The Long Road Home and Other Short Stories from the Silences in the Gospel of Mark

"Two extraordinary talents intersect in the pages of this unique volume--that of an insightful biblical scholar and that of a consummate storyteller. Jim Lowry's narrative imagination wanders in the same territory as Garrison Keillor and Fred Craddock to fill in the pregnant gaps in the Second Gospel with tales faithful to Mark and as down-to-earth as Great Falls, South Carolina."

--Michael L. Lindvall, Senior Minister, Brick Presbyterian Church, New York



"Jim Lowry, an exceptionally fine preacher, has plunged into the silences of the Gospel of Mark, has listened carefully for what the silences have to say, and has reemerged to tell us what he heard. Drawing on traditions of interpretation, his years as a pastor, and front-porch storytelling, Lowry hears in the silences gospel-filled stories about biblical characters and eccentric folk in his hometown. Take the plunge with him, listen, and be amazed!"

--Erskine Clarke, Publisher, Journal for Preachers



"Deep inside the heart and soul of Jim Lowry--a writer, pastor-scholar, Southerner, and Christian--there's a searingly captivating story. That story--Jim's story, our story, the story--speaks to you in these pages. It dwells within characters from around the world and back and forth through time, some of whom could live across the street. I promise that in this book you will make new friends, and one of them may be a new side of yourself."

--Theodore J. Wardlaw, President, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary