Faith+Values: 'Shack' author Young to speak in Twin Cities

A lot of people are saying that they knew all along that "The Shack" would be a runaway bestseller. Of course, that sort of hindsight is easy now that the novel has sold 5.4 million copies and been translated into 30 languages. When it was released last spring, it was so low on the literary radar that writer William Paul Young had to self-publish it.

But Young, who works for a small company in Oregon -- so small, he says, that he serves as the general manager, sales representative and janitor -- has not overlooked the opportunity that the book's popularity has afforded him. Whenever he can get away, he travels the country, delivering inspirational speeches. This weekend, his destination is the Twin Cities.

He has an interesting story to tell. The son of missionaries, he spent the first decade of his life in New Guinea among the Dani, whom he describes as "a technologically stone-age tribal people." He was told that he was the first white child ever to speak their language.

"The Shack" is a story about a man who returns to a remote, abandoned shack where one of his children had been murdered. The trip is as much a religious and spiritual journey as a physical one. The point of the book, according to Young, "is to stir up conversations about God."

He will be making multiple appearances. At 7 p.m. today, he will speak at the Church of the Open Door, 9060 Zanzibar Lane N., Maple Grove. Sunday he will speak at all four services -- 8, 8:45, 10 and 11:15 a.m. -- at Calvary Lutheran Church, 7520 Golden Valley Rd., Golden Valley. Then it's on to the Upper Room at Christ Presbyterian Church, 6901 Normandale Rd., Edina, where he will take part in the 5 and 7 p.m. services.

Taking flight "Many Strong and Beautiful Women" is the theme for a fundraiser that honors three prominent women for their work with children and hopes to raise money for the latest African project of Twin Cities-based Give Us Wings.

The honorees are explorer Ann Bancroft, childhood development expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige (who also is actor Matt Damon's mother) and Grace Kingatua, a social worker from Kenya.

Glad that's settled If you're sarcastic, file this item under: "Who in the world would have guessed this?" A survey conducted by New Jersey-based HCD Research has discovered that the evangelist most Americans have heard of is -- drum roll, please -- the Rev. Billy Graham.

According to the survey, his name is recognizable by 88 percent of the public. From our perspective, the surprise is that it's only 88 percent. Seeing as how even most nonbelievers know who he is, we wonder where the other 12 percent came from.

In case you're curious, the rest of the top five and their recognizability scores are: Pat Robertson (80 percent), Jimmy Swaggart (73), Oral Roberts (69) and Joel Osteen (67).