Monday, December 12, 2011

The Search Committee-Tim Owens

The Search Committee


Tim Owens

Tyndale, Feb 1 2012, $12.99

ISBN: 9781414364452



After seven years of preaching to the flock, the reverend accepted the Big Job in Atlanta. Reverend John Haynesworth became their interim minister while The Search Committee is formed to interview the applicants and observe them preaching at other churches.



The magnificent seven represent a vast cross section of the congregation with seemingly nothing except their church ties to connect them. Travis Booth, the youngest, is a supermarket assistant manager married to Jenny with no kids; she wants children while he remains uncommitted. Retired Bill Duncan has a heart condition that has increased his worries over who will care for his weak minded wife when he is gone. Retired septuagenarian Frankie Fulford just wants everyone to get along with one another. Thirtyish low esteem Matt Fischer is an unemployed PH.D who lives with his dad and is attracted to Julia the waitress. Fiftyish Dot Spivey is an opinioned gossip who frightens the younger men with her sharp tongue. Sexagenarian widow Joyce Lambertson relocated from Rochester, New York, but feels like an outsider. Finally there is pretty thirty-something divorcee Susie Mayfield, who as a single mom raises a troubled teen. This diverse group must come together to select the next minister.



Though not for everyone as the pace is what one would expect driving on the back roads of the Southeast, fans who appreciate a deep engaging character study will want to ride in the late 1970s Econoline. The seven act distinctly different from one another as each goes through the teaming phases (Tuckman model – forming, storming, norming, and performing). The secondary cast enhances the understanding of the septet. Readers will enjoy The Search Committee as a church group eventually comes together to find the next minister.



Harriet Klausner

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