Synopses & Reviews
Why Everyone Will Be in Heaven
Two pastors present their controversial belief in eternal salvation for all through God′s perfect grace. Long disturbed by the Church′s struggle between offering both love and rejection, they discover what God wants from us and for us: grace for everyone.
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“[A] stirring manifesto on the central role of universalism in Christianity ...” Publishers Weekly
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“Gulley and Mulholland stick to their guns as they tell their stories...with compassion, hope, kindness, and grace.” Booklist
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“Gulley and Mulholland have extended and deepened the meaning of Gods grace in decidedly thoughtful and lovely ways.” Arkansas Democrat Gazette
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“[T]his loving little book . . . is easily read and understood, a thought-provoker for any Disciple.” DisciplesWorld
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“Gulley and Mulholland . . . have honestly faced the churchs traditional doctrines of salvation and eternal justice.” Christianity Today
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“An easy read full of interesting stories and attractive assertions.” Dallas News
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“One of the most helpful books on this subject to emerge in years.” Crosswalk.com
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“The authors celebrate Gods extravagant grace in ways that remind us of the amazing thing we often sing it is.” Ethicsdaily.com
About the Author
I was born in February of 1961. My mother went into labor while she and my father were watching
Gunsmoke. My father was taken with that program and wanted to name me for one of the characters. Unfortunately, my cousin was named Matt, which left the name Festus for me. My mother, a Catholic, wanted to name me after her favorite pope, Cletus. They compromised by naming me Philip, the guy in the Bible who became a disciple of Jesus and was never heard from again.
I live in the same town where I was born. I moved away at the age of 19 to work, where I met my wife, Joan Apple. We were married on June 2nd of 1984 at the Quaker meetinghouse in Paoli, Indiana. I began attending Marian College in Indianapolis where I studied theology and sociology. I then enrolled at Christian Theological Seminary where I graduated with honors, to the utter amazement of everyone who knew me.
While in seminary, I became the pastor of Irvington Friends Meeting in Indianapolis. While there, our two sons were born, and I began writing essays for our church's newsletter. One Sunday, Paul Harvey, Jr. and Dina Kinnan attended our meeting for worship and began receiving our newsletter. A few months later, they were approached by a publisher with an offer to write. Already committed to a publisher, they recommended my writing instead. I was invited to send the newsletters I'd written to the publisher, who agreed to publish them. That was my first book, Front Porch Tales. I've been writing ever since.
In 1998, my family and I moved back to my hometown. I took a year off to write, then agreed to become the part-time pastor of Fairfield Friends Meeting, a small Quaker meeting near my home, where I continue to minister.
I write five days a week, usually in the morning. I knock off for lunch and a nap, then am back at it until my boys get home from school. Once a week or so, I travel somewhere to give a speech. This is not nearly as exotic as it sounds. If humanity has invented a more dismal way to travel than the airplane, I'm not aware of it.
I don't work on Saturdays, unless I've goofed off through the week and need to catch up, a not uncommon occurrence. Sundays are spent at Quaker meeting for worship and in my recliner, asleep, with the newspaper in my lap. I have single-handedly raised the Sunday afternoon nap to an art form.
This marriage of pastoring, writing and speaking is one that appeals to me. Each activity complements the other. I once spent a summer during college working for the state highway picking up roadkill. Compared to that, what I do now is a breeze.