God’s Deplorables

A Grace Like a River Flows Story

The cover illustration and title tell you nearly everything you need to know about my new story. Meet Gavin Newel, a drunken, homeless bum—or is he? Marybeth, Mindy, Michael and Gregory, and Sonny and his wife Margo are also God’s deplorables. These are those people you feel sorry for and are willing to help, at a distance, because you don’t want them in your church. Neither did Robbie Lennox, pastor of Hope Church. Robbie was the product of a mega church preaching “love Jesus and get rich.” In six years, Hope Church had gone from a tiny country church outside Glencoe to over three hundred in attendance. Suddenly, these deplorables began attending Hope Church, and panic set in among Robbie, and the elders. “They will drive off members and visitors.” The answer was simple—they had to go. But people and things aren’t always what they seem, and God had another idea as Robbie’s future was placed on the line.