Putting the Christian Message in Print (or Pixels)
One sayes well; That Sermons Preached, are like Showers of Rains that Water for the Instant – But Sermons Printed, are like Snow that lies longer on the Earth. God grant that the Truths falling from Heaven, in this Form, this Winter upon our Neighbours, May Soak into their Hearts, with a Sensible and a Durable Efficacy.
Cotton Mather, Preface to “Reflections on a Dreadful Case of Sin punished with Sin. Preached Nov 17, 1698
I have an eclectic approach to reading, although I lean towards history, especially history that promises to give personal background to the lives in their story. Recently I picked up an audio copy of Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates, by Eric Jay Dolin. Dolin doesn’t romanticize pirates. They were desperate, wicked, bloodthirsty thieves. He thoroughly analyzes their history and motivations. I’ve found it quite interesting.
One tale he tells is of the execution of John Quelch and five other pirates in Boston, June 30, 1704. Before the scaffold released the men to their fatal plunge, Cotton Mather preached a sermon to the men and the assembled crowd witnessing the hanging. He later put this sermon into print. Dolan mentions the quote above, which I found in an internet archive of a printed sermon preached some years earlier.
Sermons preached are like showers of rains that water for the instant, but sermons printed are like snow that lies longer on the earth.
It appears that Mather often used this saying, having fully embraced the technology of printing to spread his ministry further than his local congregation. He believed that printing gave a more lasting impact to his work. He was not alone in this belief. We have countless books of sermons, theology, Bible study, and commentary that have flowed from the printing houses in his day and since. Who among us hasn’t profited from them? But remember Solomon’s observation:
And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (Eccl 12.12)
And now, we have the internet. Blogs, podcasts, religion hubs, Christian magazines and their output, on and on the list goes.
We started our blog, Proclaim & Defend, on February 29, 2012, a Leap Year, just like this one, 2024. In Leap Years, we are just 3 this year. (I can picture a tot holding up three grubby fingers, “I am this many.”) In that time, we have published 3,826, with this one being number 3,827. One of our articles had national impact, but our most read articles seem much more mundane. The all-time leader, “What Made Elijah Run” came in April, 2016, as a repost of a FrontLine article from March/April 2006. It has seen over 26,540 reads. It was supplanted by another this year, “The Secret of the Myrtle,” by our good friend Treg Spicer, published December 13, 2022. It came in at 6,721 last year with more reads stacking up every day. It is in 14th place all-time, and is slowly gaining ground on Elijah. We are not sure why these posts gain so much interest, but people outside our own circles are clearly drawn to our site and we are able to have some ministry to them.
I don’t bring all this up to simply tout our accomplishments. I want to make a point for you, the reader. There are ways you can expand your own ministry through our ministry. Many of you are pastors and write sermons every week. Perhaps when you preach something that has relevant application to people beyond your own ministry, you or someone in your church could write up a condensed version of the message and send it in to us. See our writers guide for directions on how to do that. We have writers who are not pastors but are regular bloggers. We are grateful for their willingness to share their material and we gladly republish some of their material. If you would like to participate, send a note to so we can add your blog to our feed reader and perhaps use some of your material from time to time.
Besides writing, you can also support the work of the FBFI through subscribing to FrontLine, either via our Substack, or simply the magazine itself. We also accept donations here on the P&D site. (Be sure to support your local church first!) Your donations support our publishing ministry and our chaplaincy program, a vital ministry to the military and to local communities through police, fire, hospital chaplains and the like.
As we all work together, we can contribute some light to our dark world. (Or bring on a blizzard of good words, to use Cotton Mather’s metaphor.)
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.