Child of Ishmael, by James Wright. CreateSpace, 2015. 418 pages.
Mission books don’t tend to make the best-seller lists, and mission fiction is almost non-existent. So when an author whose previous book we’d reviewed and enjoyed told me he’d written a novel to help mobilize people for missions, I thought you’d want to hear about it. An unusual resource!
The novel deals with the awakening of a somewhat naive Iowa college-town pastor and his community when a mosque goes up across the street from their church and brings them face-to-face with Islam, apparently for the first time. They start questioning their assumptions about faith, world religions, and how the church should respond. You probably know people who hold the same views or struggle with the same questions. Several characters even end up traveling to Central Asia to solve a few mysteries and visit a man they met through the mosque.
» Learn more or purchase the Kindle edition for US$8.99 from Amazon ($14.99 for the paperback). See also Fields of Gold: Planting a Church among Central Asian Muslims, or read our review of it.
Good to see the positive comments. A missionary novel? Yeah, little bit crazy, but the truth is that for a lot of people the story of Ishmael is very close to the truth. I hope it helps move people along to think outside the local box…as well as think about the possibilities right there inside the box. JW
https://www.facebook.com/childofishmael?fref=ts
Thanks for writing, James. A friend followed by asking me, “But did you LIKE it??” and I told her I certainly did! Hope it continues to be a tool in God’s hands for helping people reconsider their assumptions, attitudes, priorities, etc.
Marti
Thanks for the reviews here and elsewhere. Also for suggestions on improvements. Maybe a sequel will come out so we can see what happens at Bethel Church and with Curt and Kayli :).
For friends who want to know if they might like it, well, grab a copy and read! It’s free next week May 5 and 6 for download on Amazon Kindle. http://www.amazon.com/Child-Ishmael-hidden-identity-truth-ebook/dp/B00UVRQRZO