PREFACE

 

“Hello, Rubber. I’m Road.”

 

How many times have you heard the “Come to Jesus, and all your problems will go away” message? Far too many, I’d guess. Frankly, I’m sick of hearing it. If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you know it rarely happens that way. This story is not that message.

Ken Walls’ story is one of real Christianity, experienced by a real man in the dirty, grimy real world. It doesn’t take long talking with Ken to discover that he’s an authentic, straightforward guy. He is, as my Grandaddy used to say, “more real than Coca-cola.” Ken’s life is an open book. (You’re holding it!) There is sin, and there is redemption. There are epic failures, and there are epic victories. There are the best of times, and there are the worst of times.

As J.R.R. Tolkien said, “All stories are ultimately about the Fall.” This story is no exception. But the Fall doesn’t have to be the end. The Bible doesn’t end in Genesis. Ken’s story doesn’t end with adultery. God does redeem us, even when we feel we are unredeemable, because all stories are part of God’s story, and God’s story ultimately has a happy ending.

When a mutual friend first proposed the project, I wasn’t sure this co-authoring thing would work out. Journalistic interviews have never really been my style. I’m very introverted and far more comfortable on Tattooine or Middle-Earth than Planet Earth. Besides which, I’m a “make-it-up-on-the-fly” kind of writer. My wife (another English major) and I sometimes joke that our degrees could be labeled, “BA in BS.” So I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of hundreds of hours interviewing, reviewing tapes, transcribing, rewriting, rearranging, reinterviewing, and rewriting again.

Then I met Ken Walls, and I heard his passion for healing broken lives. Then I knew that I wanted to be a part of this project. When I read Ken’s first book, Falling off the Mountain, I found the core of a powerful story about God’s amazing grace, but I felt more needed to be told. Context is key to understanding Scripture; how much more when seeking to understand a man’s choices. How did Ken’s first marriage start? What kind of baggage did they bring into it? What were the Lord’s promises and the miracles Ken alluded to?

As important as they were, though, questions about the past weren’t nearly as important as those about the present. Ken’s second marriage began with an adulterous affair, yet it has been going strong for over a decade! Relationship experts will tell you that just doesn’t happen. And Ken will be the first to tell you that they’re absolutely correct: without Christ, it doesn’t. Ken’s life proves God’s claim that with Christ, all things—even a return to ministry after falling into sin—are possible.

But how did he get right with Christ? Some of the most helpful feedback Ken received about the first book was the desire to learn more about repentance. To that end, we’ve included an Appendix where Ken has expounded on that process. Though the details will look different in each case of repentance, Ken’s experience provides a pattern for how the rest of us can return to Christ and stay there. To paraphrase Paul, we can follow Ken as he follows Christ
(1 Corinthians 11:1).

As I said before, this isn’t about Jesus providing a trouble-free existence. This is the story of a lifelong Christian with real struggles, a man who didn’t always win his battles. Jesus promised that we would have trouble in this world, that the world would hate us, and that the devil would try to destroy us. Ken’s experience testifies to all of that. But more than any of it, Ken’s experience testifies that God is love and His arm is never too short to save us.

With God’s salvation comes a promise never to leave us, even in the hardest times. Ken Walls can confirm that promise. God called Ken early in life and proved His faithfulness by confirming that call even after Ken thought all was lost. The Lord stayed with Ken through the fire and lifted him up from the ashes.

 

H.R. Schorr