Matt, describe yourself for our visitors.
I am a fairly serious guy, a bit on the introverted side, with a dry wit. I love classical music, particularly film scores. Right now I’m into Yo-Yo Ma’s performances of Bach’s Cello suites. I write whenever I have the chance, and I serve as co-pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship at Virginia Tech.
How do you find time to connect with God?
Life is sufficiently busy enough that I don’t believe we “find” time for God; we have to make it. For me, that often comes on a hike or a walk through the woods. I connect with God best in nature where I am surrounded by things of his design and am away from the things of man.
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
I love just about anything by Annie Dillard, Madeleine L’Engle, Philip Yancey, and C.S. Lewis. Favorite books: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard; A Circle of Quiet, Madeleine L’Engle; Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey; The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis. I love Dillard for her style, L’Engle for her wisdom, Yancey for his honesty, and C.S. Lewis for—well, because he’s C.S. Lewis, the most quotable Christian ever.
Tell us about your journey to publication.
January 1, 2006, I hiked a mountain to be alone with God, to reflect on the previous year, and to make goals for the year ahead. On the trail, I realized I’d been squandering the gift of writing, and I made a resolution that day to pursue publication. It really began with just the dream of doing it. As I began working toward that dream, God began providing for my needs, helping me connect with publishers, and then with an agent. It’s been a wonderful ride.
Tell us about your current book?
When Answers Aren’t Enough (Zondervan, 2008) is a book about how we can experience God as good when life isn’t. When pain and suffering hit, can our experience of God be better than our circumstances? I went on a journey to find out, and I put my conclusions down in the book. I think it is a very helpful resource for people touched by grief and sadness, pain and confusion.
How did you come up with ideas for this book?
I am a pastor for New Life Christian Fellowship at Virginia Tech. After the massacre on our campus in April of 2007, I looked around at books that dealt with suffering. Almost all of them focused on answering intellectual questions: How can God be good when the world isn’t? Why does God permit tragedies like this? Why doesn’t he just stop them? And while I think those questions are good, and that answers can help, I don’t believe answers heal. We need something better than answers. We need God himself. But when sadness is that heavy and pain is that great, can we experience—not just believe—that God is good? Can we, as the psalmist says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8 TNIV), even when life is at its worst? I went on a journey to find out, and the result was this book.
What’s next for you?
In November, my second book releases. Losing God: Clinging to Faith Through Doubt and Depression (InterVarsity, 2008) tells the story of my four-year battle with my moods and spiritual confusion. Depression is a big problem in the church, and too many Christians suffer in secret. I hope to help end that with this book.
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