Michael Yaconelli - Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith

Anything Mike Yaconelli writes is guaranteed to be cutting-edge. Hes arrestingly unconventionalnot just for the sake of being different but because his angle of vision is unique. And he says what he sees in a joltingly fresh style. Read Dangerous Wonder and find out for yourself.

V ERNON C. G ROUNDS, P H. D. , chancellor, Denver Seminary

Mike Yaconelli is an evangelical wild man who is almost impossible to fit into any of our conventional categories: pastor, humorist, evangelical, radical, gadfly, creative genius, preacher, writer, weird. Just the guy to write the book to remind us that Jesus is both wonderful and dangerous. Anybody less wild than Yaconelli could not have written such a wonderful book about so dangerous a Savior!

W ILL W ILLIMON , dean of the Chapel and professor of Christian ministry, Duke University, Durham, NC

For the Christian who has made the gutsy decision to hand over the controls of life to Jesus Christ and to run the high-octane race of faith, here is a literary spark plug to make winners out of also-rans. Mike Yaconelli challenges his readers to dare to be creative, to chase God-given dreams, to hit the accelerator in making ones life count for God.

H OWARD G. H ENDRICKS , distinguished professor and chairman, Center for Christian Leadership, Dallas Theological Seminary

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

For more information, visit NavPress.com.

Copyright 1998, 2003 by Michael Yaconelli. All rights reserved.

A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

NAVPRESS and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress, The Navigators. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

TYNDALE is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-57683-481-7

Cover design: David Carlson Design

Cover Image: PhotoDisc

Creative Team: Jay Howver, Brad Lewis, Darla Hightower, Pat Reinheimer

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NJB are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible. Copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Co., Inc. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Yaconelli, Mike.

Dangerous wonder : the adventure of childlike faith with discussion

guide / Michael Yaconelli.-- [Rev. ed.]

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 1-57683-481-6

1. Faith. 2. Mystery. 3. God--Knowableness. 4. Wonder. 5. Awe. I.

Title.

BV4637.Y33 2003

234'.23--dc22

2003014815

Build: 2021-04-21 13:29:32 EPUB 3.0

To my wife, Karla,

who loved me into the presence of

the dangerous Jesus,

living just beyond my wildest dreams.

I n the summer of 1994, thirteen men came together at a retreat center on the Gulf of Mexico. The weather was typical for that time of year: hot and muggy. We had come together at the invitation of a mutual friend to see if a group of strangers from a wide diversity of backgrounds could find community in our common faith in Jesus Christ. It is difficult for men to be with other men they dont know. Male bonding is not always what its cracked up to be, and we found ourselves afraid, awkward, insecure, and clumsy in our meetings together.

One participant remained in the background. His silence was not a shy silence; it was careful and keenly observant. He didnt say much. He listened. He made us all a little nervous because it was obvious he was listening to our souls, not just our words.

One night, late, with the smothering humidity making sleep impossible, I decided to walk on the beach in front of our retreat center. I bumped into this man who had been silent. As I passed by, he looked up and said, I think we could be friends. It was one of the few times in my life I had nothing to say. Caught completely off guard, I stood for a moment taking in his words. He had spoken with authority, and I realized he was right.

His name was Devlin Donaldson.

Devlin is a big manand when you combine his size with a ponytail and a scraggly beard, he can be intimidating. We sat on an old fishing pier and talked for hours. I expected loud... what I got was gentle. I expected confidence and swagger... what I discovered was humility and brokenness. Working for Compassion International, Devlin has spent most of his life connecting poor children from all over the world with American sponsors, and, as a result, he has been ruined by Jesus.

I like people who have been ruined by Jesus. Their souls have been permanently scarred by Gods love. I like Devlin Donaldson. And lest you get the wrong impression, Devlin knows how to listen and how to dance. He is not just gentle, loving, and compassionate, he is also wild, crazy, and incredibly creative.

Lets write a book about childlike faith, he blurted out one night.

Yeah, right, I said. All we have to do is get a publisher, and, the last time I checked, you dont just walk in and get a book contract.

No problem, he said. Ill get the contract. Two years later he called me to say we had a contract for a book on childlike faith.

Now we had a contract and no book.

We were going to write the book together, but, because of a number of logistical difficulties, I ended up writing the book. But Devlin Donaldson made it happen. Intuitively, Devlin found a way to connect my oddball view of the gospel with an idea that made sensechildlike faith. Were it not for the constant encouragement and humility of Devlin Donaldson, I would never have written this book.