In front of the fraternities and residence halls at Duke University stand creatively designed wooden structures that look like mini-bleachers. Students sprawl on them to enjoy the sunshine or to ogle the passing parade of coeds.

A short distance away stands the much more substantial Duke Chapel, impressive in its Gothic glory. Inside that chapel on Sundays, William Willimon preaches to the passing academic parade, trying to wrest their minds toward eternal matters.

An exercise in futility? Not on your life. In his puckish way, Willimon points their attention toward Christianity.

Willimon was called to Duke Chapel after pastorates in Georgia and his home state of South Carolina. His writing in The Christian Century and his more than twenty books have made him known to fellow pastors-many of whom can't quite figure him out.

What is the real Will Willimon like? And how does he preach to anybody in a college chapel students aren't required to attend?

To answer these and ...