Episode Details

Description: 

Doug McKelvey is the author of “Every Moment Holy” a bestselling series of prayer books, and his newest volume, “Rites of Passage”, is written for the leap into adulthood. Writing it meant reliving a pattern he never once recognized in himself as a young man: getting close to someone, whether a friendship or a girlfriend, and then — almost on a dime — deciding he was done, with no explanation even to himself. But the real turn in this conversation comes when Douglas describes the year he wrote his very first prayer book; a year of financial trouble, strained friendships, and one bad break after another. The day before his manuscript was due, an editor asked him a simple question — did he think what he was going through was spiritual, a form of resistance — and something clicked into place so obviously that he burst into tears. He'd spent that entire year never once considering it. That shift in perspective has stuck with him ever since, shaping how he now thinks about the real cost paid by pastors, by missionary doctors he's met who lose a patient almost every week for lack of basic supplies, and by anyone doing work that matters. 

Thought-Provoking Quotes: 

"Certainly through the two and a quarter years process of writing the prayers for this book, I had to wade through cringe-inducing memories of mistakes that I made... I was not very good at loving other people, even maintaining friendships." - Doug McKelvey

"We are the mold. God has shaped us through our life experiences and the way he has directed and redeemed those things, so that when that season of life comes along... it takes on the shape of the way God has prepared us uniquely." - Doug McKelvey

"That grief... does tender the heart and creates the space to say, okay, I've made a lot of mistakes, but I can bring these — even these mistakes and these failures — now that I recognize them, to you, God." - Doug McKelvey

Andrew’s Prayer for Listeners

Our dear Lord, 

You know the plans You’ve made for each of us, 

The works You have for us to do, 

Give us courage when the world feels against us, 

and the enemy seems all around us,

and give us patience while the road is long and our efforts so often feel wasted, 

Help us remember the deepest reality:

That You are the author and perfecter of whatever faith we hold,

For You, Lord, are good and Your mercy is forever.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Every Moment Holy: Rites of Passage by Douglas McKelvey

Every Moment Holy: Prayer Songs

Every Moment Holy: The Live Experience 

Anchor Hymns

The Rabbit Room

*Watch this interview on Andrew’s YouTube channel!