The Pilgrim's Perplex

When ambitious seminarian and cartoonist Amos Kidneyfern arrives in the Pacific Northwest town of Brushwood to become an interim pastor, he has one mission-revitalize a dying rural church of retirees, farmers, and apathetic teenagers. In the process he hopes to strengthen his and others' faith, grow the church, promote justice, earn kudos from the Pope, and usher in a thousand-year reign of global peace. Frustrations grow, however. when he meets resistance. Rousting this elderly congregation is harder than anticipated. Young Pastor Amos collides with sacred traditions, rural values, and a clan of unbending Norwegians. His tenure is limited, church savings are dwindling, and time is running out. With only two years to foster change, in desperation Pastor Amos adopts a variety of roles: deferring servant, gentle change agent, sophisticated theologian, timid prophet, repentant bully, standup comedian, and idiot savant minus the savant. His longsuffering wife Violet is the voice of reason, wisdom, and wit, who guides her naïve husband to the finish line. With humorous anecdotes, stories of idealism gone awry, and tales both cosmic and comic, Pastor Amos chronicles how a perplexed pilgrim does his best and gets mixed results. This is Erik Johnson's first novel.