Justin Camp - Invention: Break Free from the Culture Hell-Bent on Holding You Back

What people are saying about

INVENTION

You were born to change the world. You know that, right? Invention, written in the heart of Silicon Valley, is a super, startling, step-by-step guide for Christian men ready to rise up and join the real change-the-world movementthe one launched 2,000 years ago. This book is a blueprint for how to discover our God-given identities and engage life with energy and courage.

Eric Metaxas

New York Times bestselling author of Bonhoeffer; Nationally syndicated radio host of The Eric Metaxas Show

This book is for anyone who loves God and senses there is more to life than work and busyness. Invention will help you find that more, even in the ordinary moments, so your life may become extraordinary.

John Ortberg

Bestselling author of The Life Youve Always Wanted

Discipleship of men is vital workas men go, so go our families, our churches, and our communities. I believe that one of the enemys greatest attacks on Christian men is to convince us to live in identities that are disconnected from who God says we are. Invention will inspire men and guide them on a journey to discover their true, God-given identities.

Kris Dolberry

Leader of LifeWay Men; Editor of Stand Firm, a monthly devotional magazine for men

Justin Camp has written a wise book on one of the key issues men facetheir identity as creations of God and new creations in Christ. Invention is a thought-provoking, practical, and creative bookand if you open your heart, it will change you.

John Sowers

Author of The Heroic Path

Invention is creative and brave. Its for Christian men ready to escape the mundane, boring routine and start really living.

Jim Candy

Church planter at Ascent Community Church; Author of Can I Ask That?

Justin Camp gets men. He knows how to speak to us. Hes an expert at peeling back our false assurances and macho mantras and addressing our true needs with life-giving truths. Invention is the perfect antidote to the quiet desperation most modern men feel. I hope many men will read this book and discover the fuller, more meaningful life Jesus promised them.

Drew Dyck

Senior editor, CTPastors.com; Author of Yawning at Tigers

INVENTION

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

Integrity Music Limited, a Division of David C Cook

Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2RE, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form without written permission from the publisher.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.); THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide; NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Control Number 2019946238

ISBN 978-0-8307-8102-7

eISBN 978-1-4347-1265-3

Copyright 2017, 2019 Justin Camp

The Team: Michael Covington, Rachael Stevenson, Paul J. Pastor, Nick Lee, Susan Murdock

Cover Design: Connie Gabbert

First Edition 2017

TO J ACKSON AND O LIVER AND THE SONS G OD LOVES

T HEN THE L ORD G OD FORMED THE MAN OF DUST FROM THE GROUND AND BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE, AND THE MAN BECAME A LIVING CREATURE.

AN ACCOUNT FROM M OSES

I DO NOT ASK THAT YOU TAKE THEM OUT OF THE WORLD, BUT THAT YOU KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL ONE. T HEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, JUST AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.

A PRAYER OF J ESUS

This book is built around seven nano-historiesbrief profiles of seven inventors who lived and worked during the Industrial Revolution. These sections are meant to engage your curiosity and interest but also to enrich the examination of your own God-given identity. Each one opens with a short piece of creative nonfiction. Because many details from the lives of these fascinating men have been lost, I reimagined certain scenes from their lives, reconstructing them in ways that reflect the essence of actual events or qualities of their character.

More importantly, though, the book is stocked with sections entitled Switch On. These sections turn the focus to you. If youre serious about breaking free into your true, God-given identity, these sections are must-do. If you engage in the exercises found there, youll discover much about yourself, your life, and your Inventor.

I promise.

Justin Camp

San Francisco Peninsula

I CAME SO THEY CAN HAVE REAL AND ETERNAL LIFE,

MORE AND BETTER LIFE THAN THEY EVER DREAMED OF.

(J OHN 10:10 THE MESSAGE )

A man sits in his kitchen. Elbow on the counter, forehead resting on the thumb and fingers of his left hand. He holds a cereal spoon in his right. A phone lies next to the bowl. He uses his right pinkie to scroll through the news, trying not to drip milk on the screen.

Elections in far-off places, a war trying to wind down, wildfireseven these stories are a welcome escape.

Mornings are tough. Its inertia that keeps him moving these days. An object in motion his internal drive is gone, his passion too. His life has turned into steady advance toward some unseen wall: head down, dont think about it.

Hes gotten good at the grind. And hes getting good at acting like everythings just fine.

But hes getting weary too.

Pulling out of his driveway, he can barely remember any details from the walk he just took. Two blocks and back, dropping off a first grader. The board meeting is in an hour, and his mind is always turningchurningon work.

And, in the back of it all, there are questions and a slight, edgeless gloom.

Is this what lifes supposed to be?

The board meeting goes well. Good guys; a new team. The slides projected on the screen are positive, arrows in the right directions. Theyve closed a few important deals. Is it going to be enough?

He stops for a barbacoa burrito on the way back to the office. Sits by himself at a counter near the window. Lots of hot sauce. Another few minutes of escape, distracting himself from the distraction of the food with the ever-present screen. Come on. He swipes through articles about college football and the opening of the NBA season.

In the car, waiting for a light to change, the questions return, softly.