Parson Campbell's Breakthrough: A Novel of the 1950s

On his first Sunday as pastor of a rural Virginia church, newly-minted minister Eddie Campbell discovers that his leading elder is an apostle of racism. Eddie's own more liberal views soon put him at serious odds with Mr. Melon, and others in his congregation. Eddie persists, but finds his own faith tested by challenges in his ministry and crises in his family life.

Set in the 1950s, Parson Campbell's Breakthrough tells a story of a close-knit southern community encountering changing social norms about race that force them to confront their longstanding beliefs and prejudices. Answers don't come easily, and not all hearts are changed, but in the end Eddie achieves a breakthrough he could not have imagined on his first Sunday.

Bert Johnston is a retired Presbyterian minister who served churches throughout the South and Midwest. He writes from a Christian perspective, but preaches no sermons. Readers of Jan Karon's Mitford novels will enjoy Parson Campbell's Breakthrough.