Book Review: Called to Create

I was recently sucked in for a sweepstakes opportunity. When I saw the details, I couldn't hold back the glimmer of hope that I might win the coveted trip. It paired my favorite travel destination, England, with a chance to enjoy a dinner with Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis's step-son. Had I won (sob, sob - I didn't), it would have been a grand chance to reconnect. I was blessed with the opportunity of getting to know Doug Gresham when he came to Wheaton during my college days to research his autobiography, Lenten Lands, a book describing his life with C.S. Lewis. I worked transcribing C.S. Lewis's personal letters at Wheaton's Wade Center. I spent many an afternoon sitting at a table with Gresham - enough so, that we eventually made a pact to share autographed copies of our first published books with each other.

Thus, when I chanced upon an opportunity to enter the sweepstakes by virtue of the purchase of Jordan Raynor's book, Called to Create, I jumped on board. I think my initial impression was that this would be a book devoted to God's calling for artists and writers, but the word create was used in a more broad sense (and had I paid attention to the sub-title, A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk, I might have recognized this). While the entrepreneurial mandate wasn't exactly up my alley, I benefited from the book nonetheless.

Raynor's book is divided into four parts. Part I explores the idea of God as the First Entrepreneur (our creativity reflects the creativity of our Maker). Part II focuses on why we create (what we hope to gain - hopefully God's glory and not our own). Part III emphasizes the challenges we face in creating for His kingdom (be it books, art, food, products, etc.), and Part IV talks about the eternal ramifications of what we do/create. The book provides an abundance of examples (albeit, primarily entrepreneurial ones) of individuals called to create and how their life's work has manifested as a ministry (perhaps different than what we generally perceive as Christian ministry).

I couldn't sum it up better than Mark Russell (author of Work as Worship and The Missional Entrepreneur) whose endorsement states:

"Whether you're a business owner, an entrepreneurial employee, a student looking to make something of the world, the founder of a non-profit, a mompreneur, a photographer, a painter, a musician, an author, or a chef, Called to Create will help you see how your creative work can be an act of worship to God.... God has called us all, and in Called to Create, Jordan ... offers Christian creators an inspiring, biblically based invitation to embrace creativity as a means of serving God and others."

While I often question whether the humble offerings of my writing really matter, this book reminded me that if God has called me to it, He will equip and make something valuable of my contribution. Moreover, what I do can bring glory to God just as much as missionaries who take the gospel to foreign lands. God calls each of us individually and has a purpose and use for our creativity. I may not have won the chance to reconnect with Doug Gresham by purchasing this book, but I certainly received a jolt of fresh motivation to continue pushing my pen across the page.