Lessons on the Way to Heaven: What My Father Taught Me

Mike Fechner had cofounded an urban renewal ministry called H.I.S. BridgeBuilders and sold all he owned to fund it. But at this stage of serving the poor full time, when Mike believed he was doing precisely what God wanted him to do, the unthinkable happened. Mike was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a year to live.

With his life’s clock now quickly ticking away, in a time of incredible pain and bewilderment, Mike discovered what it meant to truly lose his life for the sake of finding it. Through faith he kept going forward, and encountered a wilder, more adventurous life than he had ever imagined, a life truly given away and truly found.

Lessons on the Way to Heaven is brimming with hope and faith, vision and wisdom. It’s a “last lecture” (Randy Pausch) for anyone who wonders what life is all about, who’s hurting and needs encouragement, or who wants to discover the secret of living a life that is so good it is beyond belief.

Michael Fechner Jr. is a law student at SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. Throughout his life, he has walked with his father in the streets of South Dallas, learning what it means to serve and love the least. Today he continues to serve in the community that his father worked to change. Michael and his wife, Caitlin, live in Dallas, Texas.

Bob Welch is the author of 12 books, an award-winning columnist, a speaker, and an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Oregon in Eugene. His articles have been published in inspirational books, including the popular “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.