The Listener

Title: The Listener
Author: Terri Blackstock
Genre: Fiction

One morning, after a very strange dream, Sam is hearing things. He goes to the local diner for breakfast, and he hears voices crying out. He hears voices of those close to him... the waitress at the diner, his wife, even his secretary. When he realized that no one was moving their lips in sync to the voices he heard, he thought it might be time to visit his pastor.

After in depth discussion with John, his pastor, they discovered that Sam was hearing cries from the very depths of people’s souls. Cries so deep, the individuals themselves sometimes were unaware of holes in their hearts.

This discovery sets John and Sam on an exciting day of meeting peoples needs. Sam could hear the need being cried out, but his intimidation kept him from actually approaching the individual. Sam would relay the need to Pastor John and the heart hungry pastor would dive in. Finally Sam could hold back no longer. He himself went out to bus stations, diners, and even the hospital to help people find their way to Christ.

Sam's wife Kate picks up on his unusual gifting and also jumps right in. For the next 2 weeks, Sam & Kate hurry home from work, gobble down their dinner, and head out into minister to the hurting people within in their community.

Attendance soars to a record high at their local church. However, some of the board members are not at all pleased with the new "face" of their church. Drug addicts, single moms, vagrants, are all coming to church. Together, Pastor John and Sam must convince the board that the Kingdom of Heaven includes all walks of life.

Then one morning, Sam wakes up and all is silent in his head. No voices cry out to him. The gifting is gone. Sam must make a decision. Does he stop going out into the community to meet people’s needs? Or does he go it feeling very alone, without the assistance of gift? Will Sam recognize the power of the Holy Spirit that goes hand in hand with the Great Commission?

The Listener is a short novella and unlike other Terri Blackstock books. (For those new to Terry Blackstock, she writes a lot of suspense and mystery.) It's fast and easy reading and gives the reader a passion to win the lost to Jesus Christ. It gives insight to the question "What if you could hear what God hears?". With a forward by Randy Alcorn, this book can fan the flames of evangelism.