THANKS FOR LOANING ME THE BOOK, BONNIE!

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

A few entries ago, I wrote about attending Pastor Rich Hurst’s celebration marking the 25th anniversary of his Ordination which was held at the church he pastors, the Lutheran Church of Framingham. During the dinner and fellowship time that day, I was sitting with Bonnie Gouveia (active Member of the Lutheran Church and the woman who writes the Religion News column for the MetroWest Daily News) and a few other folks who were talking about the Rev. Don Piper’s book, “90 Minutes in Heaven”. It’s a New York Times Bestseller which has sold more than 35 million copies. Piper is a southern Baptist minister in his late 50s. In January of 1989, he was in a horrific car accident. His Ford Escort hatchback was demolished and the EMTs found him dead- no pulse. Amazingly, Piper was brought back to life through the earnest prayer of faith of a committed Christian who came upon the accident.

They asked me if I’d read the book. I’d heard a LITTLE about it, but I hadn’t read it, and initially did not have much interest in reading it. There were two famous evangelical Christian books from the late ‘70s about people who’d supposedly died and gone to Heaven and come back from the dead. One is the story of a man and one is the story of a woman. Both are very sensational stories which DO frankly seem unbelievable. I’ve tended to think we make too much of this stuff. Even so, Bonnie Gouveia urged me to read “90 Minutes in Heaven”. She dropped off a copy at my church a few days ago asking me to read it and then return it it her. I read the entire book yesterday, and BOY AM I GLAD I READ IT!

The book was not at all what I’d expected. I’d say no more than a fifth of the book specifically talks about Don Piper’s visit to Heaven. And, Piper’s account is quite believable- much more so than the other books I’d read about “visits to Heaven” in the past. What I most liked about the book, however, is that Pastor Piper writes in great detail about his LONG and difficult physical and emotional recovery (which involved over a year), and about the constant physical pain he is STILL in, AND about the disabilities and physical issues he continues to have. I appreciated his humility, vulnerability and frankness. Piper shares quite candidly of how he’s a guy who has struggled with depression, anger, irritability, and stubbornness before his accident, and especially AFTER his accident. He shares how God has helped him with these issues, and he tells of how he has been able to minister to others going through intense, long, and painful physical ordeals.

There are those who believe pastors should never be irritable, angry, stubborn or depressed. I’ve shared several times on this blog that these have been areas of struggle for me, so I very much related to Pastor Piper. Hey, if God could bless, use and teach HIM, then He can and do the same for me, right?! (I certainly hope the process God wants to use in my life won’t include a terrible car accident, followed by 34 surgeries, and constant pain! But, God is God, and He has every right to do what is ultimately best for His children.)

This is a book that’s an easy read and it very interesting. I recommend it for ANYBODY- Christian or non-Christian...skeptic or believer.

You can learn more about it at:
http://www.90minutesinheaven.com/

And, Bonnie, if you’re reading this, I’ll be getting the book back to you soon.
And, Pastor Rich Hurst, if you’re reading this, you need to borrow the book from Bonnie!