A few days ago D’Aun and I were having an early dinner with Tony & Peggy Campolo in Hawaii. After dinner we walked to the convention center for the HIM Conference so we could hear our friend Brenda Salter-McNeil speak in the plenary session. It was around 7 PM Hawaii time, or 10 PM California time, and for Tony it was 1 AM Philly time.

So it surprised me when Tony said he was going to attend the late seminar (roughly 2 AM to 3 AM in Philly) led by Richard Rohr. Tony went on with his praise, calling Rohr “amazing” and “brilliant.”

I knew of Rohr, but had never read his books or heard him speak. But he definitely flew into my radar when Tony not only sang his praises but made the physical effort to be at his seminar!

The next day the conference announced that Richard Rohr would be signing books during a 30-minute window. I began working up the patience to sit in a long line of folks wanting his signature. But surprisingly, there was no line! Maybe it was all the Protestants at the conference … maybe it was that Rohr didn’t speak in a plenary session … or maybe it was just the timing. But for whatever reason, I was able to walk right up to the table, buy a book, and have a chat with him as he signed.

On the flight home I read Falling Upward and enjoyed Rohr’s unique insight into spirituality. The book explores the idea of two halves of our life and how the things we build upon in our younger years become a mere container for our spiritual walk in the later years. Rohr delves into the idea of failure, or falling down, as being the only way to rise, or fall upward.

I’m not even going to try and explain all of this is a short book review. Rohr’s ideas are deep, thoughtful, difficult to capture at times, and even controversial. Yet this book is also easy to read and filled with simple anecdotal insights. Some of my favorite insights include:

“Every time God forgives us, God is saying that God’s own rules do not matter as much as the relationship that God wants to create with us.”

“Before the truth sets you free, it tends to make you miserable.”

“…very few Christians have been taught how to live both law and freedom at the same time.”

These little insights have you reaching for the yellow marker a lot! I found that I enjoyed them more than the broader premise of the book, but I can see how others (perhaps folks a bit less spiritually inept than I am) will find the book, and Rohr in particular, wonderful.

Apparently Tony does!