011 | The GospelWise Author Personas

In this episode, we go on an adventure through what I call the four Gospel Wise Author Personas—a powerful framework to help you thrive as a modern steward of the written word. Whether you’re just getting started or deep in your creative calling, you’ll find fresh encouragement and concrete steps for the road ahead.

🗝️ 5 Keys You’ll Learn in This Episode

1. The Mindset and Motivation of a Christian Author: Discover why your identity in Christ is the foundation of your writing (04:32).
2. The Creator Persona: Get inspired to create boldly, knowing you are gifted and permitted to write stories and studies that bless the world (05:38).
3. The Caretaker Role: Find out how to steward your passion projects well—don’t just create, but publish and share your work faithfully (08:44).
4. Connecting through Your Work: Learn why selling your book is actually an act of service, and how marketing can be part of your calling (14:48).
5. Embracing All Four Personas: Hear strategies to balance the hats of Christian, Creator, Caretaker, and Connector as you build your author legacy (16:21).

✨ Fun Fact

Did you know Jeremy created the whole “Gospel Wise Author” framework when he was struggling with the Connectorrole—AKA marketing and selling his own books? Turns out, even experienced authors need a system to juggle all the responsibilities (13:39)!

🎉 Ready to Dive In?

Hit play on this episode and start mastering your path as a Gospel wise author. Whether you want to serve your readers, grow your reach, or simply clarify your calling, there’s something here for you.

👉 Call to Action

Don’t forget—join the Gospel Wise Author Fellowship for deep dive articles, coaching, and tools to help you THRIVE. It’s totally free and always open at gospelwiseauthor.com/join.

Let’s build a lasting author legacy together!

Hey Creative Christian Jeremy Bauma here and welcome to Christian Author 2.0, the podcast for modern stewards of the written word with insights for your Gospel Wise author journey. For two decades I've watched authors struggle with their creative calling. That's why I built the gospelwise Author ecosystem to provide the practical training and high tech tools you need to thrive from deep dive insights to specialized apps and personalized coaching. I'm here to help you turn your manuscript into a movement. So stop guessing and start growing your reach with excellence. Let's dive into today's episode and master the path together. Hey Creative Christian Jeremy here with another episode of Christian Author 2.0, your podcast. With insights, inspiration and a bit of guidance and practical advice for your Gospel Wise Author journey and today's episode, we are going to go on a bit of an adventure through what I call the four Gospel Wise Author Personas.

And this is meant to kind of help orient you around my work here at Cross and Penn and also offer you a hearty welcome into that work, your home, your hub for tools, training and insights and advice and inspiration for your own Gospel Wise author journey. Let me allow myself to introduce me to you. Jeremy Bauma. Hey, welcome. Pleased to meet you. Glad you're here. I don't know where you are in your own Gospel Wise Author journey, whether at the front end or somewhere in the middle. I have been on this road myself for the last 1718 years, having published my first book in 2008 as an independent creator and then later working with some of the largest publishers in the Christian publishing world on writing projects, editing projects, publishing some and marketing these gospel wise projects around the world.

And I am bringing all of that excitement and passion and experience and insight into my work here at Cross and Penn because I want to empower you, equip you with the same sort of insights and awareness of what it means in this modern publishing world to write, publish and market your own passion project, giving you what you need to wield the pen for the sake of the cross. All revolving around four very important gospel wise author Personas that we all need to bear and live out if we are to enter into this very sacred calling as a Gospel wise author. We come at this as Christians, creators, caretakers and connectors. And so I am here at Cross and Penn through this podcast through gospelwiseauthor.com and the resources and tools and training there, the coaching I do, I'm here to help you lean into and live out your own very important, very special sacred calling, this vocation from Jesus Christ Himself as a Gospel wise Author. Again, so happy you're here. Thank you for visiting and for taking this step, inviting me into your own journey. Blessings upon that journey and do reach out to let me know how I can come alongside you with the insights and inspiration you need to live out your vocation as a Gospel wise author. Without further ado, here we go.

An exploration into what it means and what it looks like for you to lean into and live out the fullness of your calling as a gospel wise author. Christian Creator Caretaker Connector all right, so the first Persona, the first role that we have been called to as gospel wise authors is as a Christian. We are called in Christ to create for Christ. And that requires a certain mindset and also a very different motivation for the reason why we do the work that we do, why we write the stories, rewrite, why we offer the world, the studies and the resources that we seek to offer. And here in this section, Mindset and Motivation. I have a number of resources here, some trainings and tools to help you get the mind of Christ, maintain the mind of Christ, and really come at this very special role and vocation as a writer, primarily, first of all, as a Christian, taking on the mindset of Christ. Our motivation behind what we create, all of it, is rooted in this first Persona. We are Christians first and then we create.

Gospel wise authors create. That's who we are. That's how we've been built, what we've been called to and how we've been gifted and permitted. Because you've been created to create, because you've been gifted to create, you have all the permission you need to go out and do just that. Write your stories, write your resources and studies to bless the world with delightful entertainment, actionable advice and inspiring insights for the journey of faith and our walk through this life. I know firsthand as a writer how crucial it is to have the tools and trainings to we need as creators to fill up our creative well and to upskill our creative ambitions to write the kind of stories we want to write and tell, the sort of tales that move hearts, that help empower people's Christian journeys and offer the world resources to inspire and incite for the journey of faith. Because that's what it's all about as Christian creatives. So remember all of these Personas, our entire vocation and calling as gospel wise authors, they are rooted in that first Persona, the primary foundation of our identity as Christians, sons of daughters of Christ, that informs this second Persona as the Creator.

The Creator Persona. And so all of what we create, the stories we craft, the resources we offer to help people overcome their problems. All of it is about connecting people deeper into the heart of God, helping them journey toward wholeness in Christ and offer a vision of human flourishing that God intends for humanity. We get to do that through the written word, through these books that we offer the world. And the beauty is that it is totally possible in this modern publishing world, which is where we turn to next with the third Persona, the caretaker. Because creating is all good, but it cannot end there. We cannot keep what we've created to ourself. Instead, we must share it with the world.

I'll be the first to admit that it is super fun being a Christian creator, whether spinning tales of thrill and delight or offering the world inspiring insights for the journey of faith through studies and resources and devotionals. But you know, there comes a point in time where we have to take off our writing hat and put on our publisher cap. That's what this space is all about, empowering you, equipping you with the tools and training you need to fully lean into this very special role as a Christian caretaker. Because at the end of the day, while we offer the world the fruits of our labor with these books, studies, stories, resources, we need to package them and publish them and put them out into the world. I know firsthand how overwhelming that can be, especially at the front end of your gospel wise author journey, folks. This is about stewardship. This is about leaning into and living out those teachings of Jesus himself, who invite his followers to steward what he has given them to work hard for the glory of God and the gospel good of their neighbor with a good return on that labor. There is that very, I would say, famous teaching in Matthew 25 about the bags of gold, where there's this business guy, a master of these servants, who he entrusts with his money.

Five bags, two bags and one bag. Now the five and the two baggers, they put the gold to work, they invest it, and they get a return on that investment. And when the master returns, he's super happy. And what I love about that happiness and the joy and the thrill he has with what they returned on their investment is that the two baggers and the five baggers, the five bagger and the two bagger, get the exact same response. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You've been entrusted with this, and so now you are going to be entrusted with more. The two bagger gets the exact same response as the five bagger. It's not about the skill or the amount of responsibility.

Instead, it's about being available and faithful to that call to work hard and to offer a return on that labor. Jesus, of course, connects that to the gospel sense in which we are called as his co laborers under shepherds of the great shepherd, to steward what he's given us, the time, the talent, the treasures, for the sake of his kingdom. Now the one bagger, he, out of fear, buries the gold and does nothing with it. And we know how that turned out. The Master was not happy and he threw him out into the streets where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth because he did not offer any sort of return on his labor. He didn't even put it in the bank to invest it, to return interest. Out of fear, he buried the gold. As caretakers of this sacred calling to create, to write as gospel wise authors, to offer the world these vessels bearing the message of God's hope and redemption and human flourishing.

We don't want to be the one bagger, we want to be the five or two baggers. We want to steward this calling well and to steward our books well, which is what this caretaker role is all about. And part of stewarding is connecting, which leads us into that final Persona, the connector. Finally, as gospel wise authors, we are called to connect the books we write, the stories we tell, the resources we craft. We're called to connect them to the people who need them most. Those stories, those studies and devotionals, do nobody any good if they are sitting in the cloud or on our hard drive. We need to step out as Christian connectors and market the passion projects that the Lord has put on our heart in order to delight and entertain, inspire and inspire, excite people for the journey of faith. I know myself as a gospel wise author for the last 17, 18 years.

This connecting piece is sometimes a struggle for us creative types. We would much rather get off to the next project and create the next story or study than do the hard work of selling and marketing that beautiful work of art that we spent so much time working on. Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't have this Persona all figured out, not by any means. And honestly, the whole framework of the gospel wise author, Christian creator, caretaker connector came about when I was really wrestling through my responsibilities as a Christian author, particularly around this final one, the Connector. And I wanted to create a framework and give myself language to kind of hold myself responsible to all of the hats that I'm required to wear, particularly as an independent creator, an independent gospel wise author, and to remind myself that this one, the marketing side, the sales side, the connector side, is super important for my vocation, for my calling as a Christian author. And so I'm coming at you with that exact same reminder. It is crucial to live out this role as a Christian Connector, connecting my stories and my studies to the people in the world who need them most. Because at the end of the day, while it may sound counterintuitive, selling, which is the primary responsibility of this Persona as a Christian connector, selling is actually serving.

It's the way that we love our reading neighbor. So I hope that you find the empowerment and the equipping you need here in this space to connect your books to the world. And if you are listening to this episode, at the beginning of July 2026, I am hosting a sort of adult creative camp called Camp Fablerimo, which is connected to my Faith Based Book Writing Month Challenge experience. But instead of sprinting toward a word count during the month of October or January or May, we're getting together the third week of July, the 13th through the 17 to bring clarity to each of these Personas in order to bring clarity to our calling and vocation as Gospel wise authors. Get all the details you need@camp.fablerimo.com that's camp.f a I b o w r I m o.com It's a totally free experience with about 50 minutes a day to invest in your calling as well as your book for the sake of the glory of God and the Gospel Gospel good of your neighbor. Hope you found this episode exciting, thrilling, informative, and that you have a better idea of what it means to not only embrace the calling, but to embrace the responsibility of the call as a Gospel wise author in this modern publishing Christian Author 2.0 World. That's a wrap for today, but the real work happens inside the Gospel Wise Author Fellowship, a totally free membership filled with actionable advice and practical insights. For the deep dive articles, tools and coaching you need to Thrive, go to gospelwiseauthor.com join everything we discussed today and the resources to help you implement it is live in the Hub right now.

So join the Fellowship, grab tools and training and let's build a lasting Gospelwise author legacy with lasting impact. That's gospelwiseauthor.com join see you next time on Christian Author 2.0 insights.