Reseña del libro "Hiding Behind the Pulpit: Confessions of a "Barely" Called Preacher (en Inglés)"
"Hiding Behind the Pulpit" is the true story of a minister who, at age 30, discovers he is a lost soul. The story is told through a series of memoirs, both bold and intimate. A haunting, recurring dream lies at the center of the man's delayed identity crisis. In it, his nakedness and desperate need to use his pulpit as a shield, betray his uncertainty and his vulnerability. His crisis is fraught with irony. He has talents, but they are thwarted by his lack of clear purpose and direction. He has known failure as a student, despite his intelligence, failure as a teacher, despite his love of learning, and failure as a pastor, despite his desire to be ever-helpful to others. His search for wisdom through education has let him down, terribly. On the threshold of receiving his Ph.D., he realizes how little he knows about things that really matter: who am I, really, what do I believe, honestly, and where do I find courage and strength for the living of my days? Without answers, how can he, a minister, possibly be of help to others in their times of need? For reasons that defy the laws of logic but reveal the reach of grace, our central figure enters a large mental hospital, not as a patient, but a chaplain intern, a pastor in training. There, his lost-ness is confirmed, as is his need for salvation, for healing. There, two Christ-figures appear. In turn, they become his spiritual mother and second father. The woman is a psychoanalyst, the man an Episcopalian priest. Together, they help this prodigal son to find his way home. The diary of his journey is not strictly chronological, but it covers much of his lifetime. His is a long and sometimes painful search for meaning, but it captures our interest and invites our participation as fellow travelers. The soul-searching, therein, leaves some of life's toughest questions unanswered, but the sustaining, satisfying theme, throughout, is grace.
