I don’t often read Christian fiction, and when I do, I don’t review it. So, this is a first for me. But there was something about this book that made me want to talk about it. When it comes to Francine Rivers I’ve not read much, in fact only the Mark of the Lion series, which was very different to this.
My biggest
concern when I started reading this was that it would be dated and, if I’m
honest, cringey. The book centres around Paul, the pastor of a mega church in
the US, and his family. Paul starts off wanting to take a small, struggling
church and use it to reach as many people as he can for God. Along the way he
gets more than distracted and the focus shifts from building up God’s people to
building his own reputation.
It didn’t
take long for my opinion to change. And yes the book has a strong 90’s feel to
it, and it’s American, but its message is bigger than those things. It gets to grips
with the real struggles of pastoring a church and also how Christians do and
should respond to inconsistencies that they see in the church and their pastor.
I thought
this was a very well written, challenging novel. It doesn’t shy away from the
nastier side of the church and provides a strong warning. I would put it down
as a must read. Still not sure I like the title though!
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