About the Faith Chapters

There was never a question that Brookwood Road would recall my coming to faith in Jesus as my Savior from God's eternal punishment of my inherent sinfulness. It is the primary crossroads of my life, and a significant part of my childhood occurring on Brookwood Road.

I suspect the reader reaction has been interesting. As one reader wrote me, "I was caught off guard by the sharp turn into the seriousness of faith.

"Up until that chapter I was reading and laughing (and crying) at the adventures, life lessons and interaction between you and your brothers. The boyhood humor and the colorful language had me rolling in the floor. In a surprising way, you gave me whiplash and afterwards I was glad you did."

In Chapter 17, "The Pink Store," I fully introduce my Papa Paul: Paul Edward Yarbrough Sr. He died when I was almost 8, but he left a big impression on me. And, my mama's stories of him since his death further detailed a man that I would have loved to know in my adulthood.

A few chapters later, in Chapter 23, "Death and Life," Frank experiences the death of a family member - Papa Paul - for the first time. It's a poignant look at a young boy's first experience with death and its ritual in the Deep South. Many have written and said it is their favorite chapter because it touched their own similar experience so deeply.

When Papa Paul died, my eyes were opened wide to death, which often leads us to ask two big questions: Will this happen to me? What happens to a person when they die? Papa Paul's death, combined with our family's deep involvement in church life, opened up a very real conversation about faith with my mama. And, my mama, who was only 27 at the time, did her very best to lead me through a presentation of the gospel. I don't know if it was my mama's first time to explain the gospel, but I have to believe it was a somewhat new experience for her to share and certainly for me to hear.

The great theologians will read Chapter 23, and its follow up in Chapter 30, "Just as I Am" and perhaps shrug at the clunkiness of the gospel presentation. I wrote that way on purpose. As a gospel minister, full-time vocational minister, and 30-year Bible study teacher, I could have waxed eloquent the gospel presentation, but it would not have been authentic to a conversation between a 20something mama, grieving the sudden death of her daddy, and her 8-year-old son. What comes out in these two chapters, I believe, is a very real and honest and authentic and, yes, clunky explanation of the gospel as it really happened - and probably really happens - within many evangelical families. The gospel is supernatural; it's explanation can be anything but clinical.

Without apologizing for it, I tried to be clear that this is how evangelicals, specifically Southern Baptists, approach the gospel presentation and a person's acceptance and public profession of it. I know it made some people feel uncomfortable because the reader goes into these serious waters for a few chapters before re-emerging into the overall fun of the book. But, friends, the gospel is uncomfortable. The magnitude of themes like sin, salvation, eternal punishment, and grace are serious - and gravely serious. They are eternally serious. And, they are worthy of uncomfortable conversations and uncomfortable personal wrestling.

In these chapters, which are true to the coming-of-age theme of the book, I was not trying to preach so much as tell another big part of my childhood, hoping that readers might reflect on the gospel within their own lives and perhaps make a life-changing decision of their own.

With rich blessings to you and yours,
Scott

HOW TO ORDER BROOKWOOD ROAD: MEMORIES OF A HOME
BY SCOTT DOUGLAS VAUGHAN

Personalized, autographed hardbacks and paperbacks: www.shopsvministry.com.
Paperbacks and Kindle versions (unautographed): www.amazon.com
Limited Retail (autographed): Humpus Bumpus Books, Cumming, GA, and Rainy Day Pal Books, Lexington, SC.
Questions? E-Mail Scott at sharketing411@gmail.com.