Andrew Klavan was there, and it warmed his formerly-secular-Jewish heart. If you’re not familiar with Andrew, he’s a novelist and screenwriter whose memoir, The Great Good Thing: a Secular Jew Comes to Christ is on my reading list . . . er . . . as soon as it goes down to $2.99 for the Kindle version. (I’ve been reading a lot of kids’ books for the World Magazine Children’s Book of the Year award, and my time for adult content has been limited, but that’s all over but the writing–yay!)
So, Andrew Klavan had an opportunity to attend the annual Prayer Breakfast, and he offers some context for the President’s odd prayer request for Arnold Schwartzenegger–basically, it was even odder than it sounded in the news bites. But Andrew found the event to be very encouraging overall, not least because of Senate chaplain Barry Black’s rousing sermon. And it was rousing–I took time to watch it on Sunday morning. Was it gospel? Not quite–he didn’t expound the sinner’s need for Jesus and offer an invitation. But boy, it was Jesus centered.
After some background about his boyhood in Baltimore (“I was sixteen before I ever shook hands with a white person”), he told about his own meeting with Jesus Christ in the pages of scripture, and how Peter 1:18-19 hit him between the eyes: . . . knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways of your fathers not with silver or gold or any perishable thing, but with the precious blood of Christ . . . It suddenly struck him that
Even at ten I had sufficient analytical skills to know that the value of an object is based upon the price someone is willing to pay. And when it dawned on me, a little guy in the inner-city, that God sent what John 3 calls the only one of its kind, ‘His only begotten son,’ to die for me, no one was able to make me feel inferior again.
From there he went on to trace the appearance of Jesus throughout scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, in as sweeping a birds-eye view as you’re likely to get anywhere, ending with a rousing doxology to the only Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Klavan says the room was rocking and rolling by then (it was a big room, too) . . . until Mark Burdett (of Survivor and The Bible fame) got up to introduce President Trump, and the mood sort of went sideways.
It sounds like it was a great time overall, though, and Andrew had some other encouraging news to share, so click the link above if you have time.
And you really should spare some time for Pastor Black’s prayer-breakfast sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9sCtJ61_8
I’m going to take time to listen to this in a little bit. A few years ago I read Black’s book “The Blessing of Adversity.” I thought it should be required reading in schools. His mother used her welfare checks to put all her children (four, I think) in private school. Truly inspiring.
I found it interesting that you said his speech was not exactly Gospel centered. I felt that a little bit when I read his book (that he was not as bold with the Gospel as he might have been) but I’m glad he didn’t shy away from using the “J” word in the prayer breakfast. It takes courage these days.
I also want to read Klavan’s book. I’ve read a couple of newspaper articles he’s written. However, (ahem) I’m not allowed to buy anymore books until I have read all the ones in my house. I suppose I could request my library to order it.