About the Book

Book: Preacher on the Run: The Truth Will Hold Its Own

Author: Jayna Baas

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: April 12, 2020

STANDING FOR TRUTH COULD COST HIM HIS FREEDOM. FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM COULD COST HIM HIS LIFE.

It’s 1771, and North Carolina is at war. On one side stands the power of the Crown. On the other side stands a dangerous freedom of conscience.

Former circuit rider Robert Boothe has spent the last four years leading the tyrant-hating Regulators against North Carolina’s corrupt British government. All he wants is a safe place for his little Baptist church to worship God.

But when Colonel Charles Drake arrives in town, Robert becomes a target. The Church of England wants him to shut up. The governor wants him dead.

Now Robert’s church and family are caught in the crossfire. And that safe place is farther and farther away.

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About the Author

Jayna Baas, pronounced as in “baa, baa, black sheep,” is the author of Preacher on the Run and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network. She lives in northern Michigan with a great family of real people and the family of pretend people who live in her head. (Yes, she does know her characters are not real. No, she does not want you to tell them she said so.) Although she enjoys multiple genres, her favorite

story is this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Learn more and sign up for a free short story at www.booksbyjayna.com.

More from Jayna

Freedom is risky. If people are free to make up their own minds, they might discover they’ve been lied to. They might discover the truth and then act on it, and they just might turn the world upside down.

That’s a story that’s been happening ever since Christ freed his first followers from the law of sin and death. They shared that freedom all over their world, and the hierarchy didn’t like it, from the Pharisees on up to Nero. It’s a story that happens over and over again. And it happened in eighteenth-century North Carolina.

Almost all of the Thirteen Colonies had an official state-sanctioned church that could banish, imprison, or even execute those who did not conform. The most common “state church” in the southern colonies was the Church of England, and that’s what we find in North Carolina at the time of Preacher on the Run.

Imagine you’re a dissenter preacher in this time and place. Up the street is the local vestry, which you’re taxed to support, while you’ve been threatened with jail for preaching without a license. One of your church members is about to be dispossessed for not paying taxes—taxes he can’t afford and has probably already paid once. No one dares go to court; everyone knows the courts are nests of extortion, and you could be charged with felony if you stay at a meeting after an official deems it seditious.

Now the governor’s new agent comes to town—a man who is hungry for power, a man who knows you’re a leader not only in your congregation but also in the grassroots resistance that is rising against the government’s corruption. To him, your belief that people can go to God directly through faith in Christ without the state church is blasphemous. And your belief that all men are on equal footing before God and the law is unthinkably dangerous.

What would you do?

This is a scenario that set my story-loving imagination on fire. This is the story of Preacher on the Run. It’s the story of a spark that ignited and spread throughout the colonies until it was a blaze of revolution—not the rejection of authority but the restoration of rightful authority. It’s the story of countless men and women who faced persecution on American soil for the sake of truth and freedom. Truth never needs to be forced on others, because it can never truly be defeated. And only where there is freedom can truth flourish and spread and turn the world upside down. Because, as Robert Boothe says in Preacher on the Run, the truth will hold its own.

This is his story, and ours.

MY REVIEW

In 1771 the world was in turmoil as a battle was forming over who was in control. Robert Boothe is a preacher who wants to do things right in the eyes of God. He wants to be able to preach and not have men interrupting service because they don’t like what he stands for. There was much tension between The Church of England and what Robert knew was right in the eyes of God. That thinking brings Colonel Charles Drake to town. Danger has come and Robert is the target. The members of his small church is in danger as well if they continue to follow him.

I can’t imagine the tension Robert faced daily but I admired his honesty and faith. He stands up for those who are afraid, or being threatened. I like when he says, ‘The only authority that matters is God’s.” He respects who God has placed in authority but will not abide by them once they cross into unbiblical commands. In other words if it doesn’t line up with God, then he will not be bullied into following what is wrong.

It is hard to believe that a preacher during this time period could be arrested because they didn’t have a license to preach. Robert now must face the consequences but I loved how he put it in God’s hands. This is a good example of trusting God and not letting fear take over. With Robert in trouble his wife Magdalen must do what she can to free him and continue his work. I loved how brave she was and how she never wavered from her faith.

The story delivers a vivid look at what it was like in the days when preaching was not popular and going against those who were in charge were dangerous. There are several characters in the story which stand up for justice without wavering. With lies, secrets, danger and pride the story is a powerful look at trusting God and taking a stand against injustice.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.