At fifty-two, Mike Yaconelli is refreshingly unstable. Though he defies being easily categorized, at times his spiritual lexicon lists words more familiar to a Trappist monk or a Buddhist than an evangelical Christian. But Yaconelli is passionate about the gospel. And he is nothing if not a walking contradiction. A former student at Bob Jones University, but profoundly influenced by the spirituality of Henry Nouwen. An outspoken, often controversial, critic of the church, but a pastor with great affection for the church through which he ministers to the unchurched and irreligious. He calls himself an evangelist, but says he doesn’t do evangelism. Go figure.
As we talk over breakfast at the National Youth Workers Convention in San Diego, Yaconelli inconspicuously turns an invisible key, accelerates, and shifts into high gear. In a matter of minutes my interview questions have gone up in smoke. The words intense and passionate come to mind but are quickly dismissed for their obvious inadequacy to describe our time together. Clearly, this is a man who has broken the mold of evangelical leadership.