Mark Buchanan is a prolific writer. His love for reading started at 12. He was a terrible student but he had an incredible teacher who called on his creativity. His teacher gave him the conviction that he had something to contribute and that he had a gift that he could use. He was pulled into writing by the simple power of words.
In the power of words, words can build, words can bruise, tear you down, rip you apart, and words can edify you. He has found a way to use words to tell a story through his writings. When we read a good book or see a great movie, we are caught up in the drama of one's life and their challenges and how they are dealing with them. We are not actually thinking, "This is a great story", we are pulled into the story. It is being conveyed to us through words. Afterwards we realize it was a great story but in the midst of it we are just pulled in. That's what he wants his writing to do. He wants life change to happen in that encounter.
Mark has written a novel on the life of David from the scriptures as a work of fiction based on a real person. He began it a long time ago and is not finished yet. He is going to Israel to write more. He has had a lifelong fascination with David. David had issues but there was this tremendous relationship and intimacy with God. David always brought his real self to God. That is intriguing. There is something about bringing ourselves, with nothing held back and saying, God here. That is delightful to the heart of the Father.
When David goes and he fights Goliath we know the stakes. If Israel loses they'll become slaves and vice versa. For forty days nobody has had the courage to go up against Goliath least of all King Saul and it is kind of his job. David comes and says, "I could do this" and Saul says okay. Was Saul crazy or did Saul see the greatness of David before anybody else did. In seeing it did he first want to exploit it, and then destroy it? Mark thinks he saw the greatness. Which has a lot of ramifications in leadership dynamics in our own context. Like the senior pastor that sees the giftedness in the youth pastor and what are you going to do when you see that?
What is the secret of David's confidence? He knows he is the one Jesus loves. When you start to live out of the love of God things change.
His newest book is a contemporary novel, set in the 1980's about a fallen pastor. He is writing it with his 22 year old daughter. She is writing for the voice of the daughter of this fallen pastor. It is called, "All to Smithereens". It is a redemption story about a pastor that gets into pastoring and he is ministering out of his giftedness and his need to be admired. It doesn't work and it all falls to pieces. He tells the story of how it comes back to Christ.
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