I really enjoyed the humor and pathos of the characters and their search for a new pastor, especially since my church recently did the same. But including all those sermons by the candidates got a little old, and I must admit I skipped most of them. ( )

This fictional novel about a Presbyterian church's search for a new pastor features the lives of the seven very different people on the search committee and the struggles and trials that they endure during the year that they're thrown together to find a new pastor. Since this is not how our church operates, I was interested in learning about how a search committee works while enjoying a fictional story at the same time.

The story itself was very relate-able to regular churchgoers. My favorite parts were the chapters where they were driving to or attending church services while searching for the new pastor -- the characters had some interesting experiences that were kind of humorous, and the various personalities within the committee had a familiarity that made me smile. I had thought that's what the whole book was going to be like, and would have enjoyed hearing the story week from week in the context of their drives.

Much of the book, however, took place outside the actual search and dealt with the committee members' personal struggles throughout the year -- coping with the death of a spouse, guilt from the past, marital problems, midlife crises, etc, etc. I think it was a good reminder that you don't really know where someone else is coming from, even if you consider yourself "close" to them, they may be dealing with beneath the surface that you don't realize. On the other hand, I enjoyed the lightheartedness of their Sunday morning searches better. There were a number of lengthy sermons that were worked into the story as they attended worship that all sounded a bit alike after awhile -- it didn't *sound* like they were written or presented by different people; they all had very similar structures and tone, and while they had good messages, the last was the only one that I felt really connected with the rest of the story -- the others seemed too much just like placeholders. Also, I didn't think there was enough Gospel. The situations that the church members found themselves in weren't resolved by prayer or putting their trust in Christ; one of the stories in particular wasn't even resolved in a way that I believe would be God-pleasing. I was kind of surprised that for a story that revolves around a church and its members, it didn't even seem to occur to them to turn to God's Word for comfort, direction, and guidance.

Overall, kind of a neat idea for a church-related story, but it didn't really live up to my expectations. ( )

Description:

When a Protestant church finds itself without a pastor, the church forms a search committee to represent the wants and needs of its congregation. In this case, when a Presbyterian preacher is called to Atlanta, the church's search committee, comprised of Travis, Dot, Susie, Bill, Joyce, Frankie, and Matt, pile into a white '78 model Ford Econoline and start searching for candidates. Just because they have been elected to agree on a new pastor, doesn't mean that they agree on anything else, so tension begins to rise. Can seven people sent on a religious mission put aside their backgrounds and secrets long enough to do what's best for the church? Or will their inner conflicts be revealed and make for a "bumpy ride"?

Review:

The Search Committee by Tim Owens is less about the actual search, and more about the committee members themselves. Seven wildly different personalities stuck in a van in search of a preacher - sounds like a great idea, right?... I loved the premise of this book right away, I have never thought about how a church gets a new pastor, especially in today's "electronic" society - (I wonder if you can Google a pastor too?). Anyway, the story-line is easy to follow and exceptionally well-written. I started to enjoy the complexity of the characters and their interactions immediately. I appreciated the balance of seriousness and humor, as well as the level of emotion - I was never bored. The only drawback was the choppiness of some of the viewpoint changes, but it didn't take anything away from the overall readability. Being a church-goer myself, I couldn't help but laughing since some of the characters reminded me of friends and neighbors in my own congregation. I have been on "road trips" before, so I know what it's like to be stuck in a van with people you don't necessarily agree with; although, those events do stand out in my mind because of the unexpected moments we all shared. I will definitely be recommending this book to my congregation! Great for book clubs; I found the Discussion Questions thought provoking as well!

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.5/5)

* I received this book from the author (Tyndale Blog Network) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. ( )