My Musings on The Shack

Some in my church have asked me my opinion on the very popular book, The Shack. People who know me well understand that I am often leery of books from a "Christian" perspective that sell extremely well. I am no fan of Christian self-help books. Of course, The Shack is not a self-help book so I decided to read it. So here are my musings:

The other day I had lunch with a good friend and we talked about our thoughts on the book. It was helpful to flesh out my thoughts and concerns with him. Just as beneficial was to hear his thoughts and comments. I am glad that I have a friend I can share my life and junk with and still be accepted and loved. Pretty cool!

Back to my musings:

First, the book is well-written and establishes a good story line with some unexpected surprises. The author is creative and definitely writes with a noble purpose and goal. However, I did find it slow at times especially towards the middle of the book and weighed down in details that made my head hurt.

Second, I like stories with a redemption theme and this definitely has it. It deals with one man struggle with pain and brokenness in very honest and real ways. He shows the reality of how an awful event significantly and negatively impacted Mack's, the main character, relationships with God and those he loved.

Third, I appreciate his attempts to communicate the perfect unity and community of the Trinity. However, his attempts to show the Trinity is what most troubled me. I feel we are on dangerous grounds when we try to explain the mystery of the Trinity away and put Him in humans terms not found in Scripture. I understand the author's desire to help people see and experience God but we need to be very careful how we do this. At times he did this well and at other times he comes very close to heresy. On occasions I got lost in his explanations about who God is and how He works and left me with more questions then answers. At one point I felt he communicated everybody will get to Heaven because God loves everybody. He didn't outright say this but one could reach that conclusion in a couple of interactions with the main character and God.

With any book like this, Christians need to be discerning. I know that the author has touched many people because of the honest and intimate interactions between Mack and God and the description of God the Father as "Papa". But I found in many occasions his interactions among the Trinity too "mushy" even for me who is a very sensitive and "mushy" guy.

Final words: If you want a good read, then enjoy a good piece of literature. But I would not recommend it for young believers unless they are willing to discuss it with someone more mature in their walk with Jesus. Of course, you have the freedom to do what you want but we are called to help one another grow in our relationship with Him and reflect His beauty and grace.

Bottom line, you do NOT need a book like this to experience the awesome love and grace of God. The Bible is full of real life stories of pain and suffering that communicate our Father's tender yet bold love for His people. We are his Bride and Jesus, our Groom, is actively winning us to Himself. Sorry I am preaching now.

These are my musings.

Pastor Jeff