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Gospel-Centered Kids with Marty Machowski
573 Plays2 years ago
Marty Machowski shares how telling stories to his own children progressed into writing stories to teach the children in his church about the gospel, and eventually turned into writing books for families across the country and around the world. He also talks about his writing process, setting goals, and influences on his writing journey.
MARTY MACHOWSKI ONLINE
Marty's Website - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Long Story Short
Old Story New
The Ology
God Made Boys and Girls
Learn more about the podcast here.
Recommended
Transcript
Inspiration and Beginnings
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, I think my children played a big role in that and I've always been a storyteller. So my kids, dad, tell us a story, tell us a story. And I would tell them a story and they would say, tell us another one. Now it's okay, what do you want the story to be about? And they would say,
00:00:17
Speaker
fireworks and a pig and you know like okay I'll put together a story of fireworks and a pig. So I had a lot of practice telling stories and of course then I had the problem that most dads have and that is how do I teach my kids about Jesus?
00:00:37
Speaker
I'm Rush Witt and you're listening to Straight to the Heart, a podcast from New Growth Press. Each episode includes interesting talks with leading authors and thinkers. We hear who they are and what they think, how they approach their important work and ministry, and the moments and influences that change their lives. Today, I talked with Marty Machowski, a prolific writer and truly fascinating person.
00:01:03
Speaker
I asked Marty about his upbringing and how he came to love writing. He also shared
Marty Machowski's Creative Impact
00:01:08
Speaker
with me his experience growing up in a serious Catholic family and how watching television led him to faith in Christ. We had an altogether amazing conversation.
00:01:20
Speaker
But what captivated me most was Marty's seemingly endless creativity, which God has used to bless his church and countless others through his work on more than 20 books and curricula for Christian parents and families. This is Straight to the Heart.
00:01:39
Speaker
We've worked on things together through New Growth Press, but we don't live in the same place and we don't have occasion to see each other. I really appreciate your work and I find you really interesting and I'm just interested to learn about you.
00:01:55
Speaker
as a writer in particular, I've sort of become a little bit of a student of other writers. In particular, those who seem to be more prolific than the average
Writing Routines and Approaches
00:02:09
Speaker
writer. Now, I don't really know what prolific means in terms of some kind of specific standard or quantity, but I do know
00:02:18
Speaker
that you are prolific, whatever that means in terms of the amount that you have written. And it seems like you are able to produce important, high-quality, solid resources at such a strong rate. So as I've been kind of a student, I've looked online and tried to read books to learn from authors about what their routines are, and I have found so many writers have this kind of
00:02:46
Speaker
regimented routine. So I just wonder what your routine is like. I've heard of some authors that I followed and that they have certain quota of words that they try to get down every day or they have a certain routine to their day. You sort of described that a little bit. Can you tell me more about sort of what your method and routine of writing is?
00:03:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think I think when you're writing fiction, it's much easier to put a quota of of words. Let's say like, OK, I'm going to write 3000 words because it's it's almost stream of consciousness. You're filling in the story that you're imagining in your mind. And I have written some fiction. And so that is how I did it. Let me let me try to
00:03:34
Speaker
uh, do a rough go on a chapter and then let me the next day do a rewrite of the chapter going through it again. So yeah, you know, that would, that would be the kind of standard that like a guy like Stephen King would follow. Right. Right. I've read about that.
Scripture-Based Curriculum Development
00:03:53
Speaker
You know, his writing so many words, but when you're, when you're doing fiction, I mean nonfiction, Christian writing, um,
00:04:02
Speaker
There's a study element that comes into play that slows the writing process down. So this morning I am writing in a curriculum that I'm producing for my book Theology. And so this morning I started the lesson Jesus is fully man and fully God.
00:04:30
Speaker
And so I'm thinking like, okay, I want this to be based on scripture. Like I think I can write a basic systematic theology for Jesus being fully man and fully God, but okay, let's talk about this. What scriptures demonstrate that Jesus is fully man and fully God?
00:04:56
Speaker
I had to stop beyond this fully man character who's our rabbi because he just commanded the wind in the waves and they obeyed him. Amazing.
00:05:07
Speaker
I didn't go into the morning knowing that I was going to be writing about Jesus commanding the wind and the waves to be calm, but getting to that slowed me down. In this case, I need to do two lessons a week. There's my goal. I know what I need to get done in order to finish.
00:05:30
Speaker
And I'll work toward that goal to ensure that I stay on track. You know, I'm amazed, truly, truly amazed, hearing you talk about all of this and so interested in the process and your work. And in particular, I'm curious just kind of even turning back the clock to little Marnie Michowski.
00:05:53
Speaker
What brought you about to this point of
Using Analogies in Children's Ministry
00:05:56
Speaker
writing the way that you do in different genres, fiction, nonfiction, and how did that come about for you? Was it something that was instilled in you as a child? Did you have just a constant early interest in writing or in reading, or did that come along?
00:06:15
Speaker
Well, you know, I've always enjoyed writing. So when I was in school growing up, I loved creative writing the most, composition next, and I couldn't stand grammar. Interesting. I hated grammar. So I had a crash course myself in English grammar, which is where I learned it. But so I always enjoyed writing. And in college, I loved classes where they said you could either do a final or a paper.
00:06:44
Speaker
I always did the paper. I'm just saying, that's a slam dunk A with writing, you control. So I really enjoyed writing. And then another interesting element that kind of falls into my history is when my English teacher in 10th grade announced something to the class that I embraced and said, I'm going to be like that. He said, I really love analogies. And all throughout class, he would give analogies. And I thought, you know what? I'm going to be a person.
00:07:14
Speaker
who loves analogy. I, throughout life, have always looked to describe things using analogies. And then when I started writing a children's ministry curriculum, object lessons are really nothing more than practical analogies to help kids understand
00:07:33
Speaker
what it is in abstract you're trying to teach them. So in something like the Ten Commandments, if you break one, you break them all. In theology, I use the analogy, the Ten Commandments are not like one plate with ten images representing, or not like ten individual plates,
00:07:54
Speaker
one for each of the commandments. So if you break one plate, you have nine plates left. It's like one plate with 10 images around it. That if you crack the plate through, honor your father and mother and that image, the whole plate's ruined. And so kids can understand that, oh, it's not 10 plates, it's one plate. Oh my goodness, if I make one mistake, the plate's ruined.
00:08:17
Speaker
So that's the kind of thing that I really love to do. And so that's a part of my, at least my children's ministry writing. And we'll be right back.
00:08:32
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:09:54
Speaker
Going back to what we were talking about with your interest in writing, can you remember what was the first attempt? Did you have attempts earlier in your life at writing with maybe a growing interest? What was the first thing you remember working on?
00:10:13
Speaker
As a believer, the first thing that I remember working on was a little short story I wrote called More Than a Coin for the Master.
00:10:30
Speaker
I was reading the scripture that talks about going through the flames and some of our works will be burned up like wood, hay, and stubble.
00:10:47
Speaker
And some of our works like gold and silver will survive. And there will be some people who make it through the flames, like with nothing to show, just escape through the flames. And so I wanted to write a little short story that depicted two men. One man goes through the flames and when he gets to the other side, he feels this warm glow in his hand and he looks down and it's a single gold coin.
00:11:14
Speaker
And he's so happy that he has it. The next man comes through the flames and got a bag of treasure in front of him. And then a voice from the throne comes in and asks him to turn and look behind him. And as he turns around, he sees sack after sack after sack piled into the horizon.
00:11:40
Speaker
And then the Lord explains to him that these are the treasures that he received for his service to his family, to the kingdom. And both men were like, what need do we have of treasure? And then the angels sound the music and people from all around begin walking toward the throne with treasure.
00:12:09
Speaker
and the man with the coin cast the coin throneward. And the man with the treasure just began throwing treasure toward the throne. And where the short story gets its name is the description of the man with the coin after he threw it. He could enjoy watching the other people throw their treasures, but he wished that he had more than a coin for the master.
00:12:34
Speaker
And when did all that happen, this first story? I mean, that's an incredible first attempt that got you going. Yeah, that was probably like 1995. I began writing the curriculum in 2000. So that's probably five years ahead of that.
00:12:52
Speaker
I did come across an old folder of grade school slash high school work that my mom saved. And so there was a creative writing class that I'd written a few papers for, stories, and so she saved them, and they were humorous to pull through.
00:13:15
Speaker
realized, you know, just, you know, there's the beginnings of a creative talent, but certainly in its rawest form and what I wrote really wasn't that good at all. But, you know, I thought, you know, I remember enjoying doing those things. That was fun to me. Whereas, you know, diagram the sentence was like, you know, could you just give me a root canal instead and give me credit for that? For sure.
00:13:41
Speaker
Did you develop your skill? You had this interest grow and you've written this first piece and then did you seek out other ways of growing as a writer? Did that lead you to read books about it?
00:13:58
Speaker
Did you go to writing conferences or was it just sort of through just the natural work of i'm interested in this it's a little bit of a hot you know of a hobby that it's it's spiritually satisfying and keep working at it and you find better ways to express yourself how is that what's that process of growth for you.
00:14:19
Speaker
Well, I think my children played a big role in that, and I've always been a storyteller. So my kids, dad, tell us a story, tell us a story. And I would tell them a story, and they would say, tell us another one. And I would say, OK, what do you want the story to be about? And they would say, fireworks and a pig. And I'd be like, OK.
00:14:45
Speaker
I'll put together a story of fireworks and a pig. So I had a lot of practice telling stories. And of course, then I had the problem that most dads have and that is how do I teach my kids about Jesus? How do I do that? And here I was a pastor and I realized, okay, I need to be doing this. I don't know how. And there was the big
00:15:15
Speaker
fat NIV study Bible sitting on the end table, laughing at me. Like, you think you're going to conquer me. You don't even know where to begin. And so essentially I practiced what I would develop later as long story short and old story new on my kids. And so I thought, okay, I don't know what to teach, but here's what I want. I want to make sure that whatever I teach from the Bible,
00:15:45
Speaker
my kids are getting the gospel.
00:15:48
Speaker
And I had, there's an author, S.G. DeGraff, I believe is his name, he wrote a five or six book series called Promise and Deliverance. I haven't heard of that. It's basically a biblical theology designed for child workers. It's kind of like the first book that I ever read that outlined biblical theology.
00:16:17
Speaker
And I was like, oh my goodness, the whole Bible is
Family Devotions and Church Impact
00:16:20
Speaker
about Jesus. Like, I totally get that. Yeah, that's an amazing moment. There's kind of like a second conversion that many people experience when they come to understand the Scriptures are all about Christ.
00:16:35
Speaker
It's such an amazing feeling. You know, the men were on the road to Emmaus. Yes. And Jesus opens up the scriptures to them to show them how all of the scriptures point to him. Yes. Now, at that time, they don't know Jesus. Yeah, they don't recognize him. It's not until later when he breaks bread that they realize it's Jesus and then he disappears. Right. And they say,
00:17:03
Speaker
Did our hearts not burn when we walked along the road? So what caused their hearts to burn? It wasn't Jesus knowing it was Jesus walking with them. It was Jesus opening up the biblical theology of Scripture to them. And that's what happened to me. As I began to understand Christ,
00:17:26
Speaker
as the subject of all of scripture, my heart began to burn. And I just said, I got to teach my kids this. And then I said, I want my parents in my church to be able to teach this to their kids. And when I surveyed, how many people are doing family devotions?
00:17:44
Speaker
It was kind of like around in the 30s, like 30%. And by the time I finished Long Story Short, Old Story New, and gave that material to the parents, it went from 30% up to like 65, 70% of our families were doing regular family devotions.
00:18:02
Speaker
And that was kind of my goal. So teaching my own kids, I experimented with the devotions and I just began writing them down. And I started in Genesis and I worked my whole way through ultimately to Revelation. And of course, long story short is the Old Testament. Old story news, the New Testament split into two volumes. So
00:18:26
Speaker
That's kind of how it got started. What you were saying about the road to Emmaus is such an amazing picture just because of the way it so parallels so many of our experience. That's what you're describing, a kind of moment where we realize that the Word of God
00:18:43
Speaker
It seems like we're stating the obvious, but the Word of God is the revelation of Jesus, and He is being brought to us. And just that scene, we can put ourselves in that place. We're walking through life. Obviously, as a Christian, to have a Bible,
00:19:01
Speaker
And he's in such bright color right before me, and somehow I'm just not seeing it. That's what most of my Christian life has been in a lot of different ways. I've always been a little slow to pick up on what's true, and I've so often needed and benefited from someone else just kind of waking me up, waking me up to
00:19:27
Speaker
God's happiness waking me up to this beautiful distinction between the law and the gospel and what the gospel really says to me and about me. And there have been so many of those moments and I think that's really expressing what your work
00:19:48
Speaker
The value of your work has been and continues to be so much of that kind of experience of coming into the truth more fully and with clearer vision and understanding.
00:20:05
Speaker
And to say that that's happening, not just for adults that are digging into their Bibles, but for children to be able to have more of that earlier. It's just, it's amazing. It's invaluable. It's so, it's so very important. You were saying earlier that your kids
00:20:27
Speaker
have played such a role in your ongoing ministry of writing. In other words, that your parenting journey has really influenced your writing. I'm curious, tell me about how your writing has then had a backward effect on your parenting journey as you've worked through so much
00:20:51
Speaker
Material and produce so many resources. I know they have an enormous impact on you. But tell me more about what that's been like for you as you have grown through your work and how that has changed.
00:21:08
Speaker
how that has changed your parenting as you've made your way along and wrestled with so many of these truths and the difficult work of making sense of scripture and the gospel. How's that changed you? Well, I would say any good pastor, any good writer who is sharing from the scripture
00:21:37
Speaker
should be transformed by the scripture that he is sharing. And I grew up, I'm not really like an emotional guy. I'm more like type A kind of personality. I was an officer in the army. And so I'm kind of regimented. And if you put those together, it's kind of like a Javert personality
00:22:07
Speaker
You represent the law. I think I went into parenting with a law mentality. I'm going to ensure that my children are obedient. I'm going to sacrifice my life to provide for what they need so that they have a good upbringing, but then I'm going to hold them to a godly standard. But through my writing,
00:22:37
Speaker
I became a student of grace. And rather than seeing the law as the end, as Paul says, the law is our tutor toward Christ.
00:22:57
Speaker
The law shows us where we've fallen short in order for us to see our need for the gospel. And I think when I started parenting, I was thinking the law shows my children where they've fallen short so that they get on the straight and narrow.
00:23:16
Speaker
But what I learned as I studied grace is that no, the law shows us our failure so that we see our need for Christ. And that needs to first be evident in my life.
00:23:34
Speaker
And so the Lord was kind. He didn't allow me to succeed in producing obedient children by imposing the law. My daughter, we started out with twins, Emma and Nathan. Emma was like the epitome of the perfect Christian child, compliant, obedient, cheerful, coming when you call the whole nine yards.
00:24:05
Speaker
My son, on the other hand, was just the opposite. And I'm crying out to God, Lord, what do you want me to do? And I felt like the Lord say, I don't want you parenting standing up. I want you parenting kneeling down.
00:24:23
Speaker
And I thought parenting was this, train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he's old, he won't depart
Writing's Influence on Grace and Parenting
00:24:30
Speaker
from it. But in fact, God said, well, yeah, that is parenting, but there's also this part to parenting, which is not a Bible verse, but could be, train up a parent in the way that he should go through his parenting. And when he is older, he won't depart from the humility you build in his life. So that was kind of the thing that,
00:24:53
Speaker
that God did to me, humbled me. He showed me grace. And then the other thing is, as I would write, something interesting happened. I would read to my family, sometimes my kids, what I was writing because I was writing for families to go through things with their kids, get their perspective.
00:25:14
Speaker
but I'm reading what I wrote and I begin to cry. And they're seeing dad being affected in his heart by the truth that he's studying. Prior to me reading what I had written, what I'd studied, what I had understood from the Bible, I don't know that I ever cried before my kids. I don't know that I ever cried before my wife.
00:25:45
Speaker
And I can remember my wife saying, what has gotten into you? You were crying. You were reading that and you were just crying. You were making me cry. And it was that I was being affected by my study. I was being blessed by God's grace. And so that's what took place in my life through the study that has, through my study journey for writing.
00:26:14
Speaker
Yeah, that's so amazing. It's so amazing to hear the way that, you know, that God continues to patiently work in us in such bright gospel-centered kind of ways. What you're describing is really pretty similar to my path so far. You know, I kind of came as a dad of five and similar kind of mindset much more
00:26:40
Speaker
uh, kind of a law oriented and, uh, yeah, I think it's probably pretty common, you know, a little more, a little more rigid. Uh, and then, you know, again, you know, I had some, I had some incredible help from other believers to just help me better understand the gospel and to see it in such, such brighter, good news. I knew that the gospel meant good news, but I,
00:27:04
Speaker
You know, the gospel that I described probably didn't sound a lot like good news. And then once I started to understand grace more, and I'm still on the way like you are, like we all are,
00:27:20
Speaker
It really did change it has changing continues to change some things and i go back to. Just some old old ways i'm still trying to renew but everything you're saying really really resonates with me and i appreciate it so much i wish i could have known more of it earlier and i'd like to know much more of it in the future so you talked about the way that you've you've grown.
00:27:47
Speaker
In your appreciation of grace and the way it's impacted your soul and the way that you're engaging with the Lord in the story that you just told, what was your conversion like? How did you come to faith in Christ? You said you grew up Catholic. What was that upbringing like with your family, in your home, in your church experience? How did you hear the gospel?
00:28:15
Speaker
How did you come to know Jesus?
Conversion Story and Faith Journey
00:28:17
Speaker
Well, when I say I'm Catholic, I grew up Catholic, I was ultra Catholic, so we did not miss a Sunday. We went to church every Sunday. The only time I ever missed church when I was genuinely sick
00:28:35
Speaker
Because, you know, to miss a Sunday was a mortal sin. You don't confess your mortal sin, you go to hell. And so for me, I was like deathly afraid. I've got to go to church. And my dad was a God-fearing man who prayed. My grandparents all prayed. When I would go to my grandparents' home on Sunday after church for a family dinner, we would often come in and they would be praying.
00:29:01
Speaker
my aunt who lived with my grandparents and my grandparents. So I grew up with a God-fearing understanding, always believed in God.
00:29:13
Speaker
But of course, there was something missing. And in between my junior and senior year of college, I had an internship at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. I was working as a designer there. My major was industrial design, got a summer job internship, and had a third floor apartment, only got one TV station because I had no cable.
00:29:40
Speaker
And I had a little black and white TV with a broken antenna. And so I could only pick up, I think it was like Channel 6. Yeah. And every morning, I would eat my cornflakes and watch the news. And one morning, it was no longer the news, the programming had changed, and it was an evangelistic crusade. Really? And because I was so in tuned with
00:30:07
Speaker
watching TV, like if you turn the TV on, you push the clicker. And if you don't have some grand purpose, you just watch whatever's put in front of you. Well, so there I was eating my cornflakes, watching a preacher.
00:30:24
Speaker
And he gave me really three words that I didn't understand. I knew that Jesus died on the cross. That was evident to me. I mean, we had crucifixes everywhere in our home, in our church, like Jesus died on the cross. I got that. For your sins.
00:30:47
Speaker
I didn't know why Jesus died. He died as an altruistic expression of service, not holding the crimes against the people who committed them. He forgave, he was a forgiving man. I had a moralistic Jesus and I didn't understand that he died for my sins. But in that moment,
00:31:17
Speaker
I don't know if it was the first day watching that crusade or the second or third day, but certainly by the end of Friday. Wow. Having prayed the prayer every single time along, you know, the finger pointing towards the television audience and you pray too, as folks are coming down, repeat after me. But in that week, God saved me. And we'll be right back.
Devotional Books for Families
00:31:46
Speaker
I want you to know about two books from Marty Machowski that have impacted my family and countless others. Old Story New and Long Story Short contain 10-minute devotions to draw your family to God. They're both suited for children from preschool through high school.
00:32:03
Speaker
And the consistent and short structure helps children walk through the life-changing truths of the Christian faith in both the Old Testament and the New Testament without overwhelming them. These creative devotional programs help us as parents to shepherd our children to see the redemptive history with the central theme of Jesus illuminated clearly in every story.
00:32:27
Speaker
I want to encourage you to learn more about old story new and long story short at newgrowthpress.com and see how these resources in particular could help draw your family to God day by day. And now back to the show. If you were advising
00:32:48
Speaker
Parents, here's how you can find solid resources and evaluate them for yourself because the writing of
Gospel-Focused Resources and Recommendations
00:32:57
Speaker
books is endless. There are so many books that you could use, but we want to be after those that are most helpful to us. What is your litmus for recognizing this is solid, helpful,
00:33:11
Speaker
Christian resource for my parenting or for my children. You know, one of the things that has affected me in recent years has been how hard it is for our kids to grow up in this time and the confusion that's being
00:33:29
Speaker
Handed to them, you know at school and the youngest kids and I was affected by that Which is the reason why I wrote the book God made boys and girls my preeminent standard the one that I place over my head for everything I write is that
00:33:50
Speaker
It would be a gospel rich or gospel centered or a gospel focused resource the life-saving Life-transforming good news will be somewhere contained. I mean
00:34:06
Speaker
That's not necessarily true for books that are going to entertain you. So I read the Chronicles of Narnia to my kids, and the gospel there is present, but maybe in an allegorical form. Right, yeah, veiled in story form. Veiled in story form.
00:34:34
Speaker
So I would think that's wonderful, but then the Lord of the Rings, the whole idea of the gospel is not actually explicitly present. Like maybe in the Chronicles of Narnia, the sacrifice of Astor on the stone table is easy to pick up. That's the line of the tribe of Judah right there.
00:34:56
Speaker
But, you know, so I think you're talking about fictional works. I would support, you know, like Andrew Peterson's wing feather saga, like that's a great thing to read to your kids. But if you're talking about how do I find resources, what's what needs to be there for me in terms of discipleship works? Yeah, then I would say you need you need the gospel and and look for authors.
00:35:23
Speaker
that are committed to the gospel. So when I think of authors that are committed to the gospel who are writing things for kids, I think of Cham Thorton, I think of Kevin DeYoung,
00:35:36
Speaker
those men, Jared Kennedy, they're committed to, I'm not concerned. If Kevin DeYoung puts out a new resource, I don't have to wonder, is it going to be acceptable for my family? He's proven to me that his standard is my standard. And that's what I've tried to do with what I've written.
00:36:01
Speaker
is to ensure that everything I write, I tell parents, if you buy a book written by Marty Michowski, let me promise you one thing. You will find the gospel there. Amen.
00:36:16
Speaker
It's been a fascinating time talking with Marty Michalski today, and you heard him refer to a book he wrote called God Made Boys and
Addressing Gender Identity from a Christian Perspective
00:36:23
Speaker
Girls. I want to tell you a little bit more about that. God Made Boys and Girls is a book that helps children understand that their gender is a gift from God who made them and loves them. The story begins as the girls and boys at Grace Christian School are discussing if boys will always be boys and girls will always be girls.
00:36:43
Speaker
Their teacher explains that God gives each of us the gift of being male or female before we are born, and that you continue to be a boy or girl, whether you like to climb trees or play house, play tag or color pictures, cause a ruckus or sit quietly. And in a world where there is so much confusion about gender and identity, we have a resource from Marty Michalski, pastor and bestselling author,
00:37:10
Speaker
that shares the simple, clear truth that all of us are made in God's image and what God made is very good. Let me encourage you to visit NewGrowthPress.com and learn more about the book, God Made Boys and Girls. Thank you for joining us for this fascinating discussion with Marty Machowski on Straight to the Heart, a podcast from New Growth Press.