In November 2013, The Alabama Baptist editors asked Joanne Sloan to write an article on C.S. Lewis upon the 50th anniversary of the author and theologian’s death.
The article sparked an idea for Sloan, a longtime writer, educator and lover of history: What if TAB published a monthly article on a believer from the past who had influenced the Christian faith in significant, but perhaps forgotten, ways?
Sloan, a member of First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa, had written similar articles for publications like Mature Living magazine and Focus on the Family. She suggested the idea to TAB, and a new column, Heroes of the Faith, began in January 2014.
Wide range of heroes
Throughout the years, the articles have profiled a wide range of theologians, pastors, missionaries, authors, hymn writers, educators and others who used their gifts and talents in the place and time they lived to advance the Kingdom of Christ. The articles reminded readers of forgotten stories, the origins of beloved traditions and testimonies worth remembering.
“When writing about a hero or heroine, I first had to decide on a person,” Sloan said. “Then I would research what I found online and also found in books about the person. Every male and female I wrote about was a remarkable person, although many of my readers had never heard of them. I found people I had never heard about, and after researching them, I discovered they had literally ‘changed the world.’”
‘I learned so much’
Sloan said one of the challenges of writing Heroes of the Faith was research, particularly when discrepancies popped up.
“Then I would have to read enough about the person to find out what facts were truths,” she said. “I learned so much.”
Sloan recently decided to retire the column after 11 years of faithful writing. Fans of the column can find the archive at tabonline.org. Fans of Joanne can still keep up with her through the Southern Christian Writers Conference, which she and her husband, David, founded in 1991. Their daughter, Cheryl Wray, now coordinates the conference and related events, which seek to educate and encourage published and unpublished Christian writers on their writing journey. TAB Media Group partners with SCWC.
This year’s SCWC will be held June 6–7 at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham. Registration opens March 15. For more information, email scwritersconference@gmail.com.
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