We were created by an infinitely creative God to reflect his love and character to the world. One way we do that is by continuing his creative work. In this energizing book, serial entrepreneur and bestselling author Jordan Raynor helps artists, entrepreneurs, writers, and other creatives re-imagine our work as service to God and others, addressing such penetrating questions as:

Is my work as a creative really as God-honoring as that of a pastor or missionary?What does it look like to create a name for myself but to glorify God and serve others?How can I use my work to fulfill Jesus’ command to create disciples?Will what I make today matter in eternity?

To answer these questions, Raynor shares compelling stories from an eclectic group of more than forty Christian entrepreneurs, including the founders of TOMS Shoes, Charity: Water, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Guinness, HTC, and Sevenly, as well as nontraditional entrepreneurs such as C. S. Lewis, Johann Sebastian Bach, and J. R. R. Tolkien. Raynor’s “show” rather than “tell,” story-driven style makes you feel as if you are sitting at the feet of some of the godliest and most successful entrepreneurs of all time.

Perfectly poised to reach today’s growing creative class, this unique work restores God’s position as the first entrepreneur, helping listeners see the eternal value in the work they do today.

What is your one thing? The entrepreneur, thought leader, and best-selling author of Called to Create offers a refreshing invitation: stop trying to do it all so you can thrive in your unique, God-given work.

“A compelling case for embracing our vocational limits and choosing to do our one thing well.”—Emily P. Freeman, Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Next Right Thing
 
Imagine how different your life would be if you spent your time doing the very thing that brings you the greatest joy. It’s possible, but most people spend their days making incremental advances on numerous tasks, competent at many things but exceptional at none. That’s because for too long we’ve believed the lie that more activity, more jobs, and more responsibility equals greater effectiveness. In short, we are becoming a society of “jacks-and-jills-of-all-trades and masters of none.”

But what if you could shift your focus from too many things to one?

In this thought-provoking book, you’ll discover the exponential power of pursuing a singular craft. Through practical principles, Jordan Raynor provides straightforward steps for finding and thriving in your calling. He also highlights more than a dozen real-life examples of high-impact individuals who have chosen to focus on and excel in their unique gifting, including:

• Chronicles of Narnia author C. S. Lewis
• Enron whistle-blower Sherron Watkins
• TV legend Mister Rogers
• Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia Marshall
• Reality TV star Chip Gaines
• NFL Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy
• Biblical figures, a teacher, a pilot, a banker, and world-class entrepreneurs

Too many of us are overwhelmed, overcommitted, and overstressed. This book offers a better way—the path to becoming a master of one!

Manage your time the way Jesus managed his with a biblical antidote to swamped to-do lists and hurried schedules.

“A highly practical road map.”—Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author and lead pastor of National Community Church

Despite the overwhelming amount of resources for time management and work-life balance, the ability to cultivate the efficiency and equilibrium needed to manage all our worthy pursuits can often feel frustratingly out of reach. The reason for our struggle is that productivity and time-management systems focus on individual habits rather than more meaningful and lasting lifestyle changes. But as it turns out, there is a better way to reach our full potential.

We don’t need just another approach to changing our habits. What we need is an operating system that takes into account the full scope of our lives. In these pages, bestselling author Jordan Raynor presents this system, using seven powerful time- management principles drawn from the example of how Jesus lived:
 
1. Start with the Word: Find meaningful connection with the author of time daily.
2. Let Your Yes Be Yes: Accept only the commitments you can fulfill.
3. Dissent from the Kingdom of Noise: Create room for silence, stillness, and reflection.
4. Prioritize Your Yeses: Confidently maintain your commitments.
5. Accept Your “Unipresence”: Focus on one important thing at a time.
6. Embrace Productive Rest: Live the God-designed rhythms of rest which are productive for our goals and souls.
7. Eliminate All Hurry: Embrace productive busyness while ruthlessly eliminating hurry from our lives.

With these principles, you’ll see how Jesus managed his time on earth and how he responded to human constraints much like the ones you face today. More than that, you’ll discover corresponding practices that will help you embrace the best, most Christlike version of yourself possible: purposeful, present, and wildly productive.

With engaging rhyme, this audiobook sparks listeners’ imaginations with the big idea that God created human beings to make, model, and work like Him.

The Creator in You is a book that children, graduates, and even many adults will treasure for a lifetime. This fresh perspective on the creation account from the Bible’s first book, Genesis, helps readers see that “the sixth day” wasn’t the end of creation–it was “just the beginning.”

“Before His day off, God had one more to-do. On His sixth day creating, God chose to make you.” God made kids to create like he does–by filling the world with sand castles and s’mores today, and businesses and books tomorrow. Through inspiring words, listeners of all ages will feel connected to God’s story of creation in a deeply personal way, inspiring them to view their current and future work with purpose, enthusiasm, and joy.

A weekday devotional to help Christians connect the gospel to their vocation and appreciate the eternal significance of their work—no matter what it is—from the entrepreneur, thought leader, and bestselling author of Redeeming Your Time.

Perhaps you feel as if the work you do carries less eternal impact than the work of a pastor or missionary. But that’s not how God sees it. Whatever it looks like day to day, your work is ministry and central to God’s plans to restore fallen creation. 

As the days of creation reveal, God is quite familiar with work himself. He created humans with unique giftings and interests, specifically so we can pursue his redemptive work in partnership with him. 

The Word Before Work features 260 readings—one for every workday of the year—to help you see how your work connects to God’s work in the world. The first four weeks set the foundation by exploring:

• what work means in light of the biblical narrative
• why our work matters
• five ways these truths inform how we should work today

The rest of this one-year devotional takes you on a journey through Scripture to explore God’s perspective on the work he has called you to do.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, barista, stay-at-home parent, CEO, or coach, The Word Before Work affirms how God created you for work, why it matters, and the ways it holds significance both now and for eternity.