Recently, I was listening to a podcast from the Gospel Coalition and these older pastors were discussing what they wished they had known when they were just getting started in the ministry.
They mentioned how young pastors have dreams of changing the world, transforming culture, writing books, and generally leaving a giant mark on Christianity. But God tends to take young pastors to small churches and teach them to “feed my sheep”–love the congregation they’re given. That is the important work. The real work.
Now, being a writer is not the same as being a pastor, and I don’t want to overemphasize the parallels. But writers also enter the world dreaming to make it big, change people’s lives, have their words affect thousands and millions. And that may happen to some. But I think often we writers first have to love what we’ve been given, the beauty and truth that’s been revealed to us, the ability to do our work with integrity, the small group of readers we actually do affect.
The call to write does not equate to the call to a successful career in writing. It may. But the call itself is of first importance. We writers should focus on that first. The call to write is the call to communicate truth and beauty as clearly and as well as we can.
What comes of it isn’t really up to us, anyway.