Why We Walk the Bridge
“The goal is to reach people. To do that, we must go where they are. Different people have different needs, respond to different things, and understand from different perspectives. Bridge-Walkers grasp that and strive to meet people where they reside.” ~Vicki Hinze
We only have so much life. And there are many demands on our time. So we want to spend it wisely and in ways that make a difference. We want to do things we consider important. That’s why the reason we do the things we do matters.
Below you’ll find Vicki and some Bridge-Walker Team members’ address why they joined the Bridge-Walker Team and what their role as a Team Member means to them…
“I joined the Bridge Walker team because I am an avid reader and constantly seeking new books to read that are clean reads. Vicki Hinze and her mystery/suspense/romance appealed to me, so I joined. I feel that I have formed an online friendship with Vicki Hinze and her readers, and I value their opinions and prayers.”
“I joined the Bridge-Walker Team because I love “clean” fiction and/or non-fiction. Christian fiction and clean reads are becoming more readily available on the market now but any time I have the chance to be a part of that process I am more than ready to take part. I love promoting authors of clean reads to help spread the word to those out there that might not be aware. Bringing a new author to an audience that loves reading material fit for practically any audience when they might be unaware is a joy for me. And it doesn’t hurt that I love Vickie Hinze’s books!”
“I joined because I write reviews of books I read. I also like to know what is new and help promote your books. I place bookmarks at library and church. I pass out books I have read to others.”
The reason I joined the Bridge-Walker Team is to spread the word on just how wonderful Vicki’s books are…They are refreshing from the many books I have read, and I read a lot of different genres… I love Vicki’s clean writing very much. I want others to know just how wonderful her books are and what they have to offer. They are filled with romance, belief of prayer, added mystery, and edge of your seat fun. In addition, the books add something other books lack. A sense to see and believe in yourself…
As a member on the Bridge-Walker Team, it means so very much to me. Being appreciated and trusted to read early work is heartwarming to me… Furthermore, I think all the ladies on the Bridge-Walker team are wonderful and we all are family…. I believe I have a very true friendship with Vicki… She is a true gem.
I’m a storytelling bridge-walker. It’s what I am, and it’s where I belong. I’ve only ever had one writing rule–I won’t write a story I don’t love. My author theme is healing books, and every book I’ve ever written or will write is written for a specific purpose. That’s not to say I write from a pulpit or a preachy “I’m right and my way is right and your way is wrong,” I don’t. That would exhibit an arrogance and extreme lack of respect for the diversity in people and their purposes! It is accurate to say I write books with a specific hope of what a story can do to constructively help others heal.
For some, life is like a long, dark tunnel. They’re mired and lost in the hallway and can’t find a door or a window–some are so lost they don’t know a door or window exists. My goal is to shine light in the tunnel so others can see the doors, the windows and the light at the end of their dark tunnel. It’s an ambitious goal, I know, but I can think of none I consider more worthy.
An author, like everyone else, has a comfort level with what s/he writes. That comfort (not to be confused with unease or distaste but viewed as life purpose) is what resonates with the author (or you in your career) and awakens that sense of knowing you’re where you’re supposed to be, doing what you’re supposed to be doing. For me, that place is a bridge. I walk with one foot in the secular world and one in the Christian world. My faith isn’t torn or split, but my work is approached from that bridge. While some find fault with that, I personally think it’s a good thing for a purpose writer who writes healing-themed books. There are those who hear nothing if told from a blatant Christian perspective, but hear work containing Christian principles and respond to them. They’re unwilling or unable to hear and listen full-throttle, so to speak. But transitional works resonate with them at gut level and there’s merit in that.
My belief is that people are traveling all along the road–their spiritual journey–and they hear, listen, and react to what they read based on where they are on their own road. So for some, full-throttle spirituality is like going from third grade directly into college–too far a leap, too great a distance to cover all at once.
On some things, everyone needs pit stops–interim guides. That’s where bridge-walkers come in. They give people opportunities to relate to aspects of the work. Stories resonate, act as confirmation or affirmation. Something in the story acts as a trigger that gives the reader the opportunity to move a little further down the road (or to acknowledge that they are choosing not to move down the road).
God didn’t create us as clones. He has a purpose for believers, non-believers, and all those in between, and we all know that He comes to each of us in ways we understand. The reason why that varies so wildly is simple. We vary that wildly. Our personal journeys vary that wildly. Where we are on the road does, too.
Books can carry amazing gifts, but if they’re met with closed ears, closed minds, or they leave a reader lost without a clue of what’s being gifted, then they’re not much of a gift to that person. If one doesn’t get it, one can’t get it. It’s that simple.
So, in His infinite wisdom, God placed writers at different points all along the life-journey road. No matter where one stumbles along it, stories are there for that specific person, in that specific place, at that specific time which offer readers what they need to proceed on their personal journey.
Simply put, the goal is to reach people. To do it, we must go where they are. Different people have different needs, respond to different things, have different perspectives. Bridge-Walkers understand that.
Unfortunately, Bridge-Walker authors get criticized a lot–Christians nail them for the books where the spiritual aspect in it is not overt. Secular readers nail them for being overt. Sometimes authors are driven to write secular, and some stories they’re driven to write Christian. So Bridge Walker authors take the criticism–and just walk the bridge.
I just walk the bridge–and the Bridge-Walker Team walks with me, doing what it can do to make the journey brighter, to assist me in reaching more people. Together, we’re trying to help more people heal.
I walk the bridge because it’s where I belong.
Read why the Bridge-Walker Team joined the Team and what being a Bridge-Walker means to them…
Blessings,
Vicki Hinze