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"He has a great sense of humor," Card says. "Sometimes we forget that abandon or joy really is a part of the faith, too. With him, there's a lot of laughter and a lot of silly jokes and a lot of nonsense. When he's in town, we go to stupid movies together. I saw Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure with Brennan Manning."

Another not immediately apparent quality of Manning is fragility. One time, shortly following a back injury and surgery, Manning came to Nashville to speak. When Card picked him up at the airport, Manning "had a back brace on with a catheter and an iv bag," the singer said. "He was about as fragile as he could be. … He looked like a ghost, he was feeling so poorly." Ignoring Card's well-meaning advice to "get on the plane and go home," Manning went to his appointment.

"This wasn't some big thing, it was just a little high school he was speaking at," Card says. "I remember the principal of the high school with his head in his hands weeping because he was so convicted by what Brennan had to share. When I saw his response and the reaction of many of these high school students who are so difficult to reach, I realized that's why he knew this was something that he was supposed to do, even though he wasn't feeling like it. I think that was a very Christ-like example of how great strength comes through weakness."

Yes, even through "the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together"; through the "bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out"; through "the poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents," to use Manning's words.

That's the comfort of every ragamuffin.

Agnieszka Tennant is an associate editor of Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today.Click for reprint information.

Brennan Manning is the author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, The Wisdom of Tenderness, Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God, Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, Lion and Lamb/the Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, The Rabbi's Heartbeat, A Glimpse of Jesus, Above All, The Wisdom of Tenderness, and The Signature of Jesus. His books are available from Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, and other book retailers.

Dick Staub interviewed Manning about Ruthless Trust:

Brennan Manning on Ruthless Trust | Many Christians are still afraid to let God love them as they truly are, says the former priest, sober alcoholic, and author. (Dec. 10, 2002)

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June 2004, Vol. 48, No. 6