Built to Stand: One Man’s Call
A Novel Inspired by the True Story of Marvin McKenzie

He rode bulls before he could drive.
He climbed steel beams hundreds of feet in the air.
He stood behind pulpits with fire in his bones.

But Micah Carson’s greatest strength wasn’t in his back or his fists—it was in his call from God.

Born in a dusty timber town in 1958, Micah’s early life was a storm of broken promises and broken people. When his parents’ marriage collapsed during his grade school years, Micah learned to survive on grit and independence. Then Dan McGraw came along—his rough-edged, rodeo-riding stepdad—and introduced Micah to a new world of adrenaline and toughness. By 15, Micah was chasing prize money on the rodeo circuit. By 21, he traded bulls for beams and became a journeyman ironworker.

From bull riding to steel building, Micah was tough—but not yet whole. In a quiet moment of desperation, a preacher on a TV screen introduced him to the grace of Jesus Christ. In 1977, Micah fell to his knees and into the arms of the Savior.

From that moment forward, everything changed.

This powerful novel traces one man’s journey from rodeo arenas to revival pulpits, from welding torches to open Bibles, from personal pain to pastoral purpose. You’ll walk with Micah through...

• The heartbreak of early loss and the healing of a second chance at love

• The long, hard path of ministry—from planting small churches to leading Bible colleges

• The call to preach, the cost of following, and the blessing of faithful obedience

• Seasons of laughter, grief, victory, and unexpected trials that would shape the man he’d become

Set against the backdrop of real places and historical events, Built to Stand is a heartfelt and gripping fictional memoir inspired by the life of Pastor Marvin McKenzie—told through the character of Micah Carson. From the back alleys of blue-collar towns to the pulpit of thriving Baptist churches, this book testifies to the sustaining grace of God and the kind of man He builds when He calls him to stand.

✔ For readers who love Christian biographies, spiritual memoirs, and ministry stories
✔ For every pastor, preacher, church member, or Christian leader who wonders if it’s worth it—this story says: Yes. Stand.
✔ A great gift for those starting in ministry, retiring from ministry, or somewhere in between

Micah Carson’s story may be fiction—but the faith, the fire, and the fruit are all very real.

Built to Stand: One Man’s Call is a tribute to every man of God who never quit. And to the Saviour who never let him.