Bill Chadwick's new book

Recently my friend, Bill Chadwick authored a new book, “Still Laughing, Still Learning (Still looking for a good title). It’s a book of stories.  I’ve known Bill for at least a decade and participated in a monthly group of pastors for almost that long.  If I’m having a hard problem at the church I serve, I’ll sometimes ask Bill for advice.  And frequently he’ll share a story. And most of the time the stories are really helpful—like the ones in his book.

Frequently I would find myself laughing out loud when reading his stories.  Not laughing once or twice—but laughing out loud at almost every story.  The percentage of my laughter to stories beat the batting average of the Minnesota Twins--and I loved that he included the Twins in some of his stories.  I laughed when I read the story of the advice his father gave him when his dad was sent by his mother to talk to Bill when Bill got his first C on his report card.  Or what a little girl shared when someone told her that she couldn’t draw God because no one know what God looks like. Or what his wife said when she shared about what initially attracted her to Bill.  And by the way my legs look better than his—and it wasn’t his legs that got her attention.

But more than the humor, I encountered Bill’s compassion for people in his stories.  He shared that the favorite part of being a chaplain was visiting people in memory care.  Visiting people in memory care wasn’t something he did so that he could get to more interesting parts of his job.  He was truly interested in loving people in memory care.   His stories illustrated the difference between compassion and pity.  He didn’t look at folks struggling with memory as people who lived in a sorry situation.  Instead he wanted to spend time with them.  I could so clearly see through Bill’s words how people in memory care are children of God.  I received a glimpse of heaven when I read his stories of singing a hymn with people in memory care, or sharing a Scripture, or waiting for someone to die.     

I just spent the week immersed in Judaism as I shared a sermon yesterday on the basics of Judaism.  So when I read some of his stories again, I couldn’t help but compare them to a rabbi sharing wisdom with other rabbis about how the Torah applied to situations in life.  Our Jewish friends would call this, Haggada. The on-line version of Encyclopedia Britannica described Haggada as “ethical teachings in the form of homilies, maxims, parables, similes, fables, riddles, and witticisms.”  When I read his stories on divorce and parenting, marrying for a second time, and unconditional love I think the rabbis would gladly invite Bill to participate in their conversations.  And maybe they would include his stories in the Talmud.

Bill is humble enough to receive such praise, and he’s lived long enough in Minnesota to know the sin of pride.  And sure, it’s fun to give praise to a friend, but even if I didn’t know Bill I’d encourage people to read his book.  It isn't a stretch--as the Publishers did on the back cover--to share that Bill wrote in the tradition of Robert Fulghum and Anne Lamott.  As Kevin Kling wrote in the foreword, “Through [Bill’s] encounters with parishioners, members, and total strangers, we discover that vulnerability leads to compassion and kindness, a place of grace.  [Bill] understands that grace can be less a touch with the divine and more a recognition of the divine in the everyday, in finding the solace in the mystery when it seems there is no lamp to follow” Page x

When Bill first published his book, I read through it quickly.  It was just another book to consume among the pile of books on my desk.  But when I read it through a second time, I realized that this is a book to savor.  Like drinking hot chocolate on a cold winter night—rich and sweet—too much can be overwhelming.  I would suggest reading these stories like the lectionary.  One a day.  And then let your mind explore the wisdom underneath his words.   

Bill is doing most of the publicity for his book. So if you’re intrigued to purchase one, send him an email to billchad52@gmail.com.  Or come this Wednesday, January 22 to Chain of Lakes at 7pm to listen to him read a few. It’s worth the effort in the middle of January. And who knows—maybe he’ll tell us a story about January.