I really enjoyed Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur. This book delves into the problems which occur when a church is caught up in legalism and has a pastor who practices spiritual dictatorship. I’ve heard of such churches, but have no personal experience with any. I found the incidents of international travel in this book a bit far fetched because it’s hard to imagine someone being so naive. I felt the “Wisdom Book” was bit preachy, but thought it was a creative way for the author to scripturally discount legalistic issues brought up in the storyline. And, I was also slightly confused by the dates because twelve years pass in the middle section, but I never noticed any references (ie: 3 years later, etc) to so much time passing while reading the story so I had to look back a few times when I started the last section to see how old the granddaughter should have been in the third section based on the last time she was mentioned in the second section. Ok. So, I know that’s a bit nit picky, but if there’s a timeline I do try to keep up with it (LOL) and this one was hard to follow because the sequence didn’t make sense at times.Other than those couple of things, I really enjoyed the story and thought the author did a great job of bringing to light the amount devestation and heartache which can be brought on by church leadership who use scripture out of context. It’s too bad the missionary organization Mr. Arthur worked with for seventeen years fired him after he wrote this book. But, I can understand why they would have felt that a necessary action.
Publisher’s Summary: Pastor Jason Faircloth knows what he believes. His clear faith, in fact, is why he is one of the most prominent pastors in Atlanta. He relies on it to discipline his daughter, his wife, his church. He prays daily that others would come to see God’s ways as he does.
And it is about to cost him everything.
Groping for answers in the face of tragedy, Jason begins a search for the only family he has left: the granddaughter kept hidden from him. Soon he finds himself on an international adventure that will take him straight into the depths of his soul. He is determined not to fail again.
A fast-paced suspense novel rich in spiritual depth, Wisdom Hunter explores what it means to break free of Christian legalism—and discover why grace can mean the difference between life and death.
Author’s Bio: Randall Arthur is the bestselling author of Jordan’s Crossing and Brotherhood of Betrayal. He and his wife have served as missionaries to Europe for over thirty years. From 1976 till 1998, he lived in Norway and Germany as a church planter. Since 2000, he has taken numerous missions teams from the United States on trips all over Europe. Arthur is also the founder of the AOK (Acts of Kindness) Bikers’ Fellowship, a group of men who enjoy the sport of motorcycling. He and his family live in Atlanta, Georgia. GIVEAWAY: I’m sorry, but Iwasn’t provided with any copies of this book to give away. However, I am willing to loan mine out. If you would like to borrow it, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
