Title: All Saints: The Surprising True Story of How Refugees from Burma Brought Life to a Dying Church
Authors: Reverend Michael Spurlock and Jeanette Windle
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: 08/22/2017
Rating: ★★★★Synopsis from Goodreads: Discover the true story behind the film ALL SAINTS, and be inspired by one church’s extraordinary response to a group of refugees in need. Pastor Michael Spurlock’s first assignment is to close down the tiny church building of All Saints. But when its people begin welcoming refugees, Michael is called to discover new depths to the words love your neighbor.
Imagine being called to lead a church with issues. Dire financial issues, a recent split in the congregation, and a congregation that needs to heal from said split. Now imagine that you’ve been called to lead this church as your very first assignment out of seminary. That’s what Reverend Michael Spurlock faced when he was called to lead All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna, TN.
This book was nothing short of amazing to be perfectly honest. The telling of the backstories, which was essential to understanding what was happening with Rev. Spurlock, Ye Win, and other major players in the book, worked very well. I will say that I had hoped to learn more about All Saints’ split that happened just prior to Rev. Spurlock taking over, but that probably wasn’t something that was necessary to the story and was more to satisfy my own curiosity about the matter.
This book shows what it is to do as God and Christ command and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Trust me when I say that by human standards, Rev. Spurlock would have been more than justified in telling the Burmese refugees that All Saints couldn’t help them and that they needed to find somewhere else to go. But he didn’t. He recalled scripture, when Christ said that if someone has done something for the least of these, they’ve done it for Christ. And to Rev. Spurlock’s surprise, those refugees helped All Saints as much as All Saints helped them.
This book is a great read that can be accomplished in about a day or so – at least that’s how long it took me to read it. It was very well written, easy to follow, and gives you a great glimpse into the world of the refugees so you can understand how they felt and where they came from. This book would make an excellent choice for a Christian book club to read and discuss. I gave it 4 stars and I have to say, I’m going to have to see that movie now.
Advertisements Share this:I received a copy of this book free from Bethany House Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.
