The Devil and Pastor Gus by Roger Bruner
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. Well, most of them, anyway. Gus longs to make a difference for God –…
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. Well, most of them, anyway. 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.
” If you liked The Devil and Daniel Webster “
Five Star Review on Amazon By Stan Shults
If you liked The Devil and Daniel Webster (by Stephen Vincent Benet), then you will truly appreciate Mr. Bruner’s modern-day adaptation. The author stays true to the flavor of the original concept by weaving in humor with moral lessons and Biblical teachings. I found this to be a good, page-turner–I enjoyed it so much, I finished it in a day. Great read!
About the Author
Roger Bruner worked as a teacher, job counselor, and programmer analyst before retiring at sixty-two to pursue his dream of writing Christian fiction full-time.
Barbour Publishing released the first two novels in his young adult Altered Hearts series, Found in Translation and Lost in Dreams, in 2011. He’s self-published a small book of some of his older, short works, Yesterday’s Blossoms.
Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas released a speculative novel, The Devil & Pastor Gus, this past November. His agent is actively seeking homes for his remaining eight unpublished manuscripts.
A guitarist, bass player, and songwriter, he is active in his church’s choir, praise team, and nursing home ministry. Roger also enjoys reading, photography, web design, mission trips, and spending time with his wonderful wife, Kathleen, and their cat and miniature dachshund. His daughter and her family live in Orlando and he has stepdaughters in NYC and Las Vegas.
Find out more about Roger at RogerBruner.com, enjoy some of his song lyrics at asicomesinging.wordpress.com, and take a gander at his other blog, OnAgingGracelessly.com.
This plot sounds like a really good set up for a lot of hilarious situations!
I’d like to think it’s pretty hilarious in places, Terry, but it’s plenty serious as well. Some parts of it still make me cry–or at least sniffle. I consider this probably the most important novel I’ll ever write. Just as Pastor Gus wanted to leave a novel as his legacy, so do I. Thanks for the comment! 🙂