Science Writing as an Act of Worship
A science communicator shares why writing at the intersection of faith and science is a worshipful experience for her, and gives a helpful framework for living a worshipful life.
I’m a scientist, and a writer. A science writer. I’ve written for technical and lay audiences, from grants to blogs. But most of my writing has been at the intersection of faith and science. I put science and scripture in conversation with each other.
It may seem obvious that my writing, given the topic, would be worshipful by its very nature, but the genre alone in which one writes or creates isn’t sufficient for something to be considered worship. Worship is more than just a topic, setlist, genre, or a label. It truly is a lifestyle, posture, and an intentional act.
A recent definition of worship I came across from Thomas Long really captures this idea well. “Worship is a soundtrack for the rest of life, the words and music and actions of worship inside the sanctuary playing the background as we live our lives outside, in the world…The words of worship are like stones thrown into the pond; they ripple outward in countless concentric circles, finding ever fresh expression in new places in our lives.”
But how can we as Christians who are science writers and communicators let worship be the soundtrack of our lives, particularly our work? How can we live worshipful lives that can’t help but produce ripples that impact us and those around us?
I’ve found a helpful framework to cultivate a posture of worship in my work is to ask myself three questions: Who am I writing for? What am I writing about? Why am I writing? When I consider the collective “Who”, “What,” and “Why” behind my writing, it forces me to take a closer look at the heart behind it all.
I believe that asking ourselves these questions can help us reorient our hearts and use the creative gifts and talents God has given us in ways that honor him and live a more intentionally worshipful life.
Who, What, and Why?
WHO. I don’t write for myself alone, although the process of writing can be cathartic, helping me process ideas and life experiences. For me, writing is much like a song that is written to be shared with others and interacted with. Of course, writing and creating art for oneself has its own solemn place in our personal and spiritual lives, but as someone who has benefited from the writing of others, I can only hope that my writing will somehow help others too.
I used to write mostly because I felt inspired to and because it gave me fulfillment. I would hope for others to read it and look for their affirmation. I still do, but over the years, I’ve learned to approach my writing differently. Reorienting myself to the needs of others reminds me that we are called to be servants. It also frees me from my own expectations for the end product, its performance, and reception, and allows me to surrender that to God.
When we create with a mindset of service to others, we invite God to be a part of what we are creating. We invite him into the creative process to not only shape our content but more importantly, the heart behind it.
WHAT. What I choose to write about and create is an important consideration as well. This doesn’t mean that I always have to write about God or religious matters or produce work with religious undertones. This also doesn’t mean that just because I write something explicitly about God that it automatically counts as worship.
Some topics and platforms may lend themselves more naturally to worship than others. For example, writing at the intersection of faith and science, but that doesn’t mean other acts of writing can’t be as well. Importantly, we don’t always have a choice in what we write about either. The data is what it is. A journalism assignment is based on current events. But I do believe that we can be conscientious about how we frame our work, and how we approach our storytelling.
WHY. Truthfully, I write because it brings me joy, and the desire to create runs deep inside me. However, over my years working as a writer and editor, I’ve realized that there is more to experience than just the fulfillment and joy that come from creating something new.
When I choose ministry to be the reason behind why I write something, I invite God, in whatever capacity the medium allows, to use it for his glory. Writing for the sake of ministry is an act of worship because we are using the gifts he has given us to create something new, and we are offering that new creation back to the source for him to bless and multiply it.
Worship in Practice
Practicing the WHO: I believe more often than not this simply looks like following best practices for writing and communication—exercising care for those who we are writing for. A few ways we can do this are by communicating our message in a gracious tone, editing our work with diversity and inclusion in mind, and rooting our stories in truth.
Honestly, this is not a distinctly Christian mindset. But, I would argue that as Christians we have a distinctly Christian motivation to do so. I’d like to invite us to consider this quote from Martin Luther:
“…If he is a Christian tailor, he will say: I make these clothes because God has bidden me do so, so that I can earn a living, so that I can help and serve my neighbor. When a Christian does not serve the other, God is not present; that is not Christian living.” God has indeed bidden us to serve others.
And so, when science writing (or any form of writing for that matter) is oriented towards serving our neighbors (those we are writing for) we are both doing good work in our field and discipline and honoring God.
Practicing the WHAT: Data and research may dictate the story we tell in a journal article. Current events may dictate a science journalism assignment. But we can be conscientious about how we tell and frame the stories we write about. We can tell sober yet hope-filled narratives. We can root our writing in solutions rather than focusing on just the problem.
Practicing the WHY: In an interview I did with Douglas McKelvey, poet and author of “Every Moment Holy,” he beautifully expressed how he goes about writing liturgies and the “why” behind his work:
“I feel stripped bare by the process, as I know my only hope of writing something of real value to others, lies in the possibility that God might be pleased to meet me somewhere in the midst of my own weakness, and—as Christ did with the meager few loaves and fishes a little kid once offered to him—be pleased to take, bless, break, and mysteriously multiply my own insufficient offering unto the nourishing of others.”
While science writing is different from liturgical writing—it's inherently more technical at times, less poetic, and doesn’t usually talk about God—I believe we can still offer our work to God and approach our work in a way that seeks the nourishment and edification of others. That’s what ministry is all about.
There is a growing need for science communication to nourish and edify the general public on matters of public health, climate change and emerging technologies like AI and genetic engineering.
As a Christian and scientist, I have a heart for science communication to the Church, for its nourishment and edification. Scientific knowledge can help us live safer and longer lives and secure a better future for our posterity. If that isn’t compelling enough, I believe it can also lead to deeper worship of our Creator and more awareness of opportunities we can partner with God to heal our broken world.
Setting Our Hearts on Worship
Choosing ministry as the reason I write reminds me to approach my work with humility, and to acknowledge that while I may bring scientific expertise and knowledge to the table, that is not enough. I need the Holy Spirit’s help to prime the hearts and prepare the minds of my audience to receive it.
Evidence shows us that how scientific knowledge is communicated matters. Who the messenger is matters, especially when trying to reach religious communities.
I often feel burdened that the Church, who I feel called to serve through my writing and work, may not always see a need, feel equipped or sense the urgency to engage matters of science. But knowing why I’m doing what I’m doing, helps me keep going, keep writing, keep creating.
May we discover new and creative ways to worship God using the gifts and talents he has given us. May we seek to nourish and edify others through our work. And may we set our hearts on worship as the reason behind what and why we create.