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Exchanged Glory: A Vision of Freedom
Bill and I first met when he was an undergraduate student at a large mid-western university. That was well over twenty years ago. I had the privilege of being his pastor for a period of time. Even then, there was a transparency and an apparent passion for God, which foretold that there would be a time of freedom ahead. It would be a time when he could say, with the psalmist: “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful.” (Psalms 16:6).
Janet (my wife) and I got to know Bill well. He was a fun-loving young man with a sense of humor who occasionally spent the night at our little house in the country. I remember him rising earlier than we did on Saturday mornings (our meetings were on Friday nights at that time). One of those mornings, he woke us by serenading us with his musical rendition from Proverbs of going to the field of the sluggard.
I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man without sense; and lo, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
(Proverbs 24:30-34, RSV)
We laughed a lot in those days (and still do). And we were blessed by his musical gifts, which the Lord used to bless our congregation as well.
In his first book, Exchanged Glory: A Vision of Freedom, Bill gives us an honest look at his area of addiction. As he grapples with its dynamics, he gives us a look at how his Christian faith undergoes quite a transformation. His chapter on the fear of the Lord (chapter three) gives valuable insights into the place we need to come to as seeing sin the way our heavenly Father does. Yet the necessary balance of chapter four (wrath and mercy) gives us needed encouragement on the mercy and love of our Father.
For those of you who are visually oriented, even in your reading, you’ll love the metaphor of the “train tracks” (chapter twelve). It’s a jewel. I plan to use that one in my counseling sessions.
Let me encourage you to read each book in this series. It has the tendency to build insight upon insight, and truth upon truth.
Denny Strickland, Pastor
Savannah, GA 2005
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