"The Shack" author, William Paul Young, spoke Feb. 11

William Paul Young will speak at TCU Feb. 11, during Ministers Week activities.

Fort Worth, TX

2/9/2010

The man who wrote last year’s runaway bestseller The Shack gave a public lecture on the book’s impact at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 in Ed Landreth Auditorium on the TCU campus at University Christian Church at the corner of W. Cantey and University Drives. William Paul Young’s topic was “The Shack: Is God Really This Good?” A book-signing followed. Young’s appearance here was part of Ministers Week activities sponsored by Brite Divinity School.     At No. 1 on The New York Times best-sellers list for nearly a year, The Shack offers imaginative answers about the faith and nature of God, particularly in the face of a world full of suffering. Young’s self-published book challenges rigid concepts of God and what it means to be in right relationship with the divine.   Born in Alberta, Canada, Young spent the majority of his first decade living with his missionary parents in Netherlands New Guinea, and the second decade in Western Canada as his father pastored a number of small churches.    After paying his way through Bible college, he spent one summer in the Philippines and another touring with a drama troupe before working in Washington D.C. at Fellowship House, an international guest house.  Completing his undergraduate degree in religion, he graduated summa cum laude from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Oregon.  The following year, he met and married Kim Warren and for a time worked on staff at a large suburban church while attending seminary. Over time he has owned businesses and worked for others in diverse industries and through it all has been a writer, whether songs, poetry, short stories or newsletters; never for public consumption but for friends and family.  The Shack was a story written for his six children, with no thought or intention to publish.  Young says it is as much a surprise to him as to anyone else that he is now an “author”.