up my statistics with two thousand people who have spent no more than fifteen seconds–ever–with my blog? As near as I can figure, it’s better to connect with two dozen real live people who actually, you know, enjoy some of my posts.

Like Marlece, f’rinstance–mom of four boys in Washington state. She documents the joy and wackiness in her blog “Son Up ‘Til Son Down.” We connected online, and got to meet when I was in the area for the conference. After encouraging each other for a couple of years, I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to see her and deliver a real, live, warm, 3-D hug right there in Starbucks! She writes authentically and from her passion. As we talked I found I already knew her. She is just as wise and wonderful in person as I’d thought.

That’s how I want to write, too. So, if you’ve read this far, know that I truly love sharing my hectic, goofy and often-discombobulated life with you. You are the one I write for, and again I say…

…thanks for reading.
Seriously!
Jan

Connect with Jan:

Website

 

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Stirred and Settled

Riding in Hawaiiby Jan Johnson

 I’d been looking forward to it for months: the Faith & Culture Conference for writers and other creatives. We met last weekend at Warner Pacific College, on the edge of Mt. Tabor in Portland, Oregon.

Brent and I actually flew out to Portland a week early to visit our two sons, their wives and our grandson, all of whom have relocated to the Pacific Northwest in the last year. Good times!

The whole region is gorgeous, hills bursting with plant life including enormous Christmas trees and tons of flowers. The lakes and rivers were full of water, which almost seems weird to a Texan whose state has been in drought mode for, what, four or five years?

The city of Portland thrums with an exuberant, youthful vibe. Artfully dressed people in all their picturesque hipness were everywhere. (Sometimes a middle-aged small-town grandma needed to go look at a blank wall for a minute. I just couldn’t keep up, you know?)
But the pre-conference retreat, and the conference itself… whoa. Fabulous times of worship. We drank deep from a fountain of pure joy. Honest conversations, learning over and over that “I’m not the only one!” Making new friends, some of whose convictions, values or doctrinal beliefs differ from mine.

On the flight home to Dallas I spent some time considering the “Big Takeaway” — What had God said to me overall about my life as a writer and especially as a believer?

I’m glad you asked.

Most importantly, I heard the warning not to mistake my own tradition, paradigm or interpretation for biblically sound doctrine. My belief could be misinformed. My doctrinal position could actually be (gasp!) wrong. Or at least a matter of individual conscience.

On the other hand, depending on the topic and context, my particular belief or conviction could be right. While it’s certainly healthy to question old traditions, it’s equally healthy to question specific ideas generated in a youthful, freestyle, “anti-tradition” paradigm.

After all, we wouldn’t want to throw out the nuggets of holy truth along with the gravel of tradition and personal preference. As Peter points out in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Either way, pursuing doctrinal correctness is not enough. I must also make sure my heart, my attitude, are right. I must seek my brothers’ and sisters’ highest good, with humility and love and respect for their sincerity.

I learned tons of stuff about writing, too, but I won’t burden my longsuffering readers with those concepts. Besides, marvelous bits of wisdom kept coming at me… so fast that too many escaped before I could jot them down. So my notebook is a little disjointed.

I’ll sign off for now, with loving greetings from the heart of Texas, y’all.

Thanks for reading,
Jan

Connect with Jan:

Website

 

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When Cracks Show us the Glory of God

Ashley Hales

by Ashley Hales

Shivering in this northwesterly wind, I sit on the edge of dirt and pavement: this juxtaposition between organic and man-made. This concrete worn and utilitarian next to the unadorned simplicity – almost vulgarity – of the dirt. We are stuff just as these. Stones pulverized and fashioned into meaning. Organic material who hide behind makeup and jewelry and our bios. But we’re all just dust and ashes. All here to serve a God so much bigger and more incomprehensible than ourselves. A God who hung the stars in galaxies we haven’t yet discovered; a God who created atoms and molecules and things we can’t comprehend. For what? For the joy of it.

For delight. (That’s what Henry James taught me – the delight in language, in the glory of the small pieces forming intricate beings called sentences that curl and twist and in which we live and move and have our being).

That there is something about glory that fills and moves spaces; that it is self-assured in its perfection because it is perfection that comes from humility, from sacrifice.

For a Kingdom that breaks through these cracks in the sidewalk or speaks to me out of the dirt, is a Kingdom that is not about utility. It is a Kingdom that glories and dignifies the small, that notices the simple – that says a hair or a sparrow are currency in this Kingdom.

In college there was a singer-songwriter who sang a song based on Isaiah 55, “You who have no money, come buy and eat” and it made no sense to me then. This Kingdom where glory comes in brokenness, where glory breaks in through the stuff of dirt and sidewalks, where glory is a free meal.– where glory fills the ordinary with good things – this, this is where I want to live.

It is only here, in this Kingdom of concrete and dirt, where I am fully free. In this moment there is life, life more abundant and full and overflowing than my degrees or accomplishments. And it comes inching towards me as an offering while the thoughts about all those people who I am responsible for, for the pain and heartaches and miscommunications come racing in. But I’ve been given this moment.

It, too, is an offering of dirt and concrete. And it, too, is delight.

Connect with Ashley Hales:

Website | Twitter

 

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What it Looks Like to Find Home (yet again)

Ashley Hales

by Ashley Hales

We almost moved to Portland in 2009 to do an apprenticeship with a church. We fell in love. We wanted to be downtown people. We wanted to walk on lazy Saturday mornings with a cup of hand-crafted coffee and browse in Powell’s. We ached for urbanism, books, meaning, and craft beers. We longed for the coming together of pubs and stories; of the gospel and hipsters; of beauty and brokenness. And then it turned to ashes. We didn’t move. And we felt like death. Six years later, this last weekend, I returned to Portland and even in the span of three days and three nights, I am resurrected.

I am more fully alive, more fully myself, more a member of a tribe than I dreamt possible. There is a quiet back and forth between the prophetic fire I feel stretching for release inside of me and the long, slow soul-digging necessary to make a life of writing work. And it all is good work. Because now I believe I have a community of soul friends; where, hunched over drinks around a table, even though we come from different backgrounds and theological viewpoints, we are home. There, around the table, we are most fully ourselves, most fully alive. Because home was never about being right. Home is belonging. Home is where we hash out who we are and what we believe; but surrounding that process, is a womb of protection. Home is where we can be messy, scared, broken, angry. And a true home can hold us as we thrash about as we are birthed into ourselves.

I found a little slice of home there in the drizzly northwestern rain. I found a home by myself, sandwiched between earth and concrete, feeling as much a part of one as the other. I found home in a Kingdom that is wide and deep and long and a breath of air. I found home in words that filled me, where I marveled at beauty and truth wrapped around one another like lovers. I found home in the eyes of my friends, when I could listen to their hurt, to their cries of lament from systemic oppression; or where I could weep at the violence done to them because they were sacrifices to a system. These are systems based on fear or control, where the image of God becomes something to squelch and squash, like my toddler squishes Play-Doh back into its plastic tin. I found home in the words of meandering faith journeys, where we hold holy space open for each other. I found home in my tears. Portland birthed me. Me. Not in my writerly garb, but just me.

I have some resolutions of sorts, some lessons to take away and tape up to my bathroom mirror, to remind myself what I will do:   I will dig gently. But I will dig. I will tell myself the truth of the middle day. That there is dusk and there is dawn and at these threshold moments we are the verge of beholding glory. I will see. I will pause, slow down and not rush to resolution. My first duty is to see. I will proclaim truth. I will point others to glory. And, I will show them home.

This was Ashley’s first time attending the Faith & Culture Writers Conference. She blogs at: Website

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It’s about changing lives by sharing our stories.

So I Married a Youth Pastor - Encouraging spiritual growth and authentic faith by entertaining questions and honoring transparency. By Liz von Ehrenkrook

“I love how much energy you have!”

I laughed, “This isn’t typical of me, I’m not usually excited about being social; but being with My People, I can’t really help myself.”

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Faith & Culture Writer’s Conference in Portland.

If you’re a writer, there is nothing more fulfilling than being in a room full of writers. These are the people who get you.

These are the people who know it’s a stretch to be talking for two days straight and don’t expect you to perform.

These are the people you can meet and sit in silence with and feel known.

I met online friends face-to-face, and made new friends who instantly felt like old friends. One friend spent the weekend in our guest bedroom and I gifted her a quiet retreat. She helped me discover how my husband’s and my decision to remain childfree gives us the opportunity to serve My People who have kiddos by offering a library-esque environment to escape to! 

My heart is full, and my brain is processing. I was encouraged and challenged and inspired; it was like willingly drinking from a firehose and I. am. drenched.

The same resounding message bled from every kind of writer; those who are just starting blogs and learning how to tweet to those who have multiple books published and could hire someone to tweet for them.

“Your voice is unique. Be yourself. Your story matters.”

It doesn’t matter where you’re at in your writing, we all fall victim to comparison and self-doubt. We are all insecure, questioning our words and worrying nobody will read them.

- Emily Freeman -

I entered the writing contest and didn’t win. The winners were announced in the morning of the second day and I spent the afternoon volleying between feelings of joyful anxiety – I couldn’t wait to just get home and write! – and wondering why I wasn’t chosen.

I met with an editor who said the words, “I’m interested. This is what I’m looking for. I want to read this book.” I texted my writing coach the news, I called my husband. My stomach flip-flopped and I wanted to write! I was so excited I forgot about the contest until a fellow blogger emerged from her agent/editor meetings with practically a book deal.

The why not me cycle began again. I recognized she had been working really hard and came to Portland with a full manuscript in hand while I am only just beginning because of all the scrapping and re-writing and wading in the kind of memories that cause you stop and take big, deep breaths. But she is My People and her story is weaved in my own, so I will advocate without hesitation for everyone I know to read her book when it’s released.

It’s such a frustrating place to live in, being so at home among other writers, feeling loved and known while also experiencing the worst pangs of jealousy because they’re further along in their book journeys. But I know I’m not living there alone; every single one of us talked about entertaining the same emotions. We all want it to happen for each other but we also really want it to happen for ourselves.

- Karen Zacharias - (Karen Zacharias Spear)

My People will be there for me when I get a book deal, but they’ll also wonder when it’ll be their turn. It’s the nature of being a writer who deeply desires their words to be read and remembered, because all of our words matter greatly.

It’s not about money or fame, it’s about changing lives by sharing our stories.

I will tell stories. I will be myself.
I will practice writing words I can’t take back.
– Emily Freeman

I’ll no doubt be recalling things I’ve learned this weekend in future posts. I’ve spent the majority of my time since the conference writing through a fog of sinus-infected medicine head.

And, you guys, the first completed chapter of my book sounds amazing! Of course, I’ll need to re-read it when I’m not in a drug-induced haze and get back to you on the reality of that statement.

You kind of have to be a little bit crazy to call writing your thing, I think.
– Emily Freeman

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Learn more about Liz von Ehrenkrook at her  website: Liz von Ehrenkrook

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Returning to this year’s conference – And cutting loose

By Jemelene Wilson

My word this year is “release”.

I didn’t want a word this year. After all, I have a whole phrase I’m living in.  Who has time for a word and a phrase. Not this girl.

Well, apparently I needed to make time because when you ask the Holy Spirit to impress something on your heart and He does, listening seems to be the wisest course of action.

Two weeks ago today I rode north to Portland with my friend. Tresta is a gifted writer who speaks bold truths with a gentle gracious spirit.

Our destination was the Faith & Culture Writers Conference for 2015.

Last year I left with ideas. I had motivation. I wrote about “Coming out of the margins,” and how I was going to move forward with my writing, speaking and living out my faith by raising my voice.

Last year I prayed, “What is it Lord that you want me to write? Who is it Lord that you want me to touch? How is it Lord that you want me to move forward on this beautiful earth in my messy life?”

As I looked back over the year I saw progress. There was forward movement, lives touched and I am steps closer to fulfilling part of my calling.”

I also saw more roadblocks and detours thrown in my path. It’s amazing how easy it is to focus on the things that slow us down. The belief that my focus must be unique in order for my voice to be my own.

This year I found breakthrough and the reality that maybe it’s supposed to come in steps. Maybe growth isn’t always at breakneck speed but often it’s a one foot in front of the other affair.

This year the conference included a Friday retreat setting with a writing workshop after lunch. Seth Haines encouraged us to sit outdoors and spend the time writing from our perspective. We returned to the room to share what we wrote about.

There was a tree that stuck up over a building. It was full of blooms. I wrote of the short time this tree would look like this and wondered if anyone noticed that it was signaling that change was in the air. I lamented the short span of life the blooms had but the beauty of it’s return every year.

As writers shared their work a woman began to tell us about a tree she observed. It had reminded her of the time of year she lost her child and how it was a time of reflection. We wrote about the same tree and even some of the same observations but our words and voice were our own. Our vantage point and life experience gave us both a unique perspective with similar conclusions.

Another spoke poignantly of her own unique point of view because the community she identifies with is at a painful crossroad in history. Her lament echoed over the long wooden table as other writers admitted that we too find it hard to wrap up hard words with a happy ending.

Sometimes I write from the middle and have no ending at all.

My inbox is filled with close to a hundred drafts waiting for the perfect ending. I’ve been locked up by my own need to fix every problem I write about. To bring a conclusion to stories that need to be shared but aren’t quite finished.

We came back together to share as a larger group. As we went around the room I was tagged to share our small group observation. After relaying the revelations found in the workshop the question was posed, “How is this going to change your writing?” I blurted out “I’m cutting loose!”

I’m cutting away from the need to always give the answers when sometimes we need to sit in the questions.

I’m letting go of having to be the only one to address a topic or hiding my words because someone with a platform already said it.

Sometimes we need to repeat things in our own voice with our own words with our own space.

There is still so much more about the weekend that feels like freedom but I don’t have to wrap it all up for you now.

When I returned home there was a present waiting for me. It’s a special edition mug  for Jen Hatmaker’s “For the Love” launch team. Most people chose the same hashtag. Me? I lamented over mine so much that I sent a frantic last minute email asking if it was too late to change mine from #grace.

It couldn’t have been better timing or a more appropriate word.

 

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Jemelene Wilson’s writing can be found at Jemelene Wilson website/blog

 

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Not the usual suspects

Romal Tune By Romal Tune

So where do I begin?

If I had to some up the 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference in one word it would be “refreshing.”

I’m on the road three weeks a month each year speaking or teaching at conferences or other venues.

But this conference felt different. It was more like a retreat. The positive energy, encouraging conversations, the inspiring workshops and the great speakers made me feel at peace.

More than that, it was a reminder that I am not alone and that my voice is valued.

Faith & Culture 2015 was refreshing and replenishing, which is important because life can be a bit challenging at times and we need places where people help us recharge.                  It’s good to know that there is a conference of authors and writers who are willing to share their journeys and stories in ways that are uplifting.

That’s a big deal.

Maybe like me, you have been in somewhat similar settings where there are these passive aggressive competitions between people trying to prove they are better, more important, or attempt to lure you into the comparison trap to make you feel like you’re just not good enough yet. I didn’t sense a hint of that at Faith & Culture, and that was refreshing.

I came across the event on Twitter; and after we followed one another, I checked out their website.

The first thing that struck me was that fact that the list of speakers did not have what I call “the usual suspects” of speakers.

A lot of conferences tend to keep the same speakers in rotation, and after a while that gets a little boring and predictable. I often hear people talking about how there needs to be more new voices included at conferences but I’ve not seen very many actually include new voices.

But, the Faith & Culture Writers Conference was different.

They purposefully inviting new voices to the conversation around faith, culture and the arts. And this was evidenced in the line up of speakers – there were a lot of new voices and very few, if any, “usual suspects.” After all, they even invited me to be a keynote speaker and co-facilitate a workshop without previously hearing me. The leadership took the recommendation of a mutual friend and decided to add another new voice.

I did two large group talks where I shared my story. The point of the both talks was to show that within our personal stories, as messy as they can be at times; God can turn a mess into a miracle. A miracle that if shared through our testimonies, can save and change the lives of others who are wondering if there is anyone who can relate to what they are going through, and can show them that life gets better.  As a writer our personal narratives impact who we believe we can become in the world.

Revisiting the stories we have been telling ourselves impacts the stories we are able to share through our writing. We are free from pain, shame, and judgment; we are free to be bold, courageous and creative. In a sense, we go from blank to beautiful, the theme of the conference.

A final thought. The plenary sessions felt like church, or should I say what I wish church should feel like. The music was great; the speakers were empowering, practical and relevant. But more than that, there was no pretense, no judging, no shaming. There was just great fellowship, a desire to meet new people, cultivate new friendships and help each other pursue purpose and passion through writing. I couldn’t help but think to myself; wow this is kind of what I wish church felt like.

Thanks to all who attended the 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference.                                 My heart felt gratitude to the leadership team for inviting me to be a part of the amazing experience.

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Romal Tune was one of the speakers at the 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference. He’s an ordained minister, an author, and a speaker. Find his writing and work at Romal Tune

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The 2015 Risk was worth it

Cornelia Becker Seigneur  By Cornelia Becker Seigneur

What an amazing experience at our Faith & Culture Writers Conference this past weekend! I am exhausted and over-did it and felt it at night. I needed to rest more during the days. I will pay later for it later. But, I am so grateful to be alive (truly!)  And, that I can smile thinking about the weekend. An exhausted smile, but a smile nonetheless.

This year, we tried something new, adding an extra experience Pre-Conference during the day on Friday that we titled “Breathing Space- A Mini-Retreat.” That is always a risk, trying something new and different. What if it flops. What if numbers are really low and it looks like a failure. And, when registration numbers were not coming in as quickly as we had anticipated, I’m not going to lie, I was worried. As the conference director, I see the reality of the finances.

Adding the Mini-Retreat and new art spaces and live art were in response to comments from last year’s survey, saying people wanted more down time, more small group interaction, additional opportunities for fellowship. In short, people wanted to not feel so rushed.  And, when one mini-retreat group leader, Nish Weiseth, had to drop out of the afternoon time frame due to a family situation just a week before the event, I started doubting even more. Maybe, this added day was a bad idea.

Then, I prayed and asked others on our lead team to pray.

Our team’s executive administrator, Bethany Jackson, encouraged me to take the group and I appreciated her vote of confidence. But, I really needed to be careful not doing so much since my accident. I was already slated to share from the main stage about my accident, so I just decided to say no to leading this small group. It was hard to say no, as I love leading small writing groups, but I knew it would already be a grueling weekend. I reached out to a few people to see if they could possibly lead that small breakout group for that portion of the mini-retreat. Karen Zacharias Spear and Micah J. Murray stepped in, joining Seth Haines and Brooke Perry, and Romal Tune and Tony Kriz.

God is good. He always provides just whom he needs.

Then came the conference, and people told me how amazing they felt that the mini-retreat experience was. One person said:

“Okay, we can go home now. I’m filled up.”

Others said that God was working on their souls and in their hearts and they were being healed and restored and I am hearing all of these comments and this was only during the “pre-conference,” and I am already shedding tears of joy. Exhausted tears of joy.

Sometimes, when you risk, it flops. Sometimes it goes well. Sometimes it’s in between. But all the time it’s worth it.

The Lord was so in this weekend, and we truly could not have done it without Him. And, that is a good place to be.

That comment I heard over and over again. That God was at work.

It was God, working through my incredible leadership team and committee members and behind the scene folks that made this past weekend possible. I am humbly grateful for their service and friendship. After my accident, they just kept on moving forward. We only had three months to go. We should not have had a conference, but God had other plans.

So many folks worked behind the scenes to make this event go so smoothly. And, these wonderful people were doing more than just running a conference. They were giving their lives. Many took note of the personal nature of our conference. Bob Welch, one of our speakers, said, “Wow,  a few weeks before the conference, I received a hand-written note saying you were praying for me!” I’ve never had that before. We wanted to be intentional about making people feel like they mattered.

We serve a creative God who carved something beautiful out of nothing; and now He calls us to create, to fill the blank pages of our lives with our WORDS, our stories, His Story. We prayed that people would find a place of community and belonging; and, from listening to the conversations, both at the pre-conference, “Breathing Space: A Mini-Retreat,” and throughout the weekend, I think that was happening.

So, we risked, we dared, we dreamed.

And, it was worth it.

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Cornelia Becker Seigneur was is the mom of five children between the ages of 12 and 25, with a set of identical twins in the mix; she has been married to her college sweetheart for 28 years. Cornelia loves gathering people together into community and she is honored to serve as  the founding director of the Faith & Culture Writers Conference.  Cornelia longs to serve Christ in any way she can; she thrives on adventure and the extraordinary ordinary and family; and she needs a lot of grace to survive. Find her work at Cornelia Becker Seigneur’s Website

 

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A Welcome Letter from FCWC Director

Cornelia Becker Seigneur  By Cornelia Becker Seigneur

On behalf of the entire Faith & Culture Writers Conference Leadership Team, I want to welcome you to the Expanded 2015 Faith & Culture Writers Conference – Rough Draft: From Blank To Beautiful.

Last year you spoke, saying you wanted more time for fellowship and legroom — in short, more breathing space — and we listened. We added our Friday pre-conference experience which we are calling “Breathing Space-A Mini Retreat”; we also have Art Stations in McGuire, where you can reflect on the conference visually. In addition, we will have a prayer room available to ponder your creative God-given calling. We truly hope and pray that you find inspiration, courage, and community during your experience with us.

We need in-person connection and we intentionally want to be a creative community where everyone belongs and feels as though their story matters. Because it does!

It Takes a Village!
After my life-changing Accident in January, this amazing team that I serve alongside continued to move this conference forward, and without them there would be no conference! I am incredibly and humbly grateful for their service and friendship.

  • Bethany Jackson has been so faithful, keeping us on task as our Executive Administrator
  • Marc Schelske serves as our Scribe and (new!) Launch Coordinator and all-around get-things done guy
  • Taylor Smith returns as the warm and amazing Communications Coordinator of our speakers;
  • Brooke Nicole Perry is once again our expert, matching attendees with their Agents, Editors, and Mentors;
  • A big nod goes to Tony Kriz, one of our visionaries and Advisory Board Members;
  • Leah Abraham, is our awesome Website Administrator;
  • Matthew O’Connell, organizes our Faith & Culture Writing Contest;
  • Jody Collins, is our Volunteer Coordinator|Administrative Assistant.
  • Our Committee members include: Kim Hunt, social media coordinator, Cayla Pruett and Rachael Metzger, creative space coordinators; Faye Strudler our Prayer Team Coordinator; and Stephen Carter, Writing Contest|Social Media Assistant.
  • Huge thank you goes to Bethany Sundstrom-Smith for re-designing our website this year. Be sure to see our “Acknowledgments” page in your folder for complete list of thank you’s.
  • We are also thankful to Warner Pacific College for their hospitality as our sponsoring host. Grace Kim and Melody Burton have made us feel very welcome, as they have worked behind the scenes with logistics and details. Thank you to Mimi Fonseca for coordinating our bookstore and Joel Santana, our meals.
  • Once again, we are honored that Martin French created our beautiful WORDS logo shown at the top of this letter;
  • Aaron Esparza returns as our photographer;
  • Brad Ediger is recording all talks and sessions for you to purchase.
  • And, we give a shout-out to the judges of our Writing Contest as well as Scrivener and Bedlam Magazine.

A Couple of Changes.

I do have a couple of notes to make you aware of. We are sorry to say that due to a family situation, Amber Haines and Erika Morrison are no longer able to be with us. And Nish Weiseth has to leave early so she will not be leading the afternoon mini-retreat small groups. But, Micah J. Murray and Karen Zacharias Spear are stepping in to join the co-led groups of  Seth Haines and Brooke Perry and Tony Kriz and Romal Tune

We serve a creative God who carved something beautiful out of nothing; and now He calls us to create, to fill the blank pages of our lives with our WORDS, our stories. We pray that you find a place of community and belonging here, and that you sense that you matter. May Christ be honored this weekend; may He give you the WORDS to share the stories that change lives. I am so glad you are here!

Happy Writing and stay connected.

P.S. Please understand if I am not my usual, energetic self! Blame it on the concussion. Hey, you try surviving getting hit by an SUV and live to tell!

– Cornelia Becker-Seigneur

Cornelia is the founding Director for the Faith & Culture Writer’s Conference, and blogs at www.corneliaseigneur.com.  If you have any questions about the conference, you can email her at cornelia@corneliaseigneur.com.

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When writing, find your Nancy

Jody CollinsBy Jody Collins

When I began blogging almost 3 years ago I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Maybe you’ve felt the same way?

I was welcomed by a few new online friends into the High Calling network and encouraged to pursue my passion.  In just three years, God has shown me a few things about the path I’ve chosen, this ‘writing for the world,’ and given me some perspective-makers to keep me focused: 

1. Find Your Nancy

As you’re tapping and typing away at your laptop or desktop computer, there IS no audience, it’s just you and Jesus and your words.  You send them out into the blogosphere and pray for a connection.  You hope they’ll land somewhere, maybe touch a chord and speak to somebody. At least that was my prayer.

Lo and behold, one day I got a comment on a blog post. (Yay! It’s Okay to do a Happy Dance when someone leaves a comment.) Someone actually read what I wrote and told me about it!

It was an encouraging precious word from a woman named Nancy.  And she showed up every week, to read whatever I’d written. In spite of my fears that my words were than less-than-profound, she’d remark on their depth or how encouraged she felt.  Every week since then she has read and commented on my posts.

Now I have a very small crowd of ‘regulars’—fellow writers/bloggers and readers who encourage me as well. But I always remember Nancy—to write just for her—as if she was the only one listening. It personalizes my writing, which makes it more relatable.  It also gives me hope.

2. Choose Your Words

Not everything is a blog post! Like the nurse logs in the Washington Coast rainforest, some things just serve as detritus for new growth.  You know all those sticky notes and backs of envelopes?  Those inspired scribbles from a Sunday morning sermon you wrote on the back of the bulletin?  The scraps of paper you found just in time to scratch a revelation on?  Yeah, you’re probably not going to write all that down…

Not everything gets into print—much of it is practice for the process, part of the pile—a paper detritus that is the growth medium for what you DO write. The Holy Spirit will quicken in you the words that need to see the light of day.  Some of it will serve as markers, sitting in your notebook or under a paperweight, reminding you of how far you’ve come. Just keep writing. Persist, and then choose the honest, compelling words to share.

3. Build Relationships.

I am no professional marketing person to speak to what ‘platform’ is.  I am a believer and a writer and simply offer my words back to God to use as He sees fit.  Looking past all the social media skills and conferences and platform building, I think the core truth is this:  Building your blog (or your writing audience) is all about relationships.  

I am not concerned with numbers or stats, really.  For me, it’s all about connecting. But how can you extend your reach? Widen your audience? By reading other peoples’ words, commenting when you can and having them click back and find you.  That’s how others will find what you have to say.  There are other voices that share your passion and vice versa.  Maybe it’s Patheos, maybe it’s The High Calling, maybe it’s an online magazine—like Ruminate or Relief Journal or of course, where you are at now, the Faith & Culture Writers Connection!

There becomes an overlapping of the circles that you find yourself touching, an ever-expanding Venn diagram of comments and topics and people.  I personally am interested in keeping my reach small so I can go deep, rather than being wide and therefore shallow.  You’ll find what feels right for you. But wide or deep, it’s all just relationship connections.

As you write keep these three things in mind.  Find your Nancy and write for her. Choose your words and persist. Build relationships. Do this consistently and you will see your writing and creativity move forward and impact people you never thought possible.
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Jody is the Volunteer Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for the Faith & Culture Writers Conference.  She blogs at threewaylight.blogspot.com.