Wandering Off

Book excerpt: Phill Bettis is a storyteller who believes in and loves the Lord. He also trusts that although the younger generation is adequately prepared to positively change the world, that God is the true author of our future. In a collection of profound writings that include newspaper columns and editorials, travel blogs, and other stories, Bettis begins with a commencement speech that challenges university graduates to wander off from convention in their careers, their methods of worship, and the way they will form society in a constantly evolving world. While outlining his writings with poignancy and supporting a new reformation that is long overdue, Bettis does not shy away from controversy as he shares his heart through thought-provoking stories that lead others through his childhood and beyond as he transformed from Opie growing up in Mayberry amid sunflowers, biscuits, and revivals to embrace all the personal and professional gifts of adulthood. Wandering Off is a volume of writings that underscore hope, faith, what is good, and what can be. “Reading Phill Bettis is like sitting in a porch swing surrounded by friends and family at the end of a summer day, with a full moon rising behind a stand of pines, a whip-poor-will’s plaintive call riding a soft breeze, and the sparkle of fireflies dotting the sky over a garden patch ...” —Norman Baggs