Alton Nielsen

The Bishop's Secret Alton Nielsen

When Pastor Jonathan Larsen and his wife, Kim, find their faith and marriage tested by anonymous threats, stressful careers, and a laborious adoption process, they cry, pray and fight their way to a deeper level of trust and commitment. When he's elected bishop, a thirteen-year-old secret eats a hole in his soul. His passion for transparency contends with an equal desire not to hurt his family and admirers by admitting the long-ago deception. Struggling to apply forgiveness to himself in the same way he proclaims it to others, he is thwarted by his father's admonitions and the high expectations placed on church leaders. A seductive sister-in-law, a jealous colleague, and two clergy charged with sexual misconduct distract the bishop from his commitment to confess to Kim and church authorities. When the troubled bishop makes his decision, even he is surprised at the revelations that emerge. As you accompany these characters, you will travel to violence-ridden Liberia, rain soaked heights above Waimea Canyon on Kauai, and through the maze of freeways in Southern California. Together with them, religious or not, you will experience the challenge of living with integrity, compassion, and joy in a diverse and demanding twenty-first century culture.