In his autobiography, Dr. Lewis Smedes writes of his early years in the faith. A turning point came as a freshman at Calvin College. He writes:

The first class of the first day of my first semester was English composition. The teacher was Jacob Vandenbosch.… [He] introduced me that day to a God the likes of whom I had never even heard about—a God who liked elegant sentences and was offended by dangling modifiers. Once you believe this, where can you stop? If the Maker of the Universe admired words well put together, think of how he must love sound thought well put together; and if he loved sound thinking, how he must love a Bach concerto; and if he loved a Bach concerto, think of how he prized any human effort to bring a foretaste, be it ever so small, of his Kingdom of justice and peace and happiness to the victimized people of the world. In short, I met the Maker of the Universe, who loved the world he made and was dedicated to its redemption. I found the joy of the Lord, not at prayer meeting, but in English Composition 101."