Perhaps no book in the past few years has captured the heart of the public like Paul Young’s The Shack, which is about a man rediscovering God and his faith after the murder of his daughter. Originally written just for friends and family, those who read it encouraged Paul to have it published, but neither secular nor religious publishers were interested. Then pastors Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings decided to form Windblown Media with the sole purpose of publishing this book. It sold a million copies within the first year, mostly by word of mouth. When Hachette Book Group made a deal with Windblown Media to market and distribute The Shack, sales really took off.
Now over 12 million copies have been sold. The trio of Young, Jacobsen, and Cummings has made more money than they could have ever imagined.
From the very beginning The Shack has not been without controversy. Christian leaders like Chuck Colson, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Norman Geisler, and Mark Driscoll have criticized it for everything from heresy to theological problems to graven imagery. However, that didn’t seem to stop sales.
Young never intended the book to be a theological text or treatise on the trinity. It is, after all, fiction. Even the title is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, hurt, or damaged in life. The Shack is full of interesting analogies, poetic license, and premises designed to make you think. It is no more factual than Dan Brown’s theories in The Da Vinci Code, whom many thought were true.
Now it seems The Shack has other problems. Last November Young filed a lawsuit against Jacobsen, Cummings, Windblown Media and Hachette claiming he is owed $8 million in lost royalties in addition to the over $10 million he has already received. For anyone having their finger in the “money pie” connected with The Shack, this year has been filled with lawsuits, counter suits, accusations, and disputes. Of course, all those involved think they are right and everyone has a different opinion and point of view.
The scriptural passage that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 which speaks of how sad it is when Christians sue each other and go to courts of the land instead of God for their justice. Do they not know our country’s judicial system is not so much about justice anymore as it is about winning and losing? Unfortunately the real losers in this situation are the non Christians who once again see Christians unable to solve differences in a Christian like manner. (Matthew5:25, 39, 40)
One would have hoped Young, Jacobsen, and Cummings could have chosen a Christian arbitrator that they all respected to help with their grievances. It seems like we Christians are very good at interpreting scripture for others, but not ourselves – especially in the area of money. The Bible warns that the love of money has the ability to bring out the worst in us. (1 Timothy 6:10)
Most of us will not be faced with that particular challenge, but we will have others. A Christian’s faith is on trial every day. As the old saying goes, “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
As for The Shack, sales continue to rise in spite of the attacks. That’s good – because they are going to need a lot more money to pay all the lawyers!
