James Edwards
11 min read ⭑
“One thing’s for sure. I’m certain these intellectual jolts come from the Creator. As I’ve met more inventors and artists and continued to research this aspect of creativity, it’s clear that we human beings, the bearers of God’s image, are made for this to happen. ”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
My wife and I went one midweek evening in 2021 to Coconut Joe’s on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, for supper. It was a balmy, autumn day (more like summer than fall), a clear, blue sky above, though the sun was quickly moving toward the horizon as warmer colors came on. The breeze blew gently and warmly.
Just the two of us. We grabbed a table on the rooftop. It gave us picturesque views of the beach where we’ve spent many a day, the Atlantic, Sullivan’s Island to the south, and the Cooper River Bridge to Charleston in the western distance. To this former expatriated South Carolinian, it whispered, “You’re home.”
College football was on TV, much of Southeastern Conference football teams — namely Alabama and Coach Nick Saban, though my Georgia Bulldogs were getting more TV time than in the past. I ordered a favorite dish: the shrimp platter with coconut-battered shrimp and sweet tea.
This was just an average meal out, not an event or milestone. It was relaxed and relaxing. It was familiar after countless times eating there as tourists and now as locals, but certainly not same-old, same-old. We had no agenda. Instead, we just enjoyed each other’s company, God’s handiwork and the casual, sand-and-surf ambiance.
As we ate, we noticed the sky grew steadily more pink, orange and muted. My wife snapped a few pictures of God’s latest masterpiece in pastels and palmetto green. We had a front-row seat for the heavens’ latest declaration of the glory of the Creator and Owner of the universe.
Caio Silva; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
I’m a runner and guitar player. I’ve been running since my sophomore year of college, and I started playing guitar for the first time in elementary school. I gave it up pretty quickly but came back to guitar at about 13 or 14 years old. And I’ve stuck with it since. As a busy, self-employed consultant, it’s hard to practice enough to execute the techniques I know in my head, but I play enough to keep callouses on my fingertips.
I’d tried to take up running as a young teen. I’d get inspired by the summer Olympics and go out and run. But I would come back with cramps in my side, which tended to suck the inspiration.
Scripture has inspired me in both my running and my music. How can you not break out into song when you read the Psalms? “Sing to the Lord a new song” (see Psalm 33:3). By the time you get to Psalm 150, there’s an entire orchestra!
Those who wait on the Lord will “run and not be weary” (see Isaiah 40:31). Elijah ran a marathon escaping from Jezebel — albeit in fear — after God used him to defeat Baal’s prophets in a public showdown.
Following Christ from a very young age, these Scriptures have always motivated me in these pursuits. The Lord uses them to fill my heart with joy.
The mundane aspects when running or playing guitar — practicing a riff like the refrain in “Here Comes the Sun” or trying to sprint the last leg of a run — I’ll recall the line from the movie “Chariots of Fire” when Eric Liddell says God made him fast and that when he runs, he feels God’s pleasure.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
At the end of sixth grade, my first girlfriend, Nancy, invited me to take social classes (etiquette and ballroom dancing), something of a rite of passage. I didn’t know Nancy very well and wondered how she’d noticed me. It was a surprise.
Taking social hadn’t been high on my list when I headed into junior high. But I was intrigued by the mystery, the glamor, and being paired with a girl. The more I was around Nancy, the more I liked her. We danced at a midsummer party, and I put my arm around her there. A few weeks later, at another party, we danced, held hands and kissed. Then we started going steady, whatever that meant.
We attended different schools, so we didn’t see each other much after school started back, outside of social class on Monday nights. I didn’t know she expected me to call her, talk on the phone and stuff like that. Before long, a mutual friend called me and delivered the news that Nancy was breaking up with me — and we had a few months left of social lessons. It broke my heart. I didn’t understand.
I don’t blame Nancy. I had no idea what having a girlfriend entailed. The expectations, the hopes, the emotional part of the relationship. The relationship department can be tough for me, which can apply to my walk with Christ and others.
I mess up way too often. But I try to keep top of mind the Lord’s standards for loving him, and my neighbor reminds me what to aim for. (It still feels like I apologize a lot, though.)
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
I’m passionate about innovation, both the creativity side and the ownership side. I’m struck by the fact that ingenuity and human creativity are most fruitful when creativity and ownership are optimized and aligned.
I became interested in this topic while working in Washington. I did stints on U.S. Senate and House staffs. As a legislative aide, an issue I handled was intellectual property — patents, copyright and the like. My last Capitol Hill job required me to dig into those issues.
Later, I began lobbying on patent policy and inventors’ rights. Representing a business association, I gained a deeper appreciation for how vital patent exclusivity is for commercializing new inventions, facilitating transactions, developing new markets and spurring more innovation.
In 2019, I spoke to a class at First Baptist, Dallas, about a biblical perspective on patents and inventions. That set me exploring God’s creativity and ownership of all he creates, then human creativity and the inherent right to own what you create. God’s endowed creativity and property rights in human beings, whether or not someone is a Christian.
This focus integrates my Christianity with my day job advocating for innovation policy. It informs my thinking in marvelous ways. Innovation issues don’t fall along party lines, so I work with both Republicans and Democrats.
The new documentary “Innovation Race” demonstrates this bipartisanship. The film features, among others, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. I’m honored to appear in it, too. You can stream “Innovation Race” on SalemNOW.
Summer 2022 brought another special opportunity. I spoke about patents and innovation at Faith and Law, a ministry that was important in my discipleship as a young Hill staffer.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
I’m not so sure that I find inspiration so much as inspiration finds me. I give the glory for such moments to God and praise him for it.
I’m in the middle of researching something in a work project, an idea may come to me. It’s as if it came from out of the blue, but the idea is too perfect for that. It had to come as the fruit of my intellectual labors with divine origination.
This flash of inspiration — in the form of an idea, a way to phrase what I was struggling with putting into words, or a source to refer to — typically invigorates my efforts and progress. The inspiration tends to come less when I’m poring over the desk and more when I’m out for a run or just out of bed shaving.
One thing’s for sure. I’m certain these intellectual jolts come from the Creator. As I’ve met more inventors and artists and continued to research this aspect of creativity, it’s clear that we human beings, the bearers of God’s image, are made for this to happen. Gifted Christian inventors and scientists — such as George Washington Carver, Michael Faraday and Gary Starkweather, the inventor of the laser printer — as well as brilliant inventors and scientists who aren’t Jesus-followers — such as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla—experience the same pattern of inspirational fruits from their putting in the work. The difference is that some of us give God the credit while others claim the credit for themselves.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
Two practices help draw me into the Lord’s presence and enhance my worshiping our heavenly Father. One is praying Scripture, particularly the Psalms, and the other is listening to Scripture-rich music.
I usually sit at the kitchen table after breakfast to have my devotional. Sometimes I sit on the porch or in a leather chair by the fireplace. It’s typically early and quiet, except maybe for geese squawking as they fly over the pond behind the house. When I pray the Psalms, I sometimes focus on one entire (usually shorter) psalm, while other times I’ll jump around reading portions of several psalms. Reading a psalm or Bible passage aloud seems to transport me into the Lord’s presence.
Another approach is to weave phrases of Scripture into my prayer. For instance, say I’m praying about a specific challenge. Sometimes I say, “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge” (see Psalm 31:1) and ask him to be my “strong fortress” (see v. 2). Other times, I ask the Lord to “give ear to my words” (see Psalm 5:1) or to “rebuke me not in your anger” (see Psalm 6:1). And there are times for calling on the “God of vengeance” (see Psalm 94:1).
Music that’s rich in Scripture, such as oratorios like Handel’s “Messiah” or Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” can lead to the Lord’s throne with their combination of sacred words and sublime music. This music often replays in my head for a while or returns later. That’s far better than some lame song or a commercial jingle getting on a loop.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
A book God used to shape my understanding of the world we live in was Francis A. Schaeffer’s “How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture.” This book presents the arc of Western civilization in an erudite manner that’s informed by a Christian worldview. No history professor, philosophy professor or religion professor I sat under ever approached such a cohesive, logical analysis. Reading Schaeffer, I understand why. When I was a Senate staffer, Dr. Schaeffer came to Washington and gave talks on Capitol Hill. Attending several of his talks made me want to study his work.
Another impactful book is Daniel Dreisbach’s “Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers.” He explores the Bible’s impact on the American Founders, colonial and founding era culture, and the founding of the new nation. I’ve returned to this book many times since reading it.
Also, I’d name “Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World” by Jill Jonnes. It isn’t religious, but this book provides insight into the divinely endowed human creativity and ownership in all humans. “Empires of Light” illustrates the invention, patenting and commercialization of transformational technological advancements by brilliant inventors.
It’s helped me understand how God blesses people through the creative efforts of Christian and non-Christian innovators alike — sometimes on a grand scale — through their ability to invent and to use ownership of their intellectual property to meet needs, ease burdens, flourish and create wealth and new markets.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it’s done for you.
A resource I regularly learn from and enjoy is the Faith and Law podcast. This podcast brings listeners a wide array of speakers on a wide array of topics, all from a biblical perspective. Speakers include Christian intellectuals such as Os Guinness, lawmakers such as Sen. Tim Scott, and leading scholars such as American University Professor Daniel Dreisbach.
Professor Dreisbach spoke in 2017 at F&L on “Character Counts: The American Founders on Character and Civic Virtue.” This talk is available as a podcast and highlights themes and material from Dreisbach’s book on the Founders and the Bible.
A men’s group I belong to at church is reading a recent book that’s tremendously eye-opening: Mark Jones’ “Knowing Christ.” Jones plumbs the depths of God the Son in all the stages, roles and glories of Jesus Christ. The book also covers some of the countless benefits Christ-followers enjoy because Jesus became incarnate as a sinless human being and paid the debt of his people’s sins.
Gaining a greater understanding of Jesus’ fulfillment of his central part in the covenant of redemption expands my love and appreciation for him. Sometimes, I start tearing up as I’m reading. Sometimes, a hymn or a psalm comes to mind, like “Oh, sacred head, how wounded.”
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
The latest wrinkle is seeing innovation policy and intellectual property through the lenses of competitiveness, technological standardization, trade, medical progress and even national security. The primary lens is becoming the divinely endowed combination of human creativity and ownership. This opens up new insights, new opportunities and new ideas. Some for clients and current projects, some on new fronts.
For example, I’m working on an essay that a good friend suggested I write. It will pull together some of the research and thinking I’ve done and continue doing on creativity and ownership. And hopefully, it will get published.
Another example is a budding economic development project that would enhance the innovation ecosystem in my home state. It’s getting close to the go/no-go point, so our team should soon know the project’s fate.
The unsettling part is that these initiatives are on top of my day job. Ongoing, routine tasks and anticipated but unscheduled “fire drills” are still there to keep me plenty busy. The new opportunities represent new balls thrown to the juggler while there remain only 24 hours in a day. Yet the Lord somehow maximizes time and frees up time — just in time. Or he crosses my path with what I need or who I need to talk with.
It’s exciting to recognize how a career focused on Washington as the central path, punctuated by oft-seeming rabbit trails, has all along been building skills, knowledge, know-how and a network of contacts — disparate parts that together make possible all sorts of new opportunities. To God be the glory!
Sometimes we don’t see the small pieces God is fitting together in our lives. But when we catch a glimpse of his purpose, it can be breathtaking.
Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (ESV).
What small pieces — even if they look like inconveniences right now — could God be using for his good purposes in your life? Why not take a moment to thank him for them right now?
James Edwards consults with companies, trade associations and nonprofits on intellectual property and other public policy areas. He’s founded, led, advised or mentored more than 60 companies and organizations, including two consulting firm startups, Olive-Edwards Public Affairs and ELITE Strategic Services, his latest venture. James spent five years on congressional staffs in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Between leaving Congress and entering consulting, James served (and continues to serve) as an executive at the Healthcare Leadership Council. He enjoys running, playing guitar, singing and going to the beach.
