Christian Fiction Comes of Age

The very brightest and most gifted Christian artists in the fields of music, art, literature, and film, left the field for a generation. There are various explanations for this, but I’ll leave others to wax wise on that subject. The great news for the 21st Century is the return of excellent writers to the Christian realm. It is now possible for even the most voracious consumer of fiction to fill their plate with 100% contemporary Christian authors.

While on vacation, I was pleased to add two more excellent writers to my list of favorites. Reviews of “Directed Verdict” by Randy Singer and “Proof” by Jack Cavanaugh and Bill Bright will appear elsewhere on this blog as I find the time to do a proper job of it. The really good news about Cavanaugh is that he has written a number of other books, providing a potential treasure trove of future reading. I suppose I should have already been aware of this gifted author, as he has won numerous awards for his other works.

While I was enjoying those two books, my wife, Pam, was telling me once or twice a day just how much she was enjoying “Redemption” by Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley. Yes, that Gary Smalley. The one you see on the infomercials or hear on Focus on the Family. Like Cavanaugh, I have never heard of Karen Kingsbury, but she has twenty-three books to her credit, including the best selling “On Every Side,” “Moments of Weakness,” and Halfway to Forever.”

I might have missed Karen’s work because of my male tendency to prefer fast action and complex legal thrillers. However, I am a real sucker for many of the Chick Flicks and Lifetime Channel movies, so when Pam finishes “Redemption,” I’ll give it a try and give it a review later.

Other outstanding authors of great modern Christian Fiction, like Randy Alcorn and Ted Deckker are well represented on this blog. There just isn’t any reason to read the secular folks any more. The message is better, the content is honoring to God, and the profits go to support the authors and publishers of material I’d rather buy more of in the future.