If you are mad at God, struggling to forgive others, otherwise discouraged, sad, miserable or stuck spiritually, I encourage you to read The Shack by William P. Young. (It came out last year and I’m just now getting around to reading it.) Actually, everyone who wants to know more of what God is like and what God is thinking would benefit, but I especially commend The Shack to those who’ve known pain, loss or who’ve been hurt by others. The author himself suffered great loss as a child.
If you have a hunger to plummet the depths of God, skip seminary and spend a few days with this book. Really, from one who has been to seminary, and read the book, I recommend the latter (and not just because it’s cheaper). William P. Young, aka Willie, has been given a deep and profound revelation of God, the human condition (suffering), and even some new light on the mystery of the Trinity. Prophetic people will discern the voice of God throughout. There are layers of depth here, one read is insufficient. Young is either a seer who has been in the Realms of Glory himself, or God dictated some of the detail of that environment to him. It’s fully fictional, and a number of you know I’m not much for fiction, but this transcends fiction – I found it to be theologically sound and hugely stretching at the same time. I’m hesitant to pronounce something a “classic” before time bears out that fact. However, my sense is this book will occupy a special place for some time far removed from the ocean of Christian fiction out there today.
Expect The Shack to help you set religious expectation aside and usher you into greater intimacy with God. This book is about the Presence of God and the purposes of God. It uncovers God’s heart for relationship with us. The dimensions of love are sketched out here. The Cross and why Jesus died are explained in paradigm shifting ways. The judgments of our own heart against God and others are exposed, as is the shallowness of our understanding and the self-centeredness of our complaints.
I hope the book becomes a movie, the website says it’s so, but I’m not sure this is capture-able in that format. It’s a revelation, maybe with a capital “R”. It’s a mystic book – in the good way of testifying to a genuine encounter with God.
The Shack hit #7 on Amazon.com sales. That’s remarkable really. Here’s my theory… God is involved in this book and we are heading into tough times here at the end of the age. The Bible says many will fall away under the pressure of the End Times. That is, people now standing with Christ will become bitterly offended by him… how could a “loving God” allow such trauma to come upon the earth? My sense is God is preparing people for these times by releasing a revelation of intimacy and greater understanding to the Bride of Christ.
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June 18, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Pat
I’ve read the book and loved the way the author “reveals” the Trinity and the relationship between them. This book will open your spirit eyes and heart because you will see yourself somewhere in the book. Our pastor read from it during a service and now we can’t keep copies of it on our bookselves. We did a book discussion one weekend at the church and it
was amazing that people not only were greatly moved by the book but they bought more copies to give away. This book is a must read!
And if you like this one, I encourage you to get THE BRIDE by Rhonda Calhoun. It’s an allegory of the Song of Solomon. Rhonda is at IHOP with Mike Bickle. You can order it off their website. The book is a great picture of the love the Bridegroom has for His bride. It also wonderfully reveals God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The book has over 600 referenced scriptures. You’ll be a passionate “bride” of Christ when you’re finished reading it.
June 18, 2008 at 6:37 pm
M&M Westra
Steve….Thanks so much for FINALLY writing your take on this book. I’ve been waiting for it! I loved the book, and have bought more to give to grandkids and others. It has really enlarged my “God box”. I also have enjoyed Young’s website, where he tells why he wrote this book, and that much in the writing is about his own pain, and about his healing, and also how the writing of the book even came about! I also liked one of his entries where he is dialoging with God about how he feels about his critics of the book. Oh that I had such intimacy with Him!
Myrna
June 19, 2008 at 6:51 am
Robin @ Heart of Wisdom
Great review. It is hard to describe the feeling you carry after reading the book. You did a super job.
I’m reading “He Loves Me” now by one of the publishers of the Shack (Wayne Jacobson). You can download it free online from
http://heartofwisdom.com/Acrobat/HeLovesMe.pdf
I wrote a review you can read on my blog. Glad you have been blessed.
June 20, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Steve Hickey
Pat/M&M and Robin – Glad you liked my comments and the book. Robin I appreciated your comments on your blog about the book. When will the heresy hunters look in the mirror? ugh.
June 21, 2008 at 11:24 am
Steve Hickey
I thought I’d answer a question here that was emailed to me. This is a good format to discuss stuff. Here’s the question:
“I started reading “The Shack” yesterday and finished it this morning. I loved it and couldn’t put it down. I have a question on page 182 – Jesus tells Mack ‘I have no desire to make them Christian…’ I don’t get that, do you?”
Here’s my thoughts… when I was in seminary I wrote a paper on the fact that neither Jesus nor Paul were “Christians.” Their self-identity was never, “I’m now a ‘Christian’.” The term didn’t exist during the life of Jesus or the first decade of the existence of the New Testament Church. The term came later, in Antioch. Paul saw himself as a Jew, a fulfilled Jew, a completed Jew. Today we’d call him a Messianic. Jesus didn’t come to start a religion, namely Christianity. “Christian” was a designation that others started using to refer to those who were following Christ. It was fitting so it stuck. Today a lot passes as “Christian” that is hardly what Jesus came to give us. Some legalistic believers and even “disciple” cults today which are common on college campuses refuse to call themselves “Christian” and say the Bible calls us “disciples” of Jesus only. That’s narrow legalism in my view. But the point is “Christian” was a term the world conjured up to describe us. Today the term speaks of a religion. Even people who are far from Christ consider themselves “Christian.” Churches that hardly preach anything close to the message of the Bible are called “Christian.”
When I read the comment in question on page 182, I understood it to mean God’s heart isn’t to make us religious, he wants relationship with us.
Five minutes ago Kristen walked in to tell me someone in our church is bummed I endorsed The Shack (they hadn’t read it but only read about it on line). Here we go again. The online doctrine police are finding much “heresy” in The Shack. They are saying it teaches universalism – that you can find God by following the Muslim road, etc and that God doesn’t really want us to be “Christian.” The book does not teach universalism. They are misinterpreting what is written in The Shack.
The reason Ghandi never became a “Christian” though he based his life/government on the teachings of Jesus is that he read what Jesus said and what he saw as “Christianity” was far far different. I believe that what constitutes “Christian” today in many fellowships is a bit of an embarrassment to Christ… like he’d say, “please call that something else, I don’t want people associating that with me.”
June 22, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Oengus Moonbones
Hickey: “they hadn’t read it but only read about it on line”
I think part of the problem is the Internet itself, as I explain here.
June 22, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Steve Hickey
Oengus – Great post on IDJIT! Hah. Thanks for sharing your link. SH
June 18, 2009 at 10:22 am
joe vik
Oengus, they took down your link.