Book Review: The Search Committee

The Search Committee by Tim Owens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In The Search Committee, Tim Owens introduces us to seven people, all members of a shepherd-less Presbyterian flock.  Their duty is to find a man (and some insist it must be a man) to pastor their congregation.

They are as unique as any seven random people in a congregation, and each week they travel in an old church van to hopefully complete their task of finding just the right minister.  In an attempt to keep it secret from the churches they visit, they split up during the service and try to keep a low profile.  That isn't always easy because of the adventures they find themselves in -- from being covered in dust by taking a back road to a couple of them getting stuck in an elevator in a sombrero. 

While that might be the plot, we get a glimpse of each of the seven members and the struggles they face.  We all have skeletons in our closets, and The Search Committee shows a cross section of good church people and their problems from the death of a spouse, someone who is a afraid to have children, someone who witnessed the death of her mother and brother on the same day, and a man whose girlfriend gets pregnant and the baby isn't his.

Life isn't easy.  In fact, it's hard.  But somehow if we can continue on through the pain, we find that God is still Good.  Somehow, we find it.  Just as they did.

I loved this book.  It was a bit confusing at first because there were so many members of The Search Committee, but once I got used to the writing style, I enjoyed the look into each one.  Usually I hate when fiction books include sermons.  I think there has to be a better way to get a point across than a sermon thrown in.  However, in this book, it worked quite well.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a female minister thrown in the mix and how that issue was handled. 

This book hits the target for everything I expect in a Christian fiction book.  It's fun, and since fiction should be entertaining, it is a must.  There is plenty to point to God, which is something I feel is a requirement of Christian fiction.  Finally, it's a book that leaves you pondering your life, and what would be written about you if you were part of The Search Committee, and if you have brought resolution to the hard parts of life and have found in the end that God is still Good, and quite possibly the answers (and God) are closer than we think. 

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