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Called to Create Book Review
I read the book Called to Create by Jordan Raynor over this past winter and I have not stopped thinking about it since! This is my review of the book as well as my experience with the content Raynor has created.
Check out my video interview with Jordan Raynor here!
Before Reading Called to Create
I am a graduate of Colorado Christian University. I studied Business Administration and was taught by my professors that as Christians, we are all called to full-time ministry. This means that even us business professionals are in a full-time missionary position.
I was taught a lot about using our business as a mission place, and how Jesus and the Kingdom of God are the greatest models for our businesses. Check out TheWhiteStoneForum.org to take a look at some of the awesome stuff I was learning.
But once I left college and was taken out of the “bubble” that is a Christian university, I realized that there weren’t many people having conversations about how our faith impacts our work.
A friend of mine, who had recently started a business, recommended the book to me so I added it to my reading list. I bought it for myself as a Christmas present and enjoyed it over the winter season.
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Called to Create
Called to Create is a great book for entrepreneurs both new and experienced. There are a lot of takeaways from the book. Here are just a few…
1. Our workplace is a holy calling
The ‘big C’ Church tends to make us think that as business professionals, our calling is to earn money to be donated to the church and to ‘full-time’ missionaries. It is no surprise that many Christian business people don’t feel like they are doing God’s will in their workplaces.
When in reality, our place of business may be the exact place that God wants us to be in order to be his hands and feet.
2. God calls us to excellence
Being excellent at what we do is such a great way to witness to those around us, especially in the business world. When other professionals see that we are totally crushing our work, they will wonder ‘why.’
Though we are not perfect, we can definitely give our fullest effort to the things we are pursuing.
Check out Jordan Raynor’s new book Master of One where he goes into more detail on how we can honor God through masterful work. I also had the privilege of interviewing him about both books, you can watch our interview here!
Related: What if Our Calling Isn’t Always Our Dream Job?
3. Our talents are God-given
No matter what area of business you fall into, the skills, talents, and characteristics you possess were all given to you by God. We all need to use those gifts he has given us in order to honor and glorify him.
Our gifts should be primarily used to lift up the name of Jesus, but also as a result, we will be blessing others.
4. We should not hide our faith
Many of us, myself included, feel that while working in a ‘secular business’ we need to hide our faith from others. If we do this, how then are we supposed to witness to those around us?
Sure, we don’t need to go around trying to shove Jesus down everyone’s throats. But the opposite is not the answer either. If you truly believe that the grace and salvation that is provided through our faith in Jesus is the best thing to happen, don’t you want others to participate in that with you?
5. Just because we have Jesus, does not mean entrepreneurship will be easy for us
Nowhere in the Bible does God promise that our lives will be a piece of cake once we have accepted Jesus as our savior.
We will go through the same startup struggles as any other entrepreneur. However, the difference is that since we do know the love of Christ, we have a different understanding of the struggles of this world. God holds everything in his hands. So we can have comfort that the outcome of our business is also in his hands.
The Bible says a lot about entrepreneurship and it also gives us principles that we can use in our businesses.
Related: How to Overcome the Fears of Entrepreneurship
What I Love About Called to Create
What I love most about the book is how inspiring it truly is to Christian entrepreneurs. Raynor has jam-packed the book with his own real-life examples as well as those of other Christians who are letting God steer their business decisions. He paints a great picture of what it can look like to honor God with our work.
After reading the book I felt encouraged to continue my pursuit of finding content on Faith and Work and sharing it with all of you.
Where Else Can I Find Jordan Raynor’s Content?
Raynor has a lot of awesome resources for those who are leading a faith-driven life in the workplace.
Weekly Emailed Devotional
One of my favorite resources he has is his weekly devotional that is emailed out to subscribers. These devotionals are on a wide range of topics within the Faith and Work wheelhouse.
YouVersion Devotionals
Raynor has also created quite a few devotionals that are on the YouVersion Bible app. I have completed a number of them and have enjoyed each one. He has a range of topics from failure, anxiety, ambition and more.
What’s Next from Jordan Raynor?
I really enjoyed Called to Create, and I was excited to find out that Raynor also had a weekly devotional that he emails out. The devotional is on different
New Book!
Part of the reason I am writing this review is that I learned about Raynor’s new book, Master of One. This new book is supposed to build off of Called to Create showing that our work is one of our greatest forms of ministry. However, this book will “make the case that it is through excellent work that we glorify God, love our neighbors as ourselves, and earn the right to be heard by a world thirsty for truth.” He’ll show that you can only do this by becoming a master at one thing.
CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW WITH JORDAN HERE
Podcast!
On October 2nd, 2019, Raynor released his new podcast, The Call to Mastery. I’ve listened to the first few episodes and it has been great so far! He has conversations with different Christian business people who have been successful in their endeavors. They talk about how their faith impacts how they do their work.
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I love the idea that God calls you to excellence. I can see you giving your fullest in the things you are pursuing. 🙂
That means a lot to me, Rachel! Thanks so much for your kind words =D Really trying to do my best with this blog and my investing endeavors so I can glorify Him!
I loved this! Thank you what an amazing reminder of Christ at the center of our work!
Yes! I highly recommend the book if you have the chance to read it. It really inspired me in all of my endeavors.
I loved Called to Create. Such a phenomenal book.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it too!
Katie: Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review Called to Create! I’m biased, but I think Master of One is even better!
I am definitely very excited to read Master of One! I have been enjoying the podcast so far and also look forward to more of those episodes!
This sounds like a great book. I agree that our job is to be a witness for Christ in all things we do. Since our work takes so much of our time, it only makes sense that we reflect Him throughout that work.
Hi Wendy, thanks for your comment. It is definitely important! Our coworkers may never come to know Christ otherwise! We may be the only Christians that they encounter.