Search - And the Shofar Blew

This book, as most of the Christian fiction by this author, starts out fairly plebian, even mediocre. I thought it would be like a James Herriot novel...a gentle, 600-page long story about the families centered around a country church. Boy, was I wrong. As with most Xtian fic by Rivers, the gentle beginning with the hack wordage is just a ruse! It is a story about how little by little people can slip into sin...the Devil slides in the needle without the characters noticing. The country church booms and becomes a megachurch...is the blessing from God? Or from someone else? It is well plotted, and even frightening although it is no _Oath_. The motivations of the pastor make sense and there is no deus ex machina to make everything back to happy-normal at the end. Pride has to be chopped down and cast into the fire, forever. Now, since Rivers is a romance writer, there is of course a restored romance at the end...but it does not come without cost.

The most frightening thing about this novel is not how it shows the steady decline away from God and into the hell of self, but that it reflects actual situations. It's not a roman a clef but might as well be one. God save us all.

This book was more about how easily pastors can be corrupted than a week willed wife. My experience in organized religion is that most pastors are control freaks and most have wives who tow the line. This book very much reflected my life in organized religion (no I'm Not a pastor's wife and never was)I left the "church" after years of reading the scriptures for myself and not seeing anything even faintly like what I was reading in everyday life.

Francine Rivers did not disappoint me in this book. Once I started reading this book I didn't want to put it down. I love the way she takes the Bible and puts it into a story that we can all relate to. I recommend this book highly.

eva

Many churches are struggling with the question of what will keep them alive and growing. Old ways of worship are being questioned and changed resulting in unrest and contraversy and sometimes growth or death of the church. This book addresses this problem and and tells what happened with one church and its pastor because of his zeal for growth.

I enjoyed this book because it was so close to what has been my life as I get older and deal with change.

This was my first Francine Rivers book and I am hooked. It made me want to be more like Abby and Eunice by the time I finished. I'm so happy she has written several books because I plan to be reading many more of her writings in the future.

I can't say enough about Francine Rivers...she is an awesome author and one that definitely lives with God in her heart every moment. Every book I read is a gentle reminder of how we should live our lives and how good God is to us all, even though none of us deserve his loving grace. This book is one that is hard to put down. It has shown me how we must love people just as God loves us and forgive even when forgiving is almost impossible. This is a must read for everyone.