In This Moment

by Karen Kingsbury
Scott County Library audiobook 8 discs
read by January Lavoy and Kirby Heyborne
genre: Christian fiction

I wasn't going to blog this book because I only listened to the first part of the first CD . . . but I want to make a note here. I usually love Karen Kingsbury's writing! The vocal work by the two performers was fine.

In the opening scene, the principal wants to start a Bible study in his public high school. None of the Christian students or teachers want to run it. He has a proposal that he's going to present, but he is seriously worried and his girlfriend is terrified.

What?! I was the advisor for a Bible study in a public school. It was amazing! An after-school, optional / choice program is just that - an option. I subbed yesterday (10.3.18) and there was a poster for a Christian group open to all students. Minnesota is a fairly liberal state, but I don't think it's that unusual for Bible studies to exist in public schools. (And what about Fellowship of Christian Athletes? There are many high schools that have a branch!)

Beyond the Christian perspective that public schools are evil (dramatic, I know, but there are people I know who definitely have that perspective) . . . where is your faith?! Believing in Jesus Christ means that you will be persecuted. It's part of the deal. So, this book might be excellent. I don't know. The opening scene was much too melodramatic for me! And I have friends who home school (I respect that choice) but talk about sending children to public schools as something akin to child abuse. I have worked with so many Christian teachers who live out their faith in their classrooms! The two are not antithetical!


Blurb from Amazon:
Hamilton High Principal Wendell Quinn is tired of the violence, drug abuse, teen pregnancies, and low expectations at his Indianapolis school. A single father of four, Quinn is a Christian and a family man. He wants to see change in his community, so he starts a voluntary after-school Bible Study and prayer program. He knows he is risking his job by leading the program, but the high turnout at every meeting encourages him.

A year later, violence and gang activity are down, test scores are up, and drug use and teen pregnancy have plummeted. The program is clearly working—until one parent calls the press. Now Quinn faces a lawsuit that could ruin everything.

With a storm of national attention and criticism, Quinn is at a crossroads—he must choose whether to cave in and shut down the program or stand up for himself and his students. The battle comes with a high cost, and Quinn wants just one attorney on his side for this fight: Luke Baxter. In This Moment is an inspiring, relevant story about the nuances of religious freedom and how a group of determined people just might restore the meaning of faith in today’s culture.