by Gerry Wakeland, CLASS President

"For out of the over flow of the heart the mouth speaks."

- Matthew 12:34 NIV

At the recent writers conference at the Ghost Ranch there seemed to be a common thread that was articulated in many ways by the attendees, the presenters, the editorial staff, even the staff at the Ranch. The theme was this - as Christian communicators, ministers of the gospel, it is imperative that we operate out of the "overflow."  We heard this time and time again. In fact, I've read it over and over in the evaluations. But what exactly does this mean?

Many years ago I was sitting at the desk in my study having my devotions. It was a particularly weary time for me spiritually and I was pleading with the Lord. Suddenly God filled my mind with a picture. The picture was a large Pyrex measuring cup, the kind with red lines and letters on the side. The cup was filled with liquid, not overflowing, just full. I watched as the cup poured first into one vessel and then into another and another until finally the liquid was gone. Then a spatula came and scraped all the remaining drops of liquid out of that measuring cup. It was dry, as my mother would say, "Bone dry."

I pondered the meaning of this visual and realized that for those of us who have chosen the path of ministry we are like that measuring cup. We start out full and then we pour into many other vessels. We pour into our marriages and relationships, we pour into our children, our families, we pour into friendships, into ministry projects, into volunteer responsibilities. Some of us even pour into strangers we meet in the line at the grocery store or at the nail salon. We speak, we write, we go on mission trips.

Suddenly we find ourselves empty. Bone dry, as my mother would say. That is often when we retreat to the feet of Jesus.

As I sat and prayed about the picture God had given me, a new picture appeared. It was the same empty Pyrex cup, only this time the cup was being filled with water, sparkling, life giving water. The cup was filled but the filling did not cease. Instead the cup was soon overflowing, pouring out over all within its reach.

God revealed to me that He wanted me to be like that cup. That if I would allow it He would fill me, not just full but overflowing so that I would splash out over all those in my path. That if I would stay connected to the "Master Faucet" that he would provide that sparkling, energy giving water.

I believe that is what God wants for each of us. As Christian communicators, we are to be the ones to provide hope, encouragement, instruction, inspiration and information all wrapped up in the unique messages He has given each of us to share. The best way for us to provide this is "out of the overflow."  As we stay connected to God, as we study His Word, spend time with Him in prayer and fellowship; He will fill us so that we will splash out on all we come in contact with. For as He fills our hearts, our mouths will speak and our pens will write and lives will be changed.

At the beginning of each year we choose a theme verse for the CLASS organization. This becomes our ministry focus for that year. For the 2010 season we have chosen this passage from Matthew 12:34, "For out of the over flow of the heart the mouth speaks."

As we move into 2010, CLASS will be working diligently to help you find resources to connect with GOD in greater ways. Some of these ways will be introduced through our e-newsletter, The CLASS Communiqué, others will be presented at the CLASS Reunion in February. It is our desire as an organization not just to train you to be a better communicator but to support your ministry by providing resources and opportunities to develop a deeper relationship with the Lord so that you may be filled, overflowing, splashing out over all those in your path.

A Brief Review
by Robin Stanley

James Bryan Smith opened his keynote at the 2009 CLASS Christian Writers Conference with a surprising statement: "I give you permission to commit the sin of jealousy." We all laughed, and Jim went on to describe himself as a Forrest Gump kind of guy who stumbled into some great moments with some great people, including Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Rich Mullins and more.

This self-proclaimed "nobody" allowed these "somebodies" to mentor and shape him. Not to become more like them, but to become more like Jesus. We who know Jim or have opportunity to read his work get to realize the benefits of his transformation. He pours himself out in humility, love and friendship. He lives what he teaches.

That's why I'm so pleased to call your attention to The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows. In this, his first book in The Apprentice Series from InterVarsity Press, Jim lays the foundation for becoming more like Jesus by asking us to reconsider the narratives that make up not only who we are and how we live, but how we think about God. In a straightforward and loving way, he shows how our narratives don't always line up with the truth revealed in Jesus' narratives throughout the Gospels.

Once we know these narratives, we need to replace our old ones. That's a process of spiritual transformation that requires grace, community, and loving mentors. Jim steps in to shepherd us through simple, practical exercises designed to change and strengthen us from the inside out. They include things like getting enough sleep, counting our blessings, reading Scripture and creating margin in our lives. When we do, Jim says, "we gain strength to act in wisdom . . . [reflecting] the glory of the Christ who is within us. We become the kind of people this frazzled and frightened world most needs."

Order James Bryan Smith's book, The Good and Beautiful God.

Robin Stanley serves on the CLASS Board of Directors and is often found lending a  timely word of encouragement to a new or old friend.

"Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people."

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

- William Wadsworth

 by Kristen Clark

I started writing for publication only a few years ago but soon discovered I needed a tool for tracking my submissions.I spent too much time looking for that essay I wrote last year (or it could have been the year before) and remembering only vaguely why it might be a great piece and searching my brain for some inkling of the title.  As a writer, my goal is to keep my work circulating until it sells.  Unfortunately, publishers have different requirements for submission and keeping track of them all was exasperating.Besides the fact that I was in constant fear of submitting a story to a publisher who had rejected that same story under a different title a year earlier.I couldn't imagine anything less professional!

Thankfully, my experience as a project manager in corporate America quickly reminded me that a simple table with rows and columns would do the trick.I pulled up Excel on my laptop, opened a new spreadsheet and started labeling columns to help me track my submissions.I started with the basic fields of information: publisher and contact information, submission deadline and publication date, submission process and title of my work.I later discovered other pieces of information were equally helpful and I added writing genre, word count and pay rate.The next thing I knew, I had a simple and easy-to-use tool for tracking my submissions. 

This simple tool has become a huge time-saver and allows me to sort by a number of parameters.With my fields appropriately labeled, I quickly see how many times I submitted a particular story and to whom, how many works I have submitted to a given publisher, and which publishers have accepted or rejected specific writings in the past.

No more wracking my brain while hunting through hundreds of computer files just to locate a particular story, only to find out that I've already submitted that one. By setting aside a few hours one afternoon, and leveraging some basic project management skills, I created a tool that gives me quick answers about my submissions and frees up my time to spend doing what I love most - writing!

Kristen Clark is the founder of His Witness Ministries and

New Beginnings Marriage Ministry, which she owns and operates with her husband, Lawrence. They live in Cypress, TX.