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The McGowan Series #1
McGowan's Call
Davis McGowan could not have anticipated how his career would isolate him in his private life. After ordination, he finds himself an alien in a world of human need. This fictional account of a young pastor's rise and fall is based on the secret reality faced by the ordinary people who have sensed a "call" to one of the helping professions. Never quite accepted as a local, he navigates the path of conscience through the pitfalls of personal loneliness. McGowan's Call is a collection of short stories and a novella that chronicles Davis' path from the river town of Hatteras, Ohio to the suburbs of Dayton. This work of fiction provides a rare insight to pastoral ministry outside the scandals that regularly make headlines. It is an honest exposé of the real crisis that afflicts those who live in the public eye. Rob Smith is the author of two novels including Night Voices. Ann Joslin of A Sandusky Bay Journal describes Night Voices as "an exciting novel of adventure." In McGowan's Call, this talented writer explores the inner landscape of those who find themselves inserted in the personal crises of others. Rob Smith's short stories have appeared nationally in Writer's Journal and other literary magazines. In 2006, he received the Robert Frost Poetry Award for his poem Catbird. He currently resides on Ohio's north coast and sails the waters of Lake Erie on a sloop that he and his wife are restoring.
188 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
127 people want to read
About the author
Rob Smith
16 books26 followersRob Smith lives and writes on Ohio's north coast. He enjoys sailing, and when not working on his novels, he is refurbishing an 1850’s house which was built by a ship’s carpenter turned lighthouse keeper. In addition to his prose, he is also known for his poetry. In 2006 he won the Robert Frost Poetry Award from the Frost Foundation in Lawrence, MA. He holds an undergraduate degree from Westminster College in Pennsylvania and master and doctoral degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary.
To learn more about the author, visit his website at: SmithWrite.net
To learn more about the author, visit his website at: SmithWrite.net
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 23, 2017
Reverend Davis McGowan isn't some hell-fire and brimstone spewing, pulpit pounding, holier-than-thou, televangelist-wannabe schmuck, but a kind hearted, wise, gentle shepherd who lovingly tends to his flock, as a man of God should. He accepts all, judges none, and makes no claims to be perfect.
In my eyes, he is the Christian ideal that we should all aspire to be.
This book took me on an emotional roller coaster ride - I laughed, I cried,
and at the end ... I Wanted More!
Looking forward to starting the next book in the series soon.
In my eyes, he is the Christian ideal that we should all aspire to be.
This book took me on an emotional roller coaster ride - I laughed, I cried,
and at the end ... I Wanted More!
Looking forward to starting the next book in the series soon.
January 15, 2013
I have received/won this book through the goodreads give away. McGowan's Call is written by Rob Smith. It is a collection of Short stories that wrap around a novella.
This story is has warmth and wisdom. A very nice read. It leave you to feel as if there will be other books in this series. I will be waiting to read them as well. I would recommend this book to others it was very enjoyable and thought provoking. Very good read.
This story is has warmth and wisdom. A very nice read. It leave you to feel as if there will be other books in this series. I will be waiting to read them as well. I would recommend this book to others it was very enjoyable and thought provoking. Very good read.
November 24, 2020
Summary: A collection of short stories and a novella tracing the ministry of a pastor from a small Ohio river town to a suburb of Dayton.
The life of a minister is probably one of the least understood of any occupation, or, in the language of this book, a call. The author was a minister for thirty-one years in the southern Ohio settings of this book. One has a sense of an inside glimpse into the life of a minister–sought in spiritual crises, often triangulated in church governance fights, always struggling with the congruence between the face he must present in public and his private life.
The book consists of several short stories set in an early ministerial assignment in Hatteras, a small industrial town on the Ohio River. The novella at the center of the book and concluding stories are set in a Dayton suburb and a much larger church–a typical career arc of an effective pastor.
The book opens with Davis McGowan’s arrival in Hatteras, and encounters with a homeless man in “a game of mutual respect between a local and an import.” Another story describes the loss of daughter who looked much like his own daughter in a tornado, and the small comfort he could offer with his presence and prayers. That weekend he goes to find his own solace on his boat.
The guy at the bait shop seemed truly disgusted that I would come to play on my boat when lives had been lost. I couldn’t argue. It was on my mind, too.
ROB SMITH, P. 24
This tension between public and private, who McGowan is and who he is expected to be runs through these stories.
“False Witness” is the novella at the center of this book. It centers around the death of Angie Fornesby, wife of Barker Fornesby, a rising executive. She was undergoing cancer treatments, promising at least a number of years where she would enjoy a quality of life. It was a bit tricky because she was also diabetic. In fact, that is what killed her, an overdose of insulin. Since both Barker and son Matt were trained and skilled in administering doses, this ruled out an accident. Barker’s not exactly forthcoming. He doesn’t readily produce an insulin log. An alert prosecutor also has picked up on a number of interactions between Barker and a hospital nurse. Davis had given an initial statement to investigators right after Angie’s death. Slater, the prosecutor, thinks he has enough to take a murder case to the grand jury. They subpoena McGowan, asking about his interactions with Angie. Not sure of what really happened but seeing where this was going, and the impact it could have on Matt, he gives false testimony that gets Barker Fornesby off. He discovers in the concluding story that he has made a lasting enemy in Slater.
In the same concluding story is one of the most finely written passages in the book, a description of a pastor living the call. McGowan has been called to be with a couple whose unborn child has died in utero. After a stillbirth is induced, McGowan holds the dead child, named Joshua, and speaks of how much his parents would have loved him. Then he goes to them.
“I held Joshua and called him by name,” he said.
Becky looked to Chad and then back to McGowan. “Was it awful.”
“He was beautiful,” said Davis.
“Am I silly, Dr. McGowan, to want to see him?” Davis glanced at Chad.
. . .
“You felt Joshua inside, and that little kick made you both think about the future in another way. Now that he’s gone, none of that will happen in quite the same way. You’ve lost a lot.”
ROB SMITH, PP. 161-162.
This is the noble, heart-wrenching work pastors around the world pursue daily, unappreciated until one is on the receiving end of that care. Much of it is unseen by most congregants, who are critical of sermon styles and have unreal expectations of the spirituality of these very human people, while also expecting them to fix the toilets in the building.
McGowan is neither unworldly saint nor worldly hypocrite. He loves to sail, loves his wife, and pursues his call with integrity while struggling with the tensions between public expectations and his sense of self. He was one who’d rather dress up in old jeans and hang around with the youth group than hob-nob with socialites. He wrestles with the ambiguities of doing what is right and merciful when it isn’t strictly the letter of the law. He incurs enmity when he does so.
Rob Smith has truly created an interesting character in a profession we often discount. He no doubt draws upon his own experiences to explore what it looks like to care faithfully for a group to which one is called, the beauty and the pain that goes along with this. There is an understated beauty in this writing that doesn’t overwhelm with spiritual profundity but draws one through the unpretentious decency of McGowan. And if you haven’t gotten enough of McGowan in this volume, there are three more: McGowan’s Retreat, McGowan’s Return, and McGowan’s Pass.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
The life of a minister is probably one of the least understood of any occupation, or, in the language of this book, a call. The author was a minister for thirty-one years in the southern Ohio settings of this book. One has a sense of an inside glimpse into the life of a minister–sought in spiritual crises, often triangulated in church governance fights, always struggling with the congruence between the face he must present in public and his private life.
The book consists of several short stories set in an early ministerial assignment in Hatteras, a small industrial town on the Ohio River. The novella at the center of the book and concluding stories are set in a Dayton suburb and a much larger church–a typical career arc of an effective pastor.
The book opens with Davis McGowan’s arrival in Hatteras, and encounters with a homeless man in “a game of mutual respect between a local and an import.” Another story describes the loss of daughter who looked much like his own daughter in a tornado, and the small comfort he could offer with his presence and prayers. That weekend he goes to find his own solace on his boat.
The guy at the bait shop seemed truly disgusted that I would come to play on my boat when lives had been lost. I couldn’t argue. It was on my mind, too.
ROB SMITH, P. 24
This tension between public and private, who McGowan is and who he is expected to be runs through these stories.
“False Witness” is the novella at the center of this book. It centers around the death of Angie Fornesby, wife of Barker Fornesby, a rising executive. She was undergoing cancer treatments, promising at least a number of years where she would enjoy a quality of life. It was a bit tricky because she was also diabetic. In fact, that is what killed her, an overdose of insulin. Since both Barker and son Matt were trained and skilled in administering doses, this ruled out an accident. Barker’s not exactly forthcoming. He doesn’t readily produce an insulin log. An alert prosecutor also has picked up on a number of interactions between Barker and a hospital nurse. Davis had given an initial statement to investigators right after Angie’s death. Slater, the prosecutor, thinks he has enough to take a murder case to the grand jury. They subpoena McGowan, asking about his interactions with Angie. Not sure of what really happened but seeing where this was going, and the impact it could have on Matt, he gives false testimony that gets Barker Fornesby off. He discovers in the concluding story that he has made a lasting enemy in Slater.
In the same concluding story is one of the most finely written passages in the book, a description of a pastor living the call. McGowan has been called to be with a couple whose unborn child has died in utero. After a stillbirth is induced, McGowan holds the dead child, named Joshua, and speaks of how much his parents would have loved him. Then he goes to them.
“I held Joshua and called him by name,” he said.
Becky looked to Chad and then back to McGowan. “Was it awful.”
“He was beautiful,” said Davis.
“Am I silly, Dr. McGowan, to want to see him?” Davis glanced at Chad.
. . .
“You felt Joshua inside, and that little kick made you both think about the future in another way. Now that he’s gone, none of that will happen in quite the same way. You’ve lost a lot.”
ROB SMITH, PP. 161-162.
This is the noble, heart-wrenching work pastors around the world pursue daily, unappreciated until one is on the receiving end of that care. Much of it is unseen by most congregants, who are critical of sermon styles and have unreal expectations of the spirituality of these very human people, while also expecting them to fix the toilets in the building.
McGowan is neither unworldly saint nor worldly hypocrite. He loves to sail, loves his wife, and pursues his call with integrity while struggling with the tensions between public expectations and his sense of self. He was one who’d rather dress up in old jeans and hang around with the youth group than hob-nob with socialites. He wrestles with the ambiguities of doing what is right and merciful when it isn’t strictly the letter of the law. He incurs enmity when he does so.
Rob Smith has truly created an interesting character in a profession we often discount. He no doubt draws upon his own experiences to explore what it looks like to care faithfully for a group to which one is called, the beauty and the pain that goes along with this. There is an understated beauty in this writing that doesn’t overwhelm with spiritual profundity but draws one through the unpretentious decency of McGowan. And if you haven’t gotten enough of McGowan in this volume, there are three more: McGowan’s Retreat, McGowan’s Return, and McGowan’s Pass.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
May 28, 2019
Rob Smith's lovely collection of stories and a novella follows Presbyterian pastor, Davis McGowan, as he interacts with parishioners and residents of the locations where he is called. I was particularly taken by McGowan's willingness and efforts to place the well-being of those he serves above all else. In tale after tale, this trait, so abundantly clear on every page, endeared him to me, and evoked my sympathy not only for the moral challenges he faces, and difficult decisions he has to make, but also for him as a character. My particular favorite was the novella, FALSE WITNESS, which, while it has a mystery at its core, also raises complex issues faced by terminally ill patients and those who treat and love them. The material is handled sensitively and humanely. MCGOWAN'S CALL is an engaging collection of goodhearted realism, a welcome addition to anyone's library.
April 23, 2012
WITH WARMTH AND WISDOM
“Brodie was severely bent over and walked like a miser scanning the ground for wayward pennies.”
'McGowan's Call,' by Rob Smith, is a collection of compellingly and gently told, heartwarming and sometimes heart-wrenching stories of genuine human-interest appeal, replete with warmth and wisdom.
Recommendation: An enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
“Many people cling to the romantic notion that church doors should always be open to the needy or to some “fugitive soul” seeking sanctuary. The reality is that church buildings are subject to vandalism and staff members are seen as an easy mark by those with violent intentions.”
Kindle edition
“Brodie was severely bent over and walked like a miser scanning the ground for wayward pennies.”
'McGowan's Call,' by Rob Smith, is a collection of compellingly and gently told, heartwarming and sometimes heart-wrenching stories of genuine human-interest appeal, replete with warmth and wisdom.
Recommendation: An enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
“Many people cling to the romantic notion that church doors should always be open to the needy or to some “fugitive soul” seeking sanctuary. The reality is that church buildings are subject to vandalism and staff members are seen as an easy mark by those with violent intentions.”
Kindle edition
October 16, 2011
This is the first of several novels that feature Davis McGowan, a minister who sees much, but is often an outsider. This is considered a composite novel since it has several short stories wrapped around a novella. The stories themselves give brief glimpses and rare insight into a minister's life. Some of the stories are uplifting; some are downright sad, and the novella is suspenseful as Davis McGowan becomes an unwitting witness to the death of parishioner. Is it a murder or not, and will the prosecuting attorney go after Davis?
November 19, 2009
Several short stories wrapped around a novella...the stories interlock with the same main character, Davis McGowan! The book ends with the thought that there may be more McGowan to come. I have to say I like the man, Davis! I learned so much what goes on behind the scenes of a (caring) minister's life.
April 7, 2022
A Friend gave me this book. I wasn't sure about it as it is a collection of short stories surrounded around the character of Dr. Davis McGowan who is a Presbyterian pastor. I found the thread between the stories compelling. I especially enjoyed the novella "False Witness" It made me think of what would I do in that situation.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews