Now everyone’s going to think I’m really a “Shack fanboy” and that’s okay…’cause I really love the message of this little book and the impact it’s having around the world. A small work of fiction, The Shack was written by a fifty-year-old man at the insistence of his wife to explain his core convictions of God’s unconditional love and grace, after going through years of personal failure and the ensuing pain of feeling outside the reach of restoration. So he wrote it all down in an effort to spare them the pain of forty years of wrong-headed thinking about God; and he uses fiction as a metaphor to compress his lifetime into one weekend with God at a place that represents the greatest pain and sadness of his life.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but the reason for this post is simply to identify a series of three in-depth interviews featuring William Paul Young by Dr. J. Michael Feazell, executive editor of “The Plain Truth” magazine and senior advisor to the president of The Worldwide Church of God. This three-part video magazine focus, “You’re Included,” can be accessed in the video archives of the WCG where you can watch the three videos, listen to the audio, download WMV’s (Windows Media Player), MP4’s for your iPod, or even ISO files to create DVD’s for playback on your home entertainment system. Pretty impressive array of choices: there’s even a written transcript for those who might like to borrow a few quotes. [ NOTE: If the above link does not work, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser: http://www.wcg.org/av/YI.htm ]
I think you will discover more about Paul Young in these three episodes—his humility and his love for truth—than you will ever get in reading the plethora of book reviews and even (if you can believe it) the warnings of the doctrine police. Sadly, I feel they are missing the whole point of Paul’s story and they are also bearing false witness against a dear brother in Christ. One of Paul’s friends commented to another person, “Your response to this book will tell me more about you than about the book.” Here’s an outline of the interviews:
Episode 1 (28 minutes): They talk about Paul’s book, how it came about, that the very nature of relationship is imbedded in the Trinitarian character and nature of God, how theologies of separation from God create performance-based religion, and the question of whether anything really did happen when Jesus Christ came to live inside of us.
Episode 2 (30 minutes): In this second interview they discuss the popular view of God as a Christianized Zeus or Gandalf-with-an-attitude as opposed to the loving Father portrayed by the “prodigal’s father” or Papa in The Shack, some of the objections people have raised to The Shack, the unity and diversity of the Trinity, the truth of the wrath of God, legalism’s expectations and some personal reflections.
Episode 3 (35 minutes): Paul Young points out the importance of knowing God’s character and nature to avoid the disconnect many people experience in trying to trust the “angry” God who requires his son’s death and to avoid the mistaken notion that while Jesus is “good,” God the Father is “mean.” They also note that God’s holiness existed before sin, so it is not a reaction to sin, and Jesus is the only road into the Father’s heart.
Hope you are blessed by these interviews!
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RELATED POSTS (on this blog):
THE SHACK: The Power of the Story
THE SHACK: Does God Wear a Dress?
Yesterday I recorded an interview with Mark Dorey, a really good friend who came to faith relatively late in life as a result of God’s amazing providence. Mark leads one of the house groups with Temple Baptist Church in Pontypridd (Wales) and he’s also one of eight people on our teaching team. His story highlights the importance of a low-key, long-term, relational approach to evangelism in a postmodern culture that caricatures most Christians as “Bible-bashers” who dress and act strangely, especially behind the closed doors of evangelical chapels. A growing friendship with a colleague in graduate school, his first experience at a Christian Union meeting, his reluctant acceptance to attend chapel, and an informal house group broke down his stereotypes—much to his amazement and dismay—and led him to a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the interview (approximately 50 minutes) with Mark! Just click on the red “play” below:
PS: One slight correction to my introduction on this podcast: Mark was 32 years old when he came to faith! My math skills are either getting rusty or I’ve given Mark credit for being much younger than he looks. 
Several weeks ago, I announced that The Thin Edge would be hosting the very first blog interview of George Barna and Frank Viola, co-authors of the new book, Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. Their eye-opening book has been printed under the Barna imprint of Tyndale House Publishing and officially launched earlier this month. Amazingly, the book has rocketed up the charts for Amazon: as of this moment, it’s ranked #16 among Christian books and #285 in all books (out of 6,000,000 titles) sold by Amazon.com. Reviews are also overwhelmingly positive. Out of 37 customer reviews at Amazon, 28 readers award the coveted 5-star rating: there were only 3 negative reviews.
If someone had predicted five or six years ago that these two men would collaborate on any type of book, I might have questioned your sanity and I would almost certainly have been willing to dismiss such a proposal as total nonsense. I had read books by both authors and—at least from my perspective—they seemed miles apart. In my mind, Frank Viola was the stereotypical, iconoclastic, “house church” advocate whose writings were relatively unknown in mainstream evangelicalism; however, nearly every American evangelical had the words “George Barna” etched in their minds through repeated quotations from The Barna Group in sermons, seminars, denominational training sessions, seminary classrooms, as well as print media. Well, all that has now changed!
Before we get started with the interview, I want to express my appreciation to George and Frank for their willingness to answer my questions. Each brother brings a unique perspective to Pagan Christianity, yet they have found common ground and a common voice within the pages of this project. One thing is certain: you will not be able to read this book and simply walk away unchanged by its message. Well, let’s get started, shall we? Read more
I’m thrilled to announce that The Thin Edge will be the very first blog to host a joint interview with George Barna and Frank Viola, co-authors of Pagan Christianity. Just yesterday, I received notification that both authors have agreed to participate, so please watch this space and tell all your friends! I am finalizing my side of the written interview by tomorrow. Since both men will be responding to each question, I’m eager to make sure they will be address issues that are relevant to my readers.
:: UPDATE :: The interview, The Thin Edge hosts joint interview with Barna & Viola, is now available to read online.
