Fiction Books

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The Gathering Place by Becca Anderson- The Gathering Place by Becca Anderson is one of those books that might open your eyes as to what happened in your unhealthy church/group. When I first read it in 2006, I came to a place in the book where I couldn't put it down until I was finished. I found myself laughing, in tears, and even inspired to a time of prayer while reading. The novel is based upon Becca's own experience in an unhealthy church group (a spin-off of Witness Lee), but she also combined it with the research she did on other groups and people's experiences.

One thing I appreciated with her book was the ending. We don't have a fairy tale 'everyone lives happily forever after' finale. Becca keeps the story honest, showing the struggles of the main character, Casey Ellis, and that those struggles don't stop simply because she leaves or gets involved in another church. Casey grapples with anger toward God, being able to trust again, sorting through what was true from her group and what was error, among other things.

The reader finds early on that the leadership in this church is knowingly deceptive. That isn't kept a secret, but is revealed more and more as the story progresses. It was re-released under the title Shadow of Deceit, which is no longer available.

Under The Blood by D.L. London (pseudonym)- Under The Blood appears to be a combination of fiction and non-fiction that deals with a well known 'name' in the United Pentecostal Church, in particular the family of one of the sons of the late Nathaniel Urshan who has long had a church in Florida. The author appears to be sharing in part a personal account of her interaction with them. The book may cause you to smile at times as you read the beginnings of a romance between a young couple and then will be gut wrenching as you watch a middle-aged mother intent on destroying two marriages. She creates havoc and turmoil in her family as well as others and ruins the chance of the young couple's future together. I would not spend the $29.99 for the paperback as there are literally dozens and dozens of typos, wrong and missing words, and punctuation omissions and errors. For a lengthier preview than what is on Amazon, see Google Books. A sequel titled Under Grace was released in early 2016, which appears to be more fiction than not.

Where Angels Tread by Anthony Ducklow- There is a danger in basing one's faith on humans which are fallible. "Where Angels Tread," follows the story of a church which had turmoil for years, due to a few of its members. Follow the path of Rev. Moses McDermit as he takes over the pastorate of the church and turns the tide. Nathaniel O'Brien comes to a service and is touched by the hand of God and stikes up a friendship with Moses. But Nathaniel starts to lose his faith as he watches what people can do. Will he leave the faith? In steps Ethan, and Nathaniel finds himself on a journey he never imagined.

Occult: They Didn't Think it Could Happen in Their Church by June Summers- Though it is fiction, it is based upon the true story of a Oneness Pentecostal church called Calvary Chapel that was based in the Pacific Northwest. The book revolves around a Pentecostal type church called Grace Church, pastored by Mark Garrett. His wife, Donna, regularly "prophesies" and gives "messages" in tongues and interpretation. She has been kept in the dark as to what really has transpired between her husband and other women in the church.

We're introduced to a woman named Penny who doesn't really know God, who hopes to marry Rick, a professional golfer. However, she moves to a different state and when a co-worker invites her to Grace Church, she is touched during the singing and gives her life to God. Penny jumps right in at the church and even signs up for their Bible College. Rick comes to visit and is disturbed at the changes in her and doesn't enjoy his visit to the church.

In the opening chapters we find a church which covers up sexual improprieties. In the past, the pastor has covered for a senior elder's affair with a 16 year old member. The pastor himself is currently facing two different accusations of inappropriate contact.

Laurina, one of the accusers and the one the elder had the affair with, has a meeting with the pastor and some church officials and is persuaded by them that nothing wrong happened (an interesting section to read). She agrees to support the pastor in the other accusation brought by Jolene and her husband. Jolene and her family are disfellowshipped during a three hour Sunday evening service and members are no longer to have contact with them or speak of them. It's portrayed by the pastor as an effort of the devil to destroy him and thus the people at Grace Church.

While the church appears at first glance to be a large, healthy, thriving body of believers, we soon discover the many fractures in its foundation. The pastor has a definite problem in regard to keeping himself only for his wife. In chapter four you read about another situation just ready to happen between the pastor and yet another female member of the congregation.

Some may read this book and feel it is pretty far fetched as they may never have heard about spiritual connections. There has been this teaching among some Pentecostal and charismatic type churches for awhile. It is real, it has happened, and I believe it still happens today.

Grace Church is one of those churches into "new" moves (so called) of "God". The members get caught up in the different new happenings. The pastor supports and encourages each, sometimes with guidelines. These lead to the church opening itself up to this spiritual wives/husbands move. Though met at first with some hesitation, they soon jump head first into it. While it is said to be something which will take one deeper into the things of God and bring marriages back together, it ends up destroying marriages and friendships. All the while loyal members swear this is God's doing and quickly silence and expel any dissenters.

The story has a positive ending, though all is not well. So we don't have a fairy tale everything is fine closing. The way the book ends actually leaves an opening for a sequel.

June has shown how placing too much emphasis on experiences can lead one down a wrong path. She also shows how following all these experiences and feelings often led the people away from prayer as the experience took precendence. She also shows the ups and downs those who started to see the wrong in what was happening go through. People who question and/or leave may struggle and waver back and forth at first, one day feeling they are right in how they view things and the next feeling they need to stay with the church and think there are devils trying to deceive them into leaving.

I enjoyed the book and it kept my attention. It caused me to look further into what happened at this church.

As a side note, the book does not get raunchy. I figured I'd better mention that since it does deal with sexual matters.

Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur- We follow the life of Pastor Jason Faircloth, a legalistic minister, through a heart wrenching tragedy that slowly begins to open his eyes to the form of unbiblical Christianity he has come to embrace and teach. Losing all that was dear to him, Jason's life begins to unravel as he sets out to find the granddaughter he never knew. Struggling to comprehend what happened, he is confronted with his own beliefs and actions that once gave him comfort, but now appear to haunt him. I don't read much fiction, but found this book grabbed my interest and kept it until the final page. If you are studying about legalism and spiritual abuse, you may want to add this book to your list of reading materials.

Jordan's Crossing by Randall Arthur- The second in the series, we follow Jordan Rau, who follows a liberalistic approach to Christianity, as he moves his family to Germany, driven by a better paying position in his church organization. Their lives are quickly shattered by the murder of their son and his girlfriend and we watch them as they try to recover from the tragedy. Jordan's unrelenting hatred and bitterness leads him to a desperate search for the killers and his own revenge. Once again Jason Faircloth enters the novel, though he plays a smaller role this time.

Betrayal by Randall Arthur- The third in the series, I found it better than the first. Rachel and Clay McCain are missionaries to Sweden and were sent by a legalistic church. Clay suddenly abandons his church and family. When an investigation into his disappearance uncovers the reason for his departure, his wife and three young children are devastated, as well as his church and those back in the states. Forced to return to the states, his family is treated sternly by their home church, pushing Rachel into greater despair. Jason Faircloth, who we first met in "Wisdom Hunter," returns in this story of struggle against sin, legalism, and unforgiveness. It is also known as Brotherhood of Betrayal.

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds- I have mixed feelings about this one and almost didn't finish it. It does a good job of showing an unhealthy group and in a way reminded me a little of the movie, "The Village." Maybe it was because they live together in a community, though in this one they did go in and out of it. What I didn't like about it was how it seemed the main character never really knew Jesus and didn't seem to ever come to have a relationship with Him. (She's not the only one.) It may have been how I read it, but it seemed to be negative toward Christianity. All she knew were the abuses of the group her grandfather ran. The author did do a good job with the rapture scare. I wondered if she had her own encounter with Pentecostalism since in this group they did speak in tongues. For those from unhealthy churches, I felt it didn't leave something positive for them.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young- From Amazon: "Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever."

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Updated December 30, 2023

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