A Quote Picture Is Worth 1500 Words
I had an epiphany the other day.
I asked my close friend, Mac, to read my Super Mario Bros. post. He responded:
Definitely good content. I would recommend less words. More condensed would be best.
As I’m pretty protective of my writing, my initial thoughts were quite defensive. Less words? More condensed? I had to work hard to get that piece in under 1700 words. How in the hell does he think I’m going to shrink this down to 1000 or 500 words?
What I love about Mac, though, is that he gives me his opinion, not what I want to hear. And the reality is that the market for 1500 word essays isn’t what it used to be. Present company excluded, but people just don’t read as much today as they did 20 or 30 years ago.
So I’m trying to sell horse & buggies when people are buying Model T’s. People are watching media more than reading it.
But then my epiphany hit.
Why not go find the money quotes from my posts and present them in a visual form as social media posts? And while I’m at it, why not go find the money quotes from my favorite Christian thinkers and do the same.
Make no mistake, I’m going to continue to produce 1500 word posts each week because that is how I organize my own thinking. But I’ve always known that I would eventually have to also get into the short video format, i.e. TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, because that is where the eyeballs are. And as I haven’t carved out that time yet, why not start with a simpler visual format.
Quote pictures.
Quote Pictures: My Content From Jesus.Place
I went thru all my posts and lifted as many standalone quotes that I thought were money quotes. My goal is to then put a link to the post that the quote came from. I’m also not arrogant enough to attribute the quotes to me, but if you know me, you know I considered doing that.
Quote Pictures: Quotes From My Favorite Christian Thinkers
The reality is that there is so much great Christian content that flies under the radar. Of course, many people know C.S. Lewis and Bonhoeffer, but there are some first-rate theologians that get relegated to niche status.
For example:
Non-violence: Walter Wink & John Yoder
Christian Ethics: Stanley Hauerwas
Social Activist: William Stringfellow
Reconciliation: Miroslav Volf
Atonement: Rene Girard
Discipleship: Dallas Willard
Jesus Missionary: Carl Medearis
Current First-Rate Theologians: C. Baxter Kruger, Bradley Jersak, Michael Hardin, Scot McKnight, Thomas Jay Oord
And that’s only a start. I’ve got at least a dozen more names.
Each one of these Christian thinkers is someone I am familiar with. Most of them, I have read a book or two of theirs, and a few of them wait patiently on my shelf. But I promise:
EVERYONE OF THEM has gone into how I understand God. I stand on the shoulders of these thinkers.
Most importantly, for you, my loyal readers, I’m certain that I can get at least an electronic copy of every book that I took these quotes from (that’s why the book is featured in the quote pictures).
I want to expose you to some of this great thinking and turn you, the last of the readers, onto their work. Just reach out via comment on any of the quote picture Facebook posts and I’ll email you a copy of the book if I have it.
I do, though, have a two small asks of you.
One, if you aren’t a follower of the Jesus.Place on Facebook, I would appreciate a follow. That’s how you’ll see these quote pictures.
And two, if one of these quote pictures strikes your fancy then please repost it on your Facebook timeline. There’s a ton of sappy Christian quote pics out there so I’d like to upgrade the offering. And I need you to do that.
I appreciate each and every one of you who is subscribed to Jesus.Place on SubStack. MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW. Thank you in advance and let’s see if…
A quote picture is worth 1500 words.