As someone who has spent a lifetime in the world of Christian ministry, I understand some of the criticism regarding The Shack’s theology. It’s that same lifetime in Christian ministry that prompted me to make this short video to offer a different perspective on the novel — not because it stands as a complete iteration of the Gospel’s most complex truths, but because, “for people like me” and “for now,” The Shack might be an antidote to the toxic messaging in some circles of Christianity. (My latest novel explores the damage it can do.)
I view The Shack as a starting point — an approach to God that introduces us first to his heart, inspiring a hunger to know and explore him more. It’s in those next stages that we, the Church, can play a role in framing a deeper understanding of theological complexity. Until then, as a gentle introduction to the goodness of God’s heart, the message in The Shack can be a life-giving and faith-imparting thing for people like me and for now. (Please give proper emphasis to those two phrases.) The following video explains this perspective.