Called to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk

by Jordan Raynor

The word entrepreneur first appeared in a French dictionary in 1723 to describe a person who undertakes a task with financial risk.

an entrepreneur is anyone who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others.

God appears to have created for the pure joy of doing it. As you read through Genesis 1, you can’t help but imagine God having a ball bringing everything into being,

So it stands to reason that one of the primary reasons why God created was to share the perfect love the Trinity has been experiencing for all eternity with us. His creating was a way of serving us, by making us in his image so we could experience a glimpse of the joy he has been experiencing for all of time.

“When businesses produce material things that enhance the welfare of the community, they are engaged in work that matters to God.”

Renowned British novelist Dorothy Sayers once said: Work is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God.1

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly” (Rom. 12:6 NASB). We have largely ignored this verse in the church today, choosing to define calling as simply what we are really passionate about, rather than the intersection of our passions and giftings.

But unless you reimagine your work not as a means of glorifying yourself but as service to the One who has called you, your work will never feel like more than a job. It

“God’s will for human beings is not that we find our joy in being praised, but that we find our joy in knowing and praising him.”

Following the call to create means that we no longer work to make a name for ourselves; we work for the glory of the One who has called us.

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

I had to get to the point where I could say, ‘God, you are enough.’”

The end goal is not getting credit from people, it’s getting to be a part of what the Creator has ordained.”

God appears to have created the world and humankind for two primary reasons: to reveal his character and to love others.

What motivated Bach to work with such “unimaginable energy”? Bach had reimagined his creating not as a means of making a name for himself; instead, Bach believed that “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”

As we saw in the previous chapter, following God’s call to create replaces our motivation to make a name for ourselves with motivation to create in order to reveal God’s character and love others.

What Blanchard is calling for is a focus on what he calls “impact market fit,” which leads us to begin our search for products to create with questions not about viability but about what is on God’s heart.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

our work is only a calling if we do it for the sake of the One who has called us.

All my seven Narnian books began with seeing pictures in my head. At first they were not a story, just pictures. [The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe] began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: “Let’s try to make a story about it.” At first I had very little idea how the story would go. But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it . . . once he was there he pulled the whole story together.

Like Lewis, our product ideas will likely not come from brainstorming sessions where we focus intensely on how we can create a product that reveals God’s character. But as we begin to create and “let the Word of Christ dwell in [us] richly” (Col. 3:16 ESV), we will undoubtedly see how we can use our creations to reveal the character of the One we adore.

Where is God moving in your cultural context today? Where do you see an opportunity to create a product that will make him better known through the revelation of his character or service to humankind?

“Find out the will of God for your day and generation,” be on the lookout for where the true Aslan is moving, and use your God-given abilities to create products that join him in his work.

The Snyder family’s eventual inclusion of Bible verses on their packaging was a reflection of a faith that had already been deeply integrated into the business in two primary ways: striving for excellence in everything and prioritizing people over profit.

The entrepreneur who is attuned to God’s Word and his Spirit will continually find ways to use their ventures to carry out his will.

the words of Reverend Robert Sirico, “Searching for excellence is the beginning of a search for God.”10

Chick-fil-A does nothing quickly. But they do almost everything with excellence.

Against this backdrop, there is perhaps no clearer way for Christians to set themselves apart from the world than by prioritizing people over profit and everything else.

there is perhaps no clearer way for Christians to set themselves apart from the world than by prioritizing people over profit and everything else.

Jerry King put it this way: Do not forget that in God’s Kingdom, it’s people—redeemed lives...

Collins began to catch a vision for his next venture, Grace Harbor Group, which would acquire businesses that traditionally do not prioritize people over profit (especially the poor) and work to turn around the way they operated.

demonstrated a genuine love for people.

“I used to think I was in control, that if I followed a specific formula I would be successful,” Goh said. “But once I realized God was in control, it felt like a load of worries had been lifted from my shoulders. I realized everything was in his hands and I had far less control than I thought.”

“For me, this is a lifelong process. My flesh wants to rely on my hustle. But prayer and time in Scripture reminds me that it is God, not me, who produces success through my endeavors,”

there is a sequence to trusting and hustling that honors the Lord and brings us great rest. In Proverbs 16:3, the wisest man who ever lived commands: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” So before we hustle, we are to commit our work to the Lord.

We can have the best website, the best pitch, the best talk, but if God isn’t moving in people’s hearts, they’re just not going to take the action we need them to take.”

Prayer is my way of going to the Lord and admitting I am not in control. He is. And that gives me rest.”

To practice Sabbath is a disciplined and faithful way to remember that you are not the one who keeps the world running, who provides for your family, not even the one who keeps your work projects moving forward. Entrepreneurs find it especially difficult to believe this.

How easy to fall prey to the temptation to believe that they alone are holding up their corner of creation!3

Instead of treating our fellow church members as brothers and sisters in Christ, we have conversations that are not much deeper than those we carry on with the barista at our favorite coffee shop.

For many of us, church has become a country club to showcase our best selves rather than a community that gathers to honestly share our struggles and failures, secure in the grace of our brothers and sisters and, ultimately, God.

Timothy Keller, “Christians should be known to be calm and poised in the face of difficulty or failure. This may be the most telling way to judge if a person is drawing on the resources of the gospel in the development of personal character.”

Because of the gospel, we can respond with uncommon hope, transparency, and boldness.

you’re late to ship your newest product, if you lose your biggest customer, if your art doesn’t sell, even if your business completely fails, you can look to the cross as Spafford did and say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Romans 8:28 reminds us that “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” For those who are called to create,

Make no mistake: you and I have a choice as to whom we will create for, and it’s a choice that impacts so much of our entrepreneurial and creative endeavors.

If we choose to expend our creative energies sacrificially, we are choosing to be misunderstood and perhaps even mocked.

Jesus came to earth to serve, not to be served. He had made a choice to reimagine his work as a means of glorifying his Father, not himself.

But regardless of where God has called you to expend your productive energies, all of us have been commanded to create disciples.

We are responsible for designing a world in which people will spend one-third of their waking hours.