by Rex Chapman
First published 1970
The congregation sits in wooden pews as Pastor David Henley struggles with questions that have no easy answers. In a small Midwestern town where everyone knows their neighbors' business, Henley finds his certainty cracking under the weight of real human suffering. When tragedy strikes close to home, he must choose between the comfort of doctrine and the messy reality of actual belief. His wife Sarah watches him wrestle with God while their teenage daughter pulls away from everything the church represents. The town expects answers from their pastor, but Henley discovers that honest faith might look more like questions than certainties. Chapman captures the tension between public faith and private doubt in a story that reveals how prayer sometimes feels less like communication and more like hope cast into silence.
Genres: drama, christian-fiction, contemporary, faith
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: crisis-of-faith, doubt-and-belief
Setting: Midwest, Small Town
Period: Contemporary
Paperback · SCM-Canterbury Press Ltd