Stranger and Stranger
I know not everyone can appreciate the journey we are on with this little book called The Shack. I can appreciate the concerns people have that we might sell out in the name of success or be changed by it in some horrible way. We honestly didn’t expect that everyone would understand and we are grateful for your prayers and your insights.
Today that book has climbed to #8 on the USA Today list and they are publishing a feature article in Thursday’s edition about this story and how it has found its way into the marketplace. I thought many of you would like to give it a read. The picture at left is one they’re using with the following caption: “Garage warehouse: William P. Young, left, author of The Shack, helps publishers Brad Cummings and Wayne Jacobsen pack books for shipping.”
I’ve never been involved in something that has grown the way this has. It is not my experience that Father often does things this way. Mostly he does his most amazing stuff in quiet, hidden ways that few people notice. But in this case, we feel as if there is something in his heart that he wants to share with the world. We look at this story as a gift and are mostly simply responding to the doors opening to it, rather than pushing it by our own strength. And we’re shocked at the results.
Yesterday, Paul, Brad and I were at Fuller Theological Seminary sharing with students, staff and community about the collaboration behind this adventure and the story behind the story. We had an awesome response with some great comments about what this book has meant to them and some great questions to help them understand it at a deeper level. We don’t often get the chance to hang out together like that. We also met with a major studio today who wants to help us bring this story to a feature length film. Their enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming.
We do appreciate your prayers. We feel as if we hold a gift in our hands and each day we are simply looking to do what we see the Father doing with it, and speak to a world what we hear him saying. It is beyond anything we could have asked or ever imagined!