When a traumatized minister has nothing left to give and is on the brink of despair, how can he find the strength to go on? Rev. Mark William Ennis knows firsthand that pastoral care can be messy, bloody, and traumatizing—and sometimes isolating. He gathered many of the hardest experiences into his new novella, The Circle of Seven: When His Servants Are Weak. His fictional ministers’ stories, based heavily on true events, peel back the curtain on life beyond the pulpit, showing hurting ministers that they are not alone—and helping congregants better understand those who lead them.
The Circle of Seven opens in the office of Jack Berg, a Synod Executive whose role includes ministering to pastors. One of his pastors, Rev. William de Plore, is on the brink of despair. Jack listens to his story, comforts him, and calls together his group of ministers. The members of the circle of seven share their stories of trauma, challenge, and intense pastoral care experiences—times when their human limitations became painfully obvious. Through their fellowship, they also share in God’s truth and grace, bringing William onto the path of hope and healing.
“Reading The Circle of Seven will take you on a journey toward your own healing,” says Rev. William Walden Christopher Ashley Sir., indicating that Rev. Ennis has met one of his goals for this book: to serve hurting ministers. Rev. Elizabeth Testa, coordinator of Women’s Transformation and Leadership for the Reformed Church of America, calls The Circle of Seven “a moving, raw, authentic primer on the realities of pastoral care in both church and society, and the critical need for clergy to guard against isolation, guilt, and shame.” By all accounts, Rev. Ennis has not only identified a very real need among ministers but has also offered part of the solution. His fictional circle of seven provides more than a structure to tell important stories; it demonstrates the fellowship and ministry needed for healing.
How does a man honor his father and his mother when they both abused him as a child?
How does one continue to be a Christian when the church has protected your abuser and done nothing to help the victim?
This book is a novelization of a true story of abuse by a Christian family against a small child. Somehow, the child grows up to be a Christian man and strives to protect his abusers from abuse.
This novel reads like the headlines of a modern newspaper where stories of religious abuse have become far too common.
Here is the link to order the book: https://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=out-of-the-wilderness