Archive for the 'Encouragement' Category


Transition to Relationship

I got a beautiful email last week and wanted to share it. I do so well aware that it could be easily misunderstood. This sister is in the early stages of moving from the stale emptiness of religion into a fresh and vibrant relationship with Jesus. God is revealing himself to her. Recently [...]

House Upon The Rock

Sara and I made it home from Virginia, and we had an awesome time all around. We met some incredible people and connected with some dear, old friends. I took questions from about 300 folks in a Presbyterian Church about THE SHACK and met with all kinds of people on relational journeys who are [...]

Revival is Right Here!

Sara and I are off to Toledo and the Detroit area for the weekend. As I wind things up today I am overwhelmed with joy at the way Jesus changes people and how he opens their eyes. I got this from a twenty-year old sister this morning who hales from the Pacific Northwest. [...]

When Grace Gives Way to Hope and Hope Gives Way to More Grace

Many of you know that I am in San Francisco at the moment helping with my 83-year old father who went through a critical surgery yesterday. This has been a two-week ordeal since a botched surgery two weeks ago. The second surgery was an arduous and tenuous procedure demanding a top-notch specialist, which is [...]

An Encouraging Word…

A couple of items first. At the left is the cover to our newest edition of So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore. It has been printed in Russian. How fun is that? Also, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with some medical emergencies in our extended family over [...]

The Answer to Other People’s Prayers

We don’t often think like this, do we? I got this email from someone recently and I loved what they had discovered:
We have been in this area for about 9 years now. I really felt strongly that the Lord had spoken to my heart about coming here back in 1998, and we made [...]

A Force For Healing

A few weeks ago almost all of the extended family on my side of the family got together for a reunion in honor of my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. We gathered at Shaver Lake, California where my parents live. That’s the mob to the left. We had a great time together in the Sierras [...]

Way Over Our Heads

Last Thursday I had just returned from a day of meetings in Los Angeles. Among others we’d met with one of the producers of the Spider-Man franchise, who is a passionate believer, was deeply impacted by THE SHACK and wants to help us bring the movie to screen. One of the things he [...]

Too Good Not to Share

Yes, we did make it home from Europe, but have fallen into a firestorm of emails and business arrangements that need my attention NOW! Almost takes all the joy out of coming home! Almost!
I leave for Orlando tomorrow, so things are a bit face-paced around here. But in [...]

It’s Not About The Container

First, an announcement. For those who want to listen to an interview I did on the The Drew Marshall Show on April 12, you can click here for the audio link. We mostly talked about So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore.
And then I wanted to share this letter with [...]