The Preacher

I don’t really know what to tell you about Darren Dillman’s novel The Preacher. I suppose I will begin with the novel’s premise:

“What did you all think of Brother Tisdale?” the chairman asked.
“Best preaching I ever heard. Spirit was working in there.”
“Billy Graham dreams of being that good,” another said.
“That’s the most excited I’ve felt in a service in a long time.” Several nodded.

After a long and exhaustive search, the Pulpit Committee of the small Crown of Thorns Baptist Church has found a dynamic new preacher. Owen Tisdale is experienced, savvy, and knows how to pack the pews. There’s just one problem: the once peaceful congregation has begun to unravel. At first, it’s just little things. new members with new opinions, an ambitious public relations campaign, and old members with nightmares.

But when opinions become arguments, campaigns become staggering debt, and nightmares become illness, accident, and rape, questions must be asked. And the most frightening question of all is . what if the Devil himself has just been hired as senior pastor of Crown of Thorns Baptist Church?

As unsuspecting church committees meet and Sunday school teachers plan their lessons, the incidents of mayhem mount. It will take a humble church deacon and a young mother with bleak and terrifying visions to find the answer .

Who is this man Owen Tisdale? I’m not in violation of any spoiler rules by telling you straight up: he’s the devil himself. The novel freely admits Tisdale’s true identity from the start and the rest of the plot builds around the other characters realizing what the reader and narrator both already know: Tisdale is evil personified.

Think of all the morally depraved activities of our society and you will find most of them here, either at Tisdale’s own hand or at the very least under his guidance and influence. Prostitution. Rape. Murder. School shootings. Perhaps one of the more unsettling incidents involves Tisdale influencing a preschooler to stab his mother. You may be thinking this isn’t your typical Christian fiction fare and you would be correct. Toss in a dose of supernatural healings and otherworld visions and you have a good idea of what to expect from The Preacher.

As I said, I don’t really know what to tell you. It’s different. It’s dark. The devil disguised as Owen Tisdale, The Preacher, is evil. What can possibly overcome his evil grasp? Well, you’ll have to read the novel to find out for yourself. In fact, you can view an excerpt here.

Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….