Back in the spring of 2007 the thought struck me that I should write a brief account of the most significant experiences of my life that have shaped me spiritually to be the person that I am and to preach and pastor the way that I do. I quickly scribbled down an outline of the previous 26 years of my life. This book is the filling in of that outline. When I begin each sermon with "Please turn in your Bibles to such and such a passage," and then I read it out loud, I am implicitly saying, "Dear congregation, judge me Judge the next fifty to sixty minutes by whether I actually unfold the...