The Calling

Like the fictional Forrest Gump, my father, Dr. Merrill B. McFall—in his real life—encountered many people who inspired him and whose lives he inspired in return. They include some well-known names like John F. Kennedy, John Dillinger, Louie Zamperini (subject of the book and movie “Unbroken”), Ross Lockridge Jr. (author of the great American novel “Raintree County”), Methodist bishop Richard Raines, psychologist B. F. Skinner, sexologist Alfred Kinsey (of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University), Herman Wells (past president of Indiana University) and the Honorable Lee Hamilton (former congressman and Medal of Freedom recipient from President Barack Obama), among others.

This is a book about the human triumph of finding redemption through God’s healing grace. It is based on the promise of the abundant Christian life, all fueled by the power of faith and channeled through one minister’s devotion to his flock and to his beloved congregation.

In addition to being an affirmative influence on the lives he touched, my father was himself changed and inspired by those he helped.  The book details the impacts of these personal stories on my father and on the people whom he served, as these stories were what shaped his own spiritual values and his personal faith journey