Philip Yancey

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Best-Selling Contemporary Christian Author

Author of 25 books, Philip Yancey has explored the most basic questions and deepest mysteries of the Christian faith, guiding millions of readers with him.  He currently has more than 17 million books in print, published in over 50 languages worldwide.  His works have garnered 13 Gold Medallion Awards from Christian publishers and booksellers.  Among his popular works are What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Where Is God When It Hurts?, Prayer: Does It Matter?, Soul Survivor, and The Jesus I Never Knew.  He is well-known for his honest, thought-provoking, and insightful explorations of a faith that matters.  Also, traveling widely for speaking engagements, he has visited over 85 countries.

Philip Yancey was born in Atlanta and grew up in nearby suburbs.  His father died when he was one year old, and the family lived in poverty.  After high school he attended a Bible college in South Carolina and went on to earn graduate degrees in Communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago.  He worked as a journalist in the Chicago area for some twenty years, editing the youth magazine Campus Life while also writing for a variety of magazines including Christianity Today, Reader’s Digest, Publishers Weekly, and Christian Century.  In the process he interviewed diverse people enriched by their personal faith, including two U.S. presidents and other notables such as Bono, Billy Graham, and authors such as Annie Dillard and Henri Nouwen.

In 1992 he and his wife Janet, a social worker and hospice chaplain, moved to the foothills of Colorado, where they enjoy mountain climbing, skiing, wildlife, and other delights of the Rocky Mountains.

Philip Yancey begins each day reading spiritually nourishing books, meditating, and praying.  He says, “I am a pilgrim, searching for a faith that makes its followers larger and not smaller.  I start with lots of questions and some skepticism. I want to understand why bad things happen, what God is really like — the questions we all have—and the process of writing allows me the chance to struggle openly and honestly with those questions.”

Acclaim for Philip Yancey:

• Noted pastor and author Max Lucado says, “Every Philip Yancey book is worth reading.  He is a gift to our generation.”
• Billy Graham said, “There is no writer in the evangelical world that I admire and appreciate more.”
• “Philip Yancey is not just one of my favorite Christian writers, but one of my favorite writers, period.  He is fearless in addressing the toughest questions and hardest times…”  Anne Lamott, New York Times best-selling author
• “Although not in his church tradition, Philip serves as a priest for Christians of every denomination.  He communicates heaven to us, and us to heaven, in words both clear and faithful.”  Walter Wangerin, Jr., author of The Book of God

The Dill Lecture Series was established in 2013 by Dauphin Way United Methodist Church Foundation to honor Dr. Stephen Dill and his wife Ruth for their 40 years of service to the church and to the community. The Dill Lecture Committee mourns the loss of Dr. Stephen Dill in January 2022 and is grateful for his legacy.

The Lecture Series brings to Mobile esteemed speakers to offer their insights and inspiration to the Dauphin Way congregation and to the community at large.

Steve & Ruth Dill

Dill Lecture speakers have included:

2014 Thomas Cahill—American scholar and writer who is best known for his acclaimed Hinges of History series

2015 Dr. Walter Brueggemann—the preeminent contemporary scholar of the Old Testament

2016 Rachel Held Evans—best-selling author and nationally popular blogger

2017 Dr. Wayne Flynt—Auburn University professor emeritus and distinguished scholar of Southern history, politics, religion, and culture

2018 Jim Wallis—founder and editor-in-chief of Sojourners and renowned preacher and theologian

2019 Krista Tippett—creator and host of NPR programs Speaking of Faith and On Being

2021 Rev. Adam Hamilton—founder and senior pastor of the 25,000-member United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas

2021 Rev. Dr. Thomas G. Long—Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Candler School of Theology at Emory University

2022 Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor—Episcopal priest, teacher, speaker, theologian, and best-selling author