The Flog – The Fabry Log

Dr. Tim LaHaye has died. But, of course, we know he is now more alive than he ever was. A few thoughts about him.

In 1995 I was hosting a program called Open Line on the Moody Broadcasting Network (now Moody Radio). Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins were scheduled to be in the studio to talk about a new book that had been released called Left Behind. They were excited about the possibilities—and told me off-air that Tyndale felt they could sell 100,000 copies of the book. In hardcover.

I smiled.

Tyndale was wrong, of course, because they didn't just sell 100,000 copies. They sold tens of millions of copies in the series. In the next few years, the writing ramped up for Jerry as they accelerated the pace of the releases to meet reader demand. Jerry was also working on the teen version of the stories and it simply wasn't possible to do both.

In December of 1998 I got the phone call and was asked me to come alongside Jerry and Dr. LaHaye to help write Left Behind: The Kids. There would be 40 books in that series (I would write 35 of them). Jerry was the point person for me—I funneled all my plots and questions through him and he gave the green light for each title and storyline.

However, there were times when I would have theological questions about things that might occur or not occur in the Tribulation. I would write or call Dr. LaHaye. I don't have any of those emails and never recorded any conversations, but I do remember what he conveyed.

First, he was always upbeat about the stories and their reach. Not just the numbers of sales, but the responses from people. It went something like this: "Chris, what you're doing is important because there are so many young people who are going to encounter the truth about eternity through these books. This is an awesome responsibility."

He always wanted to be biblically correct with what was portrayed, but he was not against creativity. He basically gave me a fence around the stories and let me play in the middle of the pasture.

The most important thing to him was that each book contain a believable conversion of some character. He wanted any kid who picked up the book to encounter someone beginning the journey of following Jesus. He wanted any reader to be able to say, "So that's what it means to be a Christian. That's how you ask God's forgiveness." So, in the 35 books I worked on, I got to come up with 35 scenarios where kids could see a sinner repent and become a follower of Jesus.

Dr. LaHaye enjoyed being a New York Times bestselling author, but he measured his true success by the adults and children who wrote about the spiritual life they had found through the stories. I can still hear the excitement in his voice about those who were responding. His example makes me want to gauge my own life that way.