Fuel the fire of your holy dreams. Discover how you can partner with God to create a better world.

Heirs of Eden will ignite the fire in your belly, the light in your eyes, and the dreams in your soul as you see how your work, faith, and art blend together to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

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You feel like there’s a God-given dream in your heart, but you can’t figure out how it fits into your life as a Christian.

You're tired of feeling like you have to stay in the box, follow a certain path, or fit the status quo to serve God.

You want more…out of life, out of faith, and for this world. How can you integrate all of who you are with God’s plan for the world?

Heirs of Eden is a book about your dreams, your work, and your creative potential that will wake you up to what lights you up inside and show you why your dreams are holy.

Through artistic reflections on God’s plan of restoration for the world, you will understand the true purpose of humanity, the theology of creativity, and why it’s not just about going into ministry or “being used by God” – it’s about manifesting the Spirt of God within you simply by being you.

Whether you’re a woodworker, a stay-at-home mom, a mechanic, or an investment banker and whether your passion is your profession or your hobby, you will discover how you are meant to participate in the divine creative life by existing, working, dreaming, doing, and bringing flourishing to those around you.

This book will ignite the fire in your belly, the light in your eyes, and the dreams in your soul as you see how your work, faith, and art blend together to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

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Heirs of Eden

There is a holy fire in your gut.

David McDonald

Dr. David McDonald is a preacher, teacher, and lecturer in colleges and seminaries all over the world. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine. David was the first-ever post-doctoral fellowship at Portland Seminary (www.georgefox.edu), and continues to integrate spiritual truth with sharp social analysis as founder of the Fossores Chapter House training creative pastors. (www.fossoreschapterhouse.com).

Creativity is central to being human. It’s how we work with God to heal the world. As image bearers, we participate in the master strategy of reconciliation alongside the God who loves the world.

It's time to start listening to the lure of the Spirit inside of you and discover why your gifts matter.

It's time to discover why all work that brings beauty and wholeness, whether it’s decorating your house or working on old cars or learning a new language, is holy.

It's time to love who you are, align your desires with God’s, and become a fully alive human who bursts out of bed with excitement every morning, faithfully reflecting the image of the Creator through your own creative life.

Reviews

What people
are saying…

I have sat under David McDonald’s teaching for over 15 years. David always offers fresh, creative, and lively theological and practical insights from Scripture. His new book, Heirs of Eden, is challenging, inspiring, and instructive. David’s book offers hope for the world, the Church, and the possibility of living a life of joyful obedience to the God of love and mercy. I recommend it highly especially for pastors who have lost the excitement of partnering with God to heal the world.

Kenneth W. Brewer, Ph.D

Professor of Theology, Spring Arbor University

Dr. David McDonald is a brilliant question-asker. In this book Heirs of Eden, McDonald asks engaging questions of meaning, purpose, and mission. He comes alongside like a coach; encouraging, guiding, and directing readers to embrace a life of purpose as citizens of the City of God. Get ready to be inspired to live out your God-given dream.

Rick Bartlett

DMin., Associate Dean- School of Graduate Studies, Director of Online Education, Associate Professor Ministry, Tabor College

Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in Heaven…may your Kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….” Simply put, author David McDonald’s Heirs of Eden: Creating the World we want with God’s Help and for God’s Glory provides the practical handles by which we can collaborate with God in fulfilling that magnificent vision. The way to Eden is not back (to some long-lost, idyllic past), it is forward into the glorious future to which the Spirit of the Risen Christ impels his New Creation. An exemplary book by a master communicator – a must read.

Charles J. Conniry, Jr., PhD

President, Western Seminary

If I could give every person a present at their ordination, this book would be it.

Leonard Sweet

author of Rings of Fire, professor at George Fox University, Drew University, Evangelical Seminary, and Northwind Seminary, and publisher (The Salish Sea Press).

Crackling hot passion. Rooted and riveting content. Surgically applied. With heavyweight authority.

Nathan Oates

Lead Pastor, Emmaus Church Community and author of Stability: How an Ancient Monastic Practice Can Restore Our Relationships, Churches, and Communities

David offers a direct approach that will unlock traditional thinking and help you see God’s original intention for us. He presents his argument argument in a theological, philosophical, historical, and sociological frame, with his typical wit and self-reflection. This book is rousing for those who follow Christ, but equally inspiring and informative to those who do not identify with the Christian faith. A marvelous book for group discussion in today’s world saturated by social movements and human identities.

Dr. Andrew K. Fox

Founder and CEO of Cultural Clarity

Albert Einstein famously said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

Using the power of questions to challenge our assumptions, focus our thinking, and provoke meaningful change, Heirs of Eden inspires us to turn our inherited garden into more, much more. In a beautifully designed book, Dr. McDonald invites us to view city as a metaphor for cooperation with God, to live into our destiny, to become the best possible version of ourselves and to celebrate our work for God no matter what we’re called to do.

David Wahlstedt

Lead Pastor at The Table, Dallas

The Christian life often gets framed as one where we have to be less and do more.

We mistakenly believe that taking up our cross means squelching our desires, passions, and dreams and instead trying to “accomplish” more for God.

But what if your dreams are exactly the way God wants to partner with you to bring beauty and healing the world?

Through this biblical defense of your God-given dreams and desires, you will:

Be filled with fresh energy

Discover a new view of self, life, work, purpose, and identity and find fresh energy in your life and work.

Uncover your purpose

Better understand the theology behind Creation, the purpose of humanity, and how this connects to God’s ultimate vision of shalom on earth.

Find joy in your work

Stop feeling burdened by the “have to” of religion and discover why you GET to do the things you love as part of your divine purpose.

Stop settling for less

Tune out the voices that tell you to turn it down, settle for less, stick with convention, or that it’s too early or too late for what God has put in your heart.

End spiritual burnout

Get off the spiritual hamster wheel of trying to “do” more for God and discover how the things that bring you life can also bring life to others.

Get permission to dream big

Learn to recognize the fire inside of you as the Holy Spirit’s direction in your life and give yourself permission to dream big.

If there’s a fire in you, fuel it. If there’s a dream in you, nurture it. If it brings you wholeness, embrace it. Design, make, read, write, sing, learn, build, travel, work, and love without shame as you discover the holy passion and purpose within it all.

Winner of the ECPA Top Shelf Book Cover Awards for design excellence 2023

The largest winning class in program history was announced at ECPA PubU Online.

TEMPE, ARIZ., November 10, 2023 – Today ECPA announced 41 winners of the 2023 Top Shelf Book Cover Award during ECPA PubU Online, the industry’s publishing training program gathering over 300 publishing professionals this year.

The virtual presentation, held at the close of the PubU Design track, included video briefs from key industry professionals who reflected on various themes on book design excellence, a theme that dominated the design track sessions led by designers Dean Renninger and Lindsey Bergsma (Tyndale), Jade Novak (B&H), Micah Lanier (Crossway), and Stephen Crotts.

Discover why your dreams are holy. Partner with God to create a better world.

Wake up to the Spirit-fueled dreams inside you and uncover how who you are and what lights you up inside can heal the world.