Mind Your Tone
Keeping Your Spiritual Pitch On Key
Published in The Christian Communicator

Who said the following?

1. Believe now or it will be too late.

A. Fourth Grade Teacher B. Electrician C. Preacher D. Two-Year Old

2. During my devotional time, I discovered an exciting spiritual truth.

A. Bible Expert B. Archeologist C. Bible Study Leader D. None of the Above

3. Many extra-biblical sources validate this truth.

A. Mother of two toddlers B. Bible Scholar C. History Channel D. Typical Church Goer

4. According to author, Randall McNeil, the doctrine of grace isn’t taught today as it should be taught.

A. Song Leader B. Organist C. Sunday School Leader D. Bible Teacher

The answers are obvious I’m sure. But the truth is, many times as writers we don’t consider the spiritual tone of our articles. We switch from a preacher-type pitch to a living room Bible study feel at a moment’s notice. Recently, I attended a workshop by Andy Scheer, Managing Editor for the Christian Writer’s Guild. He mentioned that switching spiritual tone was one of the reasons Christian writers don’t get their articles published. This was only part of the entire Seminar he taught, but I have continued to dwell on his statement. Throughout my ten years experience writing and editing for religious magazines and publications, I have often not understood how important tone really is. Changing Spiritual pitch from paragraph to paragraph grates on editors and readers even if they don’t necessarily realize what is wrong.

Here are four basic tones to remember.

Thus Saith the Lord
This type of tone is used when the article is meant to exhort, rebuke, and reprove-much like a sermon. Unless you are an experienced Bible teacher or preacher, it is better to avoid extreme exhortation in most articles as it can come across as “preachy” for the simple reason that it is. It is easy to invoke this tone even when trying not to. “The Bible says” or “This Scripture explains” are ways a Bible teacher or pastor would bring across his or her points. When we use these statements, we will come across in a similar way.

Linda Weber, author of Woman of Splendor, exhorts successfully in the following paragraph. But notice how she softens it by also sharing from her personal experience.

“ As the eldest child in each of our families, my husband and I are both strong-willed and we’ve had to work at overcoming this in our marriage. We didn’t automatically know how to have a strong marriage; we’ve had to learn. We’ve sought to know God’s plan as we’ve prayed daily and talked with wise counselors.

Proverbs 11:14 says, “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure: (NIV).”

Certainly there is nothing wrong with writing, “The Bible says” but remember that stating this comes across as authoritative. If that is how you want your article to read, no problem. But if the tone of your article is softer, more like how you would teach a Bible Study in your living room, use the next one.

The Living Room Bible Study
There is a certain informality about a home Bible Study. Everyone is more comfortable and there is usually a lot more feedback than in a church service. When you write articles, think about how you would feel at such a study and invoke this tone.

Notice how author Elizabeth George uses this Bible teacher tone in her book, Women Who Loved God.

“ But, oh, the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 31:19)! Adam knew his wife again and she bore a son and named him Seth, ‘For God has appointed another seed for me’

The gift of Seth, whose name means appointed,” refilled Eve’s empty heart and her equally empty barrel of hope. Appointed by God, Seth would be the one from whom God’s Son would come, bringing bountiful and eternal hope to all mankind. This Son brings hope to you, too—even in seemingly absolute hopelessness.”

You can imagine Elizabeth teaching in a Bible study in Anytown, USA. Use this softer tone when you want to gently lead others to see truth.

The Cite Your Sources Tone
This tone is used for a journalistic type article when you are using the opinions of several experts to support your own opinion. It is easy in this type of article to cite an expert but then in the next line insert your own view about that particular

Scripture. Be careful when you do this because when readers read this type of article, they aren’t necessarily interested in your opinion, rather, they are interested in your analysis of the “experts” collective thoughts. This doesn’t mean you can’t use personal stories in this type of article.

Lee Strobel in The Case for Faith, is good at humanizing this sometimes cold tone. One page 19, he cites two experts, and then relates a personal story of the beginning steps of his faith journey. Throughout the book, he relies on strong evidence and experts, yet he is careful to not be “in your face” about his own opinion.

The Tone of Encouragment
The last is the “You can do it Tone”. Written with authority and passion, this tone seeks to persuade rather than preach. Author and pastor Ray Prichard successfully uses this tone in The God You Can Trust.

“ Watch out!” he shares about temptation, “Put up the red flag! There is danger ahead. When a person takes any area of life for granted, that’s the one area Satan is most likely to attack. Why? Because that’s one area where you aren’t expecting his attack.”

Consider these four tones in the future pieces that you write. Now when I look at my writing through the lens of my tone, I understand more about how to stay consistent.

Whether you are preaching, teaching, citing research or encouraging your readers, when you keep the same pitch, your articles will be easier to read and understand.