Sho Baraka - He Saw That It Was Good: Reimagining Your Creative Life to Repair a Broken World

Amisho has the courage to say what many are thinking and the candor to say what many are not. His words have positively influenced me for yearsnow this book gives the world that influence.

Lecrae , artist

I love my grandson so much. He is wise, sharp, and charming. I know his book will change many lives.

Lillie Pruitt , Shos ninety-five-year-old grandmother, who has lived through the Jim Crow era, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and the Kobe and Shaq breakup

This book is about the centrality of story for our identity and its power to transform vocation, art, and the churchs witness. Sho does not shy away from the failures of White evangelicalism to affirm the fullness of the gospel story. But rather than canceling, he shows how to tell a better storyembracing Black identity and Christian faithfulness. This book is a deep well of resources, inspired reflections on vocation and art making, and wisdom for cultural engagement. It is a gift to the church.

Tish Harrison Warren , Anglican priest and author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night

Sho is one of the most strikingly original Christian thinkers of his generation. This book could not come at a better time. Ours is a time for courageous Christ-centered creativity. Sho rarely tells us what we want or expect to hear but speaks with artful poetry, fierce insight, and gracious justice about the issues of our era. I hang on his every word.

Timothy Dalrymple, PhD , president and CEO of Christianity Today

Sho Baraka is the kind of cultural leader W. E. B. Du Bois and Frederick Douglass wanted for future generations: talented, thoughtful, critical, passionate, and gifted with a scholarly mind. That he is penning his thoughts to paper is a reverb of grace that should resound far and wide.

Dr. Charlie Dates , senior pastor of Progressive Baptist Church, Chicago

Some voices are loud and others are widespread, but the voice of Sho Baraka is solidand well worth listening to.

Dr. Carl Ellis Jr. , author, theological anthropologist, and provosts professor at Reformed Theology Seminary

Sho has not written a book for only creatives. He has written a book that will help all of us think intentionally about how the work we do (whatever it is) can be leveraged to fulfill Gods purposes. It made me think about my own vocation with fresh eyes and how I can use my gifts to bring healing to our broken society. He Saw That It Was Good is the wonderful mix of history, theology, art, and cultural analysis that we need in this moment. I highly recommend it.

Esau McCaulley, PhD , assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College

Amisho Sho Baraka is one of the clearest voices of truth in this age of truth decay. His insights, artistry, and intellect require that we embrace his truth, apply it, and follow as he leads us through this important work to a better future.

C. Jeffrey Wright , CEO and president of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.)

Throughout my ministry, I have leaned on many people. But when it comes to being both culturally relevant and doctrinally sound, I know no better man than my brother Sho. He has a prophetic edge and a pastoral tone. I am encouraged that he has finally decided to allow the world to get the knowledge Ive been gleaning from him for the last forty years of my life.

Dhati Lewis , lead pastor of Blueprint Church and vice president of Send Network

I have been a fan of Sho Barakas since first listening to his Talented 10th album. As a Du Bois scholar, I was intrigued by an artist with the breadth and depth to wrestle with race, politics, religion, and faith in a musical and deeply meaningful way. This book captures the unique tapestry of his richly textured life.

Brian L. Johnson, PhD , president of Warner Pacific University (former president of Tuskegee University)

Sho has given us an apologetic for creative engagement in a culture that is losing its moral imagination. This book is both practical and artistic. I would highly recommend it.

Lisa Fields , president and founder of Jude 3 Project

Sho Baraka is one of the most forward-thinking individuals I know, with the unique leadership quality to bring others up to his level. Engaging with his dynamic perspective in this book, we all get to level up, realizing something we never could on our own: that he saw it was good!

Tedashii , artist, author, actor, activist, and more