I Got to Interview Rob Bell

And then I apologized

Five years ago, Laura was putting some finishing touches in her first classroom as I lay in her book nook reading Velvet Elvis while cuddling a six foot long multi-colored caterpillar. This was a major turn in a long journey I still find myself on today: the journey of death and resurrection, the journey of learning, unlearning, and relearning.

This book kick-started a new way of being in the world. While I didn't know it at the time, everything I knew about everything was about to change. It’s not that I was moving from one set of facts to a different set of facts. No, that’s much too of a mechanical way of describing this shift.

Instead, it was more like learning how to fly, or as one poet put it, “I was blind, but now I see.”

God, the Bible, myself, my neighbors…even my nation and the planet…everything begin to take on a different tint. It was like a whole new spectrum of colors was unlocked for me as I traveled through Drops Like Stars and Love Wins and Jesus Wants to Save Christians.

Then I had the privilege of accompanying Rob on his tours from Everything is Spiritual to The Gods Aren’t Angry. I listened to the Rob Cast while playing Rocket League, and I checked out some of his seminars on how to write sermons and create things.

Rob had a way of getting to the tough questions I had always had but didn’t know how to word. He had a way of saying things that gave me hope and encouraged me to be who I feel called to be.

Needless to say, he had a big impact on me and introduced me to all different kinds of authors, speakers, and teachers in the world. And for that

, I am unapologetically thankful for him.

Recently, Rob published a book called Where’d You Park Your Spaceship. It’s a novel about space, the future, and a guy named Heen with whom you get to journey to a planet called Firdus.

When Rob mentioned he was looking to appear on podcasts to introduce people to this new creation of his, I reached out to see if I could have a shot at an interview.

He accepted, we set up a time, and then last Friday I had the privilege of interviewing Rob one-on-one.

Before the interview, I was incredibly nervous. I talked to one of my friends to help calm myself down, but I was shaking with excitement and hoping I wouldn’t mess things up. This was a big deal to me.

Then, when Rob joined my video call, I jumped right into the interview after just a few words of introduction. I had a blast. We talked about authenticity, the people who inspire us, and how his book takes one through all seasons of life: love, grief, loss, renewal… It was great.

And then the interview was over.

And what did I do?

I apologized.

I don’t really know why I did. I said it was because I was so nervous to start with, but he said he didn’t notice. I said it meant a lot to me and thanked him again. We said our goodbyes, and he was gone.

And then I crashed.

It felt like I had just ran a marathon. My heart was racing. I had a sick feeling deep in my stomach. I was drained.

Did I tank the interview? Did I ask the wrong questions? Did I waste his hour? What did I just do?

I called the same friend I talked to before the interview, and she assured me it went well—that she knew I did a good Job, but I don’t think it was really about how well I did or anything. I think I was just emotionally drained because how big of a deal it was to me.

And if that sounds like an interview you want to watch… you can check it out in a few different palaces below or find us on most major podcasting apps!

Audio through Podbean: https://efpg.podbean.com/e/e119-where-d-you-park-your-interview-w-rob-bell/

YouTube: