Creative Missions at Grail Quest Books

Students arrive at our seminaries from all sorts of backgrounds and careers. We are sometimes unaware of the vast array of skill sets that these students bring to church life, whether they pertain to competencies involving administration, business, computers, art, or something else. Sometimes seminarians are quite imaginative in the ways in which they use these skills in the parish or missions.

Our seminaries look for ways to support and enrich these abilities for the sake of the larger Church. For instance, one student at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (CLTS) and his wife—authors Joshua and Kasandra Radke—created a publishing company several years ago called Grail Quest, which publishes a variety of Christian fiction and non-fiction.

Of course, many titles are not explicitly Christian. This includes a new novella, A Book for Ernest, about a fictional boy in a futuristic Orwellian setting who undergoes a metaphysical crisis. The same is true of The Gift and the Defender, a story about a young man from a small town who  moves to New York City. There he discovers he has a remarkable gift: the ability to change the world with his mind. But he finds out that such a gift could have disastrous consequences without discernment.

These works whet the appetite for spirituality, and carry the hope that the reader will make the subtle connection with biblical themes, spiritual values, and the Gospel.

Many Agnostics won’t read a Bible tract that you may offer them but are remarkably curious in what Christians have to say and how we view the world. Many of the titles in Grail Quest don’t “fit” into the categories established by mainstream publishing companies, which makes such smaller companies increasingly attractive to younger generations who are interested by more alternative arts.

Are we surprised that solid Lutheran teaching deeply rooted in Holy Scripture, our Lutheran traditions, and our Lord’s Sacraments translates itself to such creative endeavours? By no means! Those who best appreciate our doctrine often express the richest of missionary zeal in sharing the Good News of God’s unconditional grace and love found in Jesus Christ with the world around them. Just as a healthy diet results in healthy living, a diet of wholesome theological education has practical and meaningful impact on how we communicate that Gospel to the unchurched. Grail Quest is a great example of how such enthusiasm for Christ and his cross translates itself into relevant missions to communities that appreciate imaginative thinking and creative writing.

Find out more about Grail Quest Books at www.grailquestbooks.com.

Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau is Assistant Professor of Theology at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario.

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