The Devil and Pastor Gus

By Roger Bruner

Description:

Fifty. Half a century old. Closer to the grave than cradle. And what does Pastor Gus Gospello have to show for his fifty years on earth? Not much. Shepherd of a small church. Married without kids. Faithful keeper of God's commands.
Gus longs to make a difference for God to have an eternal legacy. Now, as he comes to grips with his mid-life crisis, Gus acknowledges he'll never be another John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, or Billy Graham.
But can he become the next C.S. Lewis?
His wife thinks so. Fueled with the unbridled hope of a naïve novelist, Gus sets out to craft a novel so rich in spiritual symbolism and truth that even the Devil takes notice. And that's never a good sign.
The last time the Devil and Gus met, Gospello's pen hovered over the signature line of a dangerous contract his soul in exchange for a child. But when Gus turned his back on the Great Deceiver, the news spread like Hellfire. Ever since, Satan's been obsessed with personally delivering Gus to Hell.
With his eye on Gus's new novel, the Devil tempts Gus with a peek into the spiritual realm of good and evil for a truthful account of his rise, fall, and enduring success. The Devil will feed Gus information few mortals are privileged to know. In return Gus will craft what's sure to become a best seller. Of course, Gus has no intention of making the Accuser look as winsome as promised. Instead, Gus plans to write a scathing satire, exposing the Devil's excessive arrogance.
But when the prologue to Gus's novel inexplicably appears in a popular Christian magazine and the Devil is shown to be a pride-filled fool, he seeks to destroy Gus and everything the pastor holds dear, including his precious wife.
Gus, willing to lay himself on the line to turn his little flock back to God, makes one last deal and signs the dotted line. Satan finally has claim on Gus's soul, and with it, vindication. But Gus has a few tricks of his own. Win or lose, Pastor Gus is about to discover that striking a deal with Satan, even in jest, can have eternal consequences.

Book Takeaway:

Doing wrong for the right reason is still wrong. But nothing is beyond God's ability to forgive.

Why the author wrote this book:

Thirty or forty years ago I wrote a very short play about a Christian minister who outwits the Devil. When I began writing novels, I realized that my earlier story had real potential as a novel. So I expanded the story.

Just as Pastor Gus wanted to leave a special book as his Christian legacy, I see The Devil and Pastor Gus as mine. No matter how many other novels I write, this one will always be special in that way.