FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Christian Character: Why It Matters, What It Looks Like, and How to Improve It
Why did you decide to write a book about Christian character, and how did you approach such a broad topic?
For many years, I worked as a part-time volunteer with Children’s Ministry International (CMI), which produces and distributes Bible educational materials. Among other things, I edited or rewrote several publications. In 2018, CMI invited me to revise its Christian Character Curriculum, a series of three small booklets for children, covering 49 character traits. Rethinking the structure and focus, I developed an “Introduction,” which addresses two incorrect views about God’s law: (1) The moral law no longer matters. (2) Morality depends on self-exertion. Rejecting these views set the tone for all that followed in the separate lessons.
Initially, I struggled to draw bright, distinguishing lines between various character traits while not omitting important attributes or qualities. Combining or eliminating many of the original 49 traits (and adding a few new ones) yielded 26 core areas that captured what might be considered good Christian character. These traits, in turn, became the organizational themes that formed the book’s essential structure.
I got well into this project before realizing I was not just revising an existing work but creating an entirely new one. Finishing the initial draft, I presented it to CMI for review, which decided the new work appealed more to teens and adults than children and, thus, fell outside its organizational mission. It was a good call. As a result, CMI encouraged me to publish my manuscript elsewhere.
What is the intended use and audience of Christian Character: Why It Matters, What It Looks Like, and How to Improve It?
Christian Character functions as a traditional textbook, daily devotional, or self-study program for teens or adults. Teachers can use Christian Character in a variety of settings, including Sunday school, Bible study, home school, private academy, and college or university. Christian Character is even suitable for children and tweens if the parent, guardian, or teacher chooses age-appropriate language to present the materials. Biblical and behavioral counselors also might discover helpful information in these pages. The intended market, however, principally includes teens and adults that might be described as evangelical.
How and why might a home school group, private academy, Bible college, or religious university use Christian Character to promote good behavior, thoughts, and attitudes?
Whether adopted for a separate course or as an orientation program for entering students, Christian Character promotes right relationships with God, teachers, fellow students, and society at large. Christian high schools and home school groups can use the text to encourage personal or spiritual holiness while emphasizing the impact such pursuit might have in daily activities and various relationships. College or university courses, curricula, or programs of study about Christian education, practical theology, religious ethics, biblical or behavioral counseling, and personal holiness might benefit from the text and teaching materials, encouraging students to understand their education and vocation in the context of God’s moral law.
If one educational objective is to teach teens and young adults how to live, a course or curriculum geared towards developing, cultivating, or improving Christian quality traits should find a place. Among its strengths, Christian Character can: (1) Help students understand the key components of good Christian character and behavior through studying 26 traits from a biblical perspective and give them a way to develop and improve those attributes or characteristics through gospel power. (2) Provide opportunities to build, cultivate, and improve character related to narrower groupings of Christian values or virtues, namely, those applicable to regeneration, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, fruit of the Spirit, core character traits, family and friends, romantic relationships, work ethics, difficulties or struggles in life, and decision-making. (3) Facilitate lasting, formative change that instills purpose into students’ daily walk with God, relationships with others, and programs of study.
To what extent can someone change the PowerPoint slides for use in teaching?
Christian Character’s “Teaching and Learning Guide” (Appendix D) and this website’s PowerPoint page partially answer the question. Beyond those precepts, if the slides provide too much information, feel free to reduce it. The slides follow the text closely and often, especially in the “God’s Work in Believers” section, summarize via topical sentences. Some instructors may choose to show only a few words per point, rather than an entire sentence, or even delete points. Others may eliminate subpoints, keeping students focused on the big ideas. Still others might delete entire slides.
Feel free to make such changes. The author thought it’d be easier for adopters to reduce, rather than add, words per point or subpoint and, thus, opted for more detail. It’s fine to include new information also (e.g., artwork and audio clips), but be careful to follow copyright laws governing such uses. Here’s the bottom line: The author does not wish to restrain pedagogical creativity nor constrain educational freedom, preferring that instructors have great latitude when modifying the PowerPoint presentations as long as they don’t infringe on the book’s copyrights.
What qualifies you to write a book about Christian character?
If perfect character had been required, I’d have never worked on Christian Character. Neither would I have completed it if I first had to develop character better than saints in my reference groups. In the churches I have attended, for instance, I can think of many whose integrity and virtues exceed mine by no insignificant margin. I admire many of these godly men and women because of their exemplary Christian character and often have thanked the Lord for them. Whether realizing it or not, some have been my role models for years. Thus, it wasn’t spotless or even great character that qualified me for this task.
I often think about this question in the following way, and many readers, no doubt, will recognize the simple alliteration. When God justified me through Jesus Christ, he delivered me from the penalty of sin, paying my ransom, bearing God’s wrath to purchase my salvation. He also delivered me from its power in the sense that sin no longer reigns over me; it no longer dominates my life so that I flounder helplessly in submission to it. But not until heaven will I finally be free from the presence of sin. As I reread each lesson for perhaps the hundredth time, I’m struck anew with how far short I still fall from God’s perfect standard. Yet I don’t despair but, instead, repair yet again to the Holy Spirit, who alone can change me.
So, what qualifies me to write a book called Christian Character, telling others how to develop, cultivate, or improve character? The short answer is nothing. I’m an ordinary believer who relies on daily grace as I seek to glorify the Lord, albeit imperfectly. Nonetheless, God equips each of us to do his will, and I believe he prepared and led me to write this book for his own purpose and praise.
What experiences from the Lord prepared you for this task, and what sustained you while writing Christian Character to complete it?
My academic career taught me to write carefully. Some editors with whom I interacted, especially in the early years, brutalized my submitted manuscripts. Looking back, I learned more about writing from these difficult interactions than all the gentle reviews combined. I also benefited greatly from coauthors, especially my colleague, mentor, and close friend, Professor Fred Jacobs, who taught me how to maintain focus and communicate ideas clearly. In addition to the Lord developing writing skills in me through these means, he led me to a better understanding of his Word in later years, especially through my editing work at Children’s Ministry International.
Yet, it was more than the Lord providing me with an ability to write and giving me an improved grasp of Scripture. I also felt his presence and blessing while writing. Over and over, he assured me of his call to this task. Christian Character may not sell well; that’s in God’s hands. However, it has already brought glory to him through its impact on me. I pray it might help others to grow in grace and, thus, glorify God as well.
When you say God’s presence and blessing was evident as you wrote, what does that mean?
Writer’s block plagued me frequently throughout this effort. I often saw no way around the current difficulty. And yet, when I prayed, God consistently revealed a solution and, once more, showed his great faithfulness. Soon, the block dissipated, and I’d begin to write with fury, fearing I might forget the thoughts that seemed to pour into me. When the torrent subsided, I’d often look back and think, “How did I write those words in that way? The blockage seemed insurmountable, and yet this is a good way to express the point.”
Understand, I’m not claiming divine inspiration like the Holy Spirit moved the prophets of old to record the very words of God. But doesn’t he work within all his children, enabling and guiding them to accomplish his will, whether the task is writing or anything else? That’s what I perceive was happening with me. I know many who read these words have been surprised with similar experiences of divine guidance.
For aspiring writers, what advice or tip can you offer?
God made me with strengths and weaknesses. I seek to capitalize on the former and compensate for the latter. One of my strengths is the ability to organize; one of my weaknesses is a poor memory. Both affect my approach to writing. As a single example, I struggle to compose if constantly searching for the right word, Bible verse, or quotation. The interruptions in the writing process cause me to forget ideas and perspectives, some of which never return. So, before composing, I do as much preliminary research and organizing as possible.
For every lesson, I made lists of synonyms and antonyms for the character trait, lists of Bible passages dealing with the value or attribute (full text and reference), and lists of related quotations. Then, when I finally got down to the business of writing, I had to stop less often to find the right word, verse, or quote. I’d simply cut what I needed from one of my lists, paste it into the lesson, and proceed with the fun part—actually writing. I found this approach reduced disruptions and, thus, enabled me to record more of my thoughts before losing them. Perhaps this simple technique will prove useful to others who, like me, have unreliable powers of retention.
What’s with all the alliterations?
Alliterations introduce each lesson’s two Bible characters (e.g., “Heedful Hebrew” and “Drowsy Disciples” in the watchfulness lesson) and appear in various other places. I like the rhythmic, pleasing sound of alliterations when judiciously employed. I hope my use of this technique piques the reader’s interest and, thus, aids retention of the subject matter. Besides, as a literary device, a plethora of people pugnaciously prefer them over provoking puns that perpetually perplex … perhaps. In contrast to this awkward example, I trust judiciousness prevailed in the book.
Purchase the hardcover, softcover, or e-book from Wipf and Stock Publisher or other booksellers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Walmart. To download the free PowerPoint presentations or larger HARP charts for teaching or self-study, use the password from the book’s “Introduction” or “Teaching and Learning Guide.”
Where can I write a review for Christian Character?
Thoughtful reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, or other sites help others decide whether to buy the book. If uncertain how to begin, search online for easy-to-follow instructions.
