3 out of 4 stars
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The book Pastoring Is Not What You Think has its setting in Texas, USA. It is a religious fiction. The leading character is pastor Job. Pastor job is a mentor to his congregation and even in the neighbourhood where he stays. Young kids and even old people stop him on the way and in recreation centres to seek for his guidance about life. Yes, he is a charismatic pastor and his prayers do wonder for his congregation. There are lots of positive responses from the people who request for his intercession. The pastor believes in God and that anything could be solved through divine intervention. However, life is not rosy for the pastor, and he has financial constraints and misunderstanding wife.
I loved the author's portrayal that prayers can do wonders. There is a lot of positive response from those who asks for pastor's intercession. For instance, The young Mexican boy who is distressed on being deported back home does not know that was a blessing in disguise. He had asked for pastors prayer at his lowest moments. He was frustrated since he barely knew anyone in Mexico. He had left Mexico with her mom as a young boy and the only home he had known was America. He secures himself a job with an American agency as a translator of English to the Mexican language. That was a plus considering there are lots of fake pastors today. Pastors of today have reduced churches into dens for soliciting for funds. That is not pastor Job. He genuinely prayed for his congregation.
The comedy in the book is just exhilarating. Pastor asserts that he cannot pray for those who have broken the law to evade the wheels of justice. That was harsh. A pastor passing judgement in her congregation. That surely made me laugh. It is those in distress who need prayers the most. All that said, pastor Job is still compassionate and prays for them altogether. A pastor praying so that people can escape the justice system!
The character of pastors wife was unbecoming. She is overly materialistic. She is stressing pastor to buy for her and her mum brand-new jeeps, yet he is enduring a period of financial difficulties. She does not understand pastors situation. Moreover, she is busy planning on what to buy with the church offering before the actual service takes place. That was extreme! What pastor wife does that? However, she also has her strengths and is concerned about pastor health. She invites a psychiatrist when he thinks the pastor is going crazy. Pastor was no longer himself. He talked to himself whenever he is alone. That prompted her into believing there is something wrong with the pastor's mental sanity.
I really loved the book and would give it a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I gave it the rating because of the character maturity on the leading characters, pastor and her wife. The attitude of pastor wife changes at the end. She is not the same spendthrift person we see at the beginning. Even pastor faith continues to grow with time. That was a plus. Additionally, the book is well written and had no grammatical errors. I was not distracted by the book wordings.
I would recommend it to persons taking religious courses. This is a great source or spiritual nourishment. There are biblical allusions that help educate the downtrodden souls. Biblical allusions are so many. It is only atheist that I can advise against reading the book. They will find the book teachings contrary to their beliefs.
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Pastoring is not what you think
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