This last weekend started with the news that Brennan Manning - author, speaker and cheerleader for ‘the furious love of God’ - has died. It had been a long illness and a slow descent, but the truth about Manning is that even in the prime of his life, he was aware of the frayed nature of humanity.
That didn’t make him morbid or morose. It made him real and it made him brave. Take a look and a listen to him hurtling through the story of The Giving Tree and you’ll hear a man who understands both the extent of human brokenness and the overpowering love of God.
There’s a lyric by Leonard Cohen that seems to fit so well with Manning’s life and work:
“Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.”
All of which makes me wonder: in these days of proclamation and pitch perfect presentation, could the world of worship make room for more voices like Manning’s? Are you hearing any?
[embed width=459 height=344 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/4kmyRYwddDs/hqdefault.jpg?r=96982]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kmyRYwddDs&feature=share&list=PL27FD62048BBEE789[/embed]