By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

What is the difference between a career and ministry? A career focuses on earning a source of income, obtaining the skills to perform the task, life interests, goals, and professional growth. Ministry is dedicating a person’s life to serving God, sharing the Gospel with others, witnessing from our experiences, and encouraging others to live for Him.

Does that mean writing must be one or the other? Makes us think, right? To determine if your writing is a ministry/calling or a career/job, ask yourself these seven questions:

1. Why do I write?
2. Who do I write for?
3. Who or what motivates me to write?
4. Have I sensed a calling to write from God?
5. How do I measure success?
6. Is there a way to measure changed lives?
7. Can a price be placed on impacting readers and offering content that glorifies God?

Stress and tension occur when a writer struggles with who or what will pay the bills. Is their calling financially feasible? Some writers are parttime and others are fulltime. Both can be successful in their ministry. Many fulltime writers supplement their income with speaking, teaching at writer’s conferences, editing, or mentoring. Christian writers are often rewarded and blessed with unexpected opportunities.

I encourage you to pray for direction and discernment.

How can a writer blend career and ministry? This always leads me to Deuteronomy 25:4 ESV: “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” This verse always makes me smile. A writer can’t eat if they aren’t being paid. That doesn’t mean a writer demands payment in every situation. I’ve spoken for free and reduced pricing when I sense God’s prompting.

Again— I encourage you to pray for direction and discernment.

John Piper says, “A divine calling to write is a calling from God, through God, and for God. Until the writing is for God, it is not a calling from God.”

Piper also says:

“Writing is the impulse to instruct and awaken and delight and transform people into obedient worshipers of Christ. It is a recurrent, not temporary; long-term, not short-lived; compelling, not merely interesting; benevolent, not selfish; Christ-exalting, not self-exalting desire to write, which proves fruitful in the lives of others.”

I believe Jesus doesn’t give wages we can earn; He gives gifts that we could never earn.

Is your writing a career or a ministry? What are your thoughts?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure?

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards, the Golden Scroll, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, an active member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. DiAnn continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, BookBub, YouTube, LinkedIn. or her website: diannmills.com