I walked into the large religious bookstore that had pyramid displays of hooks by Tim LaHaye, Ann Kiemel, and Keith Miller.

"What do you have by Fred Buechner?" I asked the clerk.

"Who?" she asked. Perhaps the pronunciation of the name had thrown her off. (The first syllable rhymes with "seek.") But no, neither the clerk nor the manager were familiar with Frederick Buechner, and not a copy of his twenty-plus books was on the shelves. That's too bad. I regard him as the most exciting Christian writer since C. S. Lewis.

Like Lewis, Buechner writes fiction for those who stand outside the church and yet are hungry for the mystery of what the Christian faith is all about. Like Lewis, his nonfiction is becoming must reading at seminaries. His ability to state old theological truths in new, vivid language is a model for all pastors.

Like Lewis, Buechner believes we are to take God seriously, but not ourselves. He's the only author who can make me both laugh and ...