10 Grow for it

Our church library has a box of freebies--donations to the library that don't fit the collection policy (all libraries worth their salt have such a policy). Although my husband hates it, I usually can find something I really need in the box. Sunday it was "Grow for it Journal" by David Lynn and Mike Yaconelli, published by Campus Life Books in 1985.

Why would I want a book intended for my kids (graduated from high school in 1986 and 1987)? Actually a whim. On November 1, 2003, our Saturday morning women's group finished up a Beth Moore study. Just about the last thing on the video to scroll by was a quote by Mike Yaconelli from his book "Messy Spirituality." I'd never heard of him, but was impressed with the thought. That night I read about his death on October 30 on the internet. I think he had been helping his parents move and was in an auto accident.

So when I saw that 18 year old journal for teen agers to write in about their parents, friends, church, worries, and ideas for growth, I just decided to pick it up and see who Mike was.

He was the founder and general editor of the first Christian satire/humor magazine The Door (formerly the Wittenberg Door*). The Door website says:

Mike's life and work have inspired thousands of people, most notably youth workers, through his writing and speaking. Mike exuded a passion for following Christ and living out that faith in everyday life. Perhaps Mike's greatest contribution was his ability to encourage and inspire youth workers for almost 30 years at the National Youth Workers Convention.

"Though critics derided the magazine as divisive, humiliating, profane, liberal, judgmental, slanderous, offensive, and even satanic, the humor almost always reflected a strong commitment to, and thorough knowledge of, the evangelical world." Christianity Today, Ted Olsen, 4/22/02

The senior editor writes about his death:
The world is significantly less raw and revealing now.
The world is significantly less funny now.
But heaven must be rockin' tonight

*There is also a blog by a seminary student called The Wittenberg Door.