Dan Hix is the chaplain you want by your bed when you die. He's the priest you want in the confessional when you fail great big and fall real hard. He's the theologian who teaches you that words never reach the wonder of it all, yet he continues to work at crafting wonderful words anyway.
He asks provocative questions: "Can you spin murder on a cross?" He counsels wisely: hold hands when delivering bad news. He warns against this simplistic spirituality: "the more faith, the less fear." He meets scores of "unreasonably hopeful people." He reminds that "courage is not not being afraid." And I am guessing that his favorite novel is Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry.
Here is a soft, cautious, lyrical, and poetic voice with "glimpses" of how life works and doesn't work. A "glimpse" a day will help alter the quality of your living.
~Walter B. Shurden, Minister at Large, Mercer University
Finding the right word to match the beauty and terror of our life moments is like a size XS trying to find a shirt on the XL rack. Those who are successful hold the divine gifts of observation and patience. Dan Hix has both of these poetic gifts and more. The extra large life moments, or Glimpses, in death, learning, loving, failing and succeeding, find ample fit in the small capsule of words in the extra, extra large soul of Dan Hix. And we, the readers, are blessed and are fitted to resume the pilgrim journey.
~Linda Bridges, Salem Academy and College
If we are indeed spiritual beings having a human experience, then Dan Hix has his finger on the pulse of all of that. Dan's writing reverberates with the heartbeat of one who lives fully in both worlds. He invites his readers to acknowledge and settle into the grace of God in the midst of life's pain, uncertainty and even joy. Every word, every thought is painstakingly crafted and humbly offered to those who have ears (and hearts) to hear. In Glimpse, you will find Dan to be a guide, a thoughtful observer, and above all, a companion on the journey.
~Rev. Dr. Emily Anderson, Pastor,
New Providence Presbyterian Church, Maryville, TN
Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Dan Hix did most of his growing up, along with his three brothers, in Taipei, Taiwan where his parents were Southern Baptist Missionaries. Dan received a BA in history from Wake Forest University and the MDiv and DMin from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dan has served as a local church pastor and in various other church staff positions in Ohio, Tennessee, and North Carolina, but for 34 years he was a hospital chaplain in Knoxville, Tennessee. He lives in Maryville, Tennessee with his wife Pam and they have two grown sons.
