Jesus Wars

Aiming power tools at his congregation like loaded pistols in his 2002 "Power of Jesus" sermon, Pastor Hunter Long of First Baptist ignites a craze that disturbs the balance of power between Jubilee's two main churches. In response, the Methodists hire closeted music minister Braden Miller, who was born to put on a show, and the Jesus Wars are on. As America moves into the Iraq War, the war between the churches for influence over the hearts and minds of the townspeople moves right along with it. So do the wars in individual hearts, as the main characters fight to suppress or pursue their own forbidden loves. And so does the war on nature, as climate change and a nearby quarry threaten to destroy the town.Though it is a comedy, The Jesus Wars delves into the dark side of the the turbulent post-9/11 years. Through the cultural lens of a small Southern town, it shows us the human cost of endless wars and the Christian nationalism that helps sustain them. In doing so the novel lays bare the roots of our current reckoning with war, violence, and hatred. But in the world of the novel, the more self-aware characters learn to grow and thrive and bring love and healing to their world. As for the others, they are not much better, but certainly no worse, by novel's end.