By JCServant

The Call
There are those in this world that have a call of God on their hearts. It’s a desire, deep in one’s heart, to do something for Him. You can generally tell ‘The Call’ from a general personal desire by the proof of the spirit.

For example, I have a call in my life. During certain periods of my life, I ran from this call. However, deep in my spirit, the call remained. No matter how I tried to bury it, the call on my spirit would not be quieted. ‘The Call’ on one’s life is like a fire. It cannot be quenched. Perhaps, through much effort, one could put out that fire (By continuously ignoring God’s calling). However, the more you do work on it, the more you want to do it, no matter the cost.

The Cost
In my journeys, I have run across many Christians that told me that God had placed a call on their lives. Since I’m most interested in creating comics, I usually meet brothers and sisters who say they have a desire to use their drawing and writing talents to glorify God. Years later, when I ask them about the progress of their projects, they have very little to show. The failed to take the cost of the call into consideration.

The Bible warns us of the danger of taking on any project, such as building a structure, without first counting the cost. It is important, especially in the field of creating comics, that one counts the cost. Even more importantly, one has to be ready to pay everything for it.

The Truth About The Cost
As anyone who has created comics on a regular basis will tell you, creating comics, especially Christian comics, carries a high cost. A comic creator who does not take into account the costs of this calling, and / or make concessions to meet these costs, will set themselves up for failure before they even start.

Time
Whether you are a writer, penciler, or colorer, doing your part in creating comics is going take a substantial dedication of time. If you are a parent with a 60 hour / week job and going to school part time, chances are you are NOT going to have time to work on a comic.

Becoming a comic creator who wants to do ministry work with their creation, takes a dedication of time. You MUST have an average of 10 hours / week minimum. More is even better. If you feel like you do not have that much time, perhaps you need to look at those things in this life that are ‘weighing you down’ from doing God’s work. How much time a week do you spend watching TV? How about those social engagements?

Yet, for some of us, a higher sacrifice may be required. Remaining true to the call God has given you may mean switching career paths, choosing not to go to college, choosing not to have a family, or even more. Such a suggestion, in this day and age, is sure to draw fire, even from most dedicated Christians. Yet, this argument simply boils down to “Where does your priorities lie?”

50 years from now, when you face the Lord, will you care about the career you had? Will you annual salary really be important? The Bible says that whatever you lose on this earth, for His sake, you will be rewarded for in Heaven with a treasure that will never fade away. Jesus called his disciples away from their families, to follow Him. There are other passages that show that the Bible goes as far as suggesting that one put God's calling above one’s family.

Please note that I am not recommending that fathers leave their children or spouses, and their responsibility to them. I am suggesting that someone who does not yet have this responsibility may consider the possibility of not taking it on in the future, so that he or she may be fully dedicated to the call God has placed on their lives.

In the end, this is where I see most Christians fail. With the world offering so many choices, the world seems like a buffet table. Who can refrain from ‘filling their plate?’ I assure you that he who does refrain from filling his plate with what the world has to offer, will find that what God offers to be a much more fulfilling alternative.

Money
I see too many comic creators who have misdirection about money, and how it relates to their projects.

I see many good Christian comic projects that get off to a good start. However, after a few issues, the creators start to realize that they have serious problems just breaking even on their sales.

They begin to question whether or not what they are doing is the Lord’s will. Certainly, if it were God’s Will, it would be a financial success! They begin to doubt their Call… and in some circumstances, begin to question God.

First, let me clear up a myth. Financial success has NEVER been a measure of the success of a ministry. It IS the measure of success for a business. I am a manager for business. We are fully dedicated to brining something to the ‘bottom line’ for our owner. Every decision that we make is made to make money. Period.

Measuring Success – It’s NOT about money!
The last time I checked, however, a ministry is supposed to be about bringing others closer to Christ. This and this alone, should be the measure of the worth of what we do. Some people have asked me, “When do you consider your work successful? By how many people you bring to Christ?” Even if that were my ‘measuring stick’ it would be hard to measure indeed. Not everyone who is moved spiritually by a comic book writes to the editor.

To be honest, it is impossible to know whether or not what I am doing is successfully moving people closer to Christ. This is where faith comes in. I know that God has put this calling on my life. And, I know that he will only ask me to do that which brings glory to Himself (Bringing others closer to Him). Everything that He asks us to do is from His perfect Will and perfect Love. For all I know, my creations may only bring on single soul, 50 years from now, to Himself. Was spending all of this time and effort worth it for that one soul? The Bible says so.

To do something like this, then, must take faith. I have to have faith in the command the Father had laid in my heart. I have to trust that the ‘payoff’ will be revealed to me in HIS timing, not mine.

So, how will I measure success? The Bible also makes this clear. God desires one thing. Obedience. When I answer His Call, and do what He asks through faith, and His Grace, I will be successful. On the other hand, if I allow the things of this world to distract me to the point that I am not doing what He has asked, than I have not made a return on the investment of gifts and talent He has given me.

What about Money?
Obviously, though, money must be taken into account. If you are called to create comic books (paper), than you are going to incur a monetary cost. Where will those monies come from if you cannot sell enough books to cover the cost?

For this example, I like to point to our current day church model. If you ask any pastor whether or not they consider their ‘church’ a ministry, they will answer ‘yes.’

Now, if you ask that same pastor who is responsible, in the church organization, to actually minister, the good pastor will usually say, “All Christians in the Body.” Everyone, including the congregation, the pastors, the elders, etc, play some part in that ministry.

The church, today, is a very expensive ministry to keep running. Between admin costs, mortgages, interest, etc, the cost can become prohibitive. Who is expected to pay for this? The congregation through the weekly tithing.

In other words, those who are in the ministry are paying for it. The average Christian has to have a trade to support their family, and their part of the church ministry. At the same time, they are a continuous minister of the church. Christians in the church are continuously training so they may be able to lead other closer to God through the skills and lessons they learned in the church.

Other examples may be found in the Bible. Each of the disciples had a trade before they became disciples. Paul was a tent maker. He paid for his own way, through his trade, while he was working on the ministry that God had called him to do. Noah and his sons had to work the land for the material good needed to build the ark, and trade for anything they did not already have.

My point: Consider the possibility that God wants you to finance your work with your own money on a regular basis. It may or may not be God’s will to turn your calling into a full time effort that will pay for itself (So you can quit that day job!). But, until it materializes, consider that God wants you to finance this effort through the other talents and opportunities that He has put in your life.

This may require a stricter limitation to the quality of lifestyle that you currently enjoy. It may require that you go out less, take on a roommate to help with the bills, or something as equally as drastic. It’s just another part of the cost.

Ego
Here’s another cost that is normally overlooked in the early stages of assessment. Basically, not everyone can lead in the world of Christian Comics… not if we want to make a greater impact.

In secular comics, we’ve seen mighty icons rise and fall, namely due to greed and egos of artists, writers and editors in those positions. While Christians are quick to criticize in this area, I occasinally observe the same thing happen in the Christian comic community!

Everyone has his or her own projects. Would-be pencilers will only draw their ideas. Would-be writers only want to write their own stories. The result is a handful of people dedicated on their own projects where they are writer, penciler, inker and editor!

As you can imagine, such a production will be of low quality, and is not going to attract many people. Because of our egos, we waste our time, stubbornly, in our own little worlds.

Yet, this is what happens everyday. Christian Comic team efforts fail on a regular basis. Sometimes it is because of ego. Sometimes it is because of the other two reasons (money & time). Certainly, however, we cannot expect God to honor work that is of subpar quality because we were unwilling to relinquish leadership, or put our own ideas on the back burner for the greater good. We must be willing to approach all projects as we would our very own, with a spirit of openness and humility that Jesus himself would use.

In Conclusion - The Definition of Insanity
A good definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing, the same way, and expecting a different result.’ Many comic creators, at different levels, know that they have not reached the potential God has given them. They hear the Call, and try different ways to answer it, yet it just does not seem right. For whatever reason their efforts to fall flat. Instead of being fulfilled, the Christian comic creator is left feeling that there should have been something more, something better.

I propose that we change the fundamental way we look at our calling. By changing our priorities, managing our time, setting aside distractions, funding our own efforts (not expecting a financial return), setting aside our egos, and changing our criteria for ‘success’ in our projects, I believe that we can expect a different result than what most of us are experiencing now. There are those in the community who have already discovered most or all of these principles, and are enjoying the fruits of answering the Call. Let us build upon those successes, and take our work to the next level!