Hi, I’m Bart. Welcome to Grace Reflections.
I grew up in a small town in Kansas, and there came to faith in God through Topeka Youth for Christ. I attended Kansas State University where I majored in art and minored in psychology. My faith took wings in college through the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. It was there I made the scariest, but best decision of my life – to unconditionally do whatever God called me to do.
While I was leading in the Inter-Varsity organization, I accepted a short term pastorate in Nebraska. The tiny church had a number of teens and I seemed to connect with them instantly. It was during this time that I started a Christian Coffee House in my basement ministering to the teens. Later, four of those teens became pastors.
I have owned a Christian bookstore (Logos Christian Bookstore). While I was there, I coauthored my first book with Josh McDowell on the deity of Christ. Although I loved the bookstore, unfortunately, the economy tanked and I was forced to sell.
Following two unbelievably hard years, I was asked to become a chaplain at a psychiatric hospital. Again, God blessed. For the next 10 years, I walked into a world of pain I had never known existed. It was while working there that I was led to write Belief in a God You Can’t See. Over 60,000 copies of that book are now in print and is being translated into 11 different languages!
For the past 25 years I’ve been a hospice chaplain. What one believes directly affects how one dies. Over the years I have collected stories and anecdotes that I included in my Hope in the Dark book. It’s a look at life on the edge of eternity.
I hope you’ll pick up my book Hope in the Dark and be encouraged! Maybe you’ll even want to share it with someone you know that needs hope and encouragement.
Blessings,
Bart
