 Randall M. Mooney is the founder and Publisher of Crossover Publications, LLC. His other companies and ministries include DeRanz.com and Praying for Jobs.org. He has been an entrepreneur and ordained minister for over 35 years. His books, “Prophets and Poets” and “Robbing God” were released in 2009. Mr. Mooney has ministered throughout the United States as a featured speaker for churches, conferences, and conventions. He has also ministered in Belize, Mexico, Columbia, and Israel. He and his wife Deidre, live in Brandon, Mississippi. They have raised six children and currently have ten grandchildren. |
 A Good Reason to Write |
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St. John the Apostle finished his book in the Bible with two very interesting verses. “This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:24–25 NLT, emphasis mine). I have always been intrigued by these verses. First, it is amazing that Jesus was busy enough to accomplish so much in His brief life on this planet. Second, that if all he did was all written in books, the world would not have the room to contain them all. Considering the number of books already in existence on the planet, that is a remarkable claim. But what if nothing was ever written down? When we consider that our faith, history, and heritage is founded upon written records, what sort of people would we be if everything we knew depended on word of mouth? I fear that we would be floating adrift without a rudder. I’ve played the telephone game many times. A statement was passed around a circle of friends, each one whispering the message to the next. The last person to receive the message would compare what he was told to the original statement. Knowing that the statement failed to maintain accuracy from one side of the room to the other makes it pretty scary to think we could depend on information that was orally passed through generations. Nonetheless, we can be thankful that scribes and writers throughout the ages have answered the call and responded to their passions to write. Because of their obedience we have a pretty good idea of where we’ve been, what we’ve done, who we are, and what we’ve learned from it all. For those of us infected with the passion to write, we often travel alone, constantly reassuring ourselves that there is some divine purpose for what we do. And indeed there is. Peter’s first official sermon netted some three thousand responses (Acts 2:41), and Peter later wrote, “We were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. . . . We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place . . . Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:16–21 NLT, emphasis mine). Regardless of what we write, whether fiction or nonfiction, we write as moved by the events around us every day. Some of us write only what we believe, while others write anything. But write we must or miserable we are. I have been writing creatively since 1968. My wife is a fabulous technical research writer. I have a friend in West Virginia who writes instruction manuals for electronic equipment and a nephew in California who writes college-level math textbooks. We don’t compare our writing styles to determine who’s smarter or more interesting or more creative. What we all write is used |
for instruction, direction, education, inspiration, and simple entertainment. All of us love what we do and that is why we keep writing, though none of us have gotten rich writing anything. Every writer eventually reaches the point where they need someone else to read what they have written, to actively put his or her writing out there for critique and criticism. Submissions. Rewrites. Rejections. How do we keep our inspiration and motivation intact? Each of us with this itch continually refines our own personal process of keeping the fires burning. Personally, my motivation to hang in there as a writer found new life when I responded to an urging in my heart to start my own publishing company. I have been an entrepreneur and a minister for over thirty-five years and have started a dozen companies and ministries. Publishing is the most effective outreach tool I have ever used. Throughout my career and ministry, I could reach only the people I encountered. As an author and a publisher, I can reach many people anywhere, anytime, and with any messenger (author). I have never been to England, but I recently discovered that two used copies of one of my books were available at a bookstore there. I regularly enjoy responses to my blogs, essays, and encouragements from people all over the world via the Internet. These are truly exciting times. When I first became a follower of Christ in 1971, I couldn’t get enough from the local Christian bookstores. I had an insatiable appetite for the Word of God and anything written about it. I cut my spiritual teeth on writings by Watchman Nee, Jessie Penn Lewis, DeVerne Fromke, Leonard Ravenhill, Norman Grubb, Andrew Murray, and many, many more. In recent years I have grown increasingly concerned that Christian book stores and publishers have succumbed to offering a more watered-down diet, and I fear the anemic effect is evident upon the body of Christ. When we should be eating meat, we find more milk. I must admit most of my visits to Christian bookstores today have the same affect on me as fast-food restaurants: All too often, I leave hungry and unsatisfied. But many writers with something to say are inspired by God. At Crossover Publications it is my goal and desire to facilitate these messengers in a partnership to continue “Reaching the World in Print.” My encouragement to writers is the same encouragement God has given me for many years. In all my studying and writing, I have always asked God why He fills me with all these wonderful words and thoughts yet appears to provide so few opportunities to share them. He said His words will always accomplish what He pleases (Isa. 55:11) and like Samuel, I want to grow in the Lord and let none of my words fall to the ground (1 Sam. 3:19). We authors have our reasons to write, but one good reason for me is that God still has plenty to say to multiple generations, and He uses some creative and committed souls to write it down. Randall M. Mooney 
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