Philip Gulley

Think back to when you were little, visiting relatives--the ones who lived in a small town, in a house with a big front porch. After supper you sat on the porch, at the edge of the conversation's circle, listening to story after story. The sun was setting. The western sky turned pink. The crickets started up. Somewhere down the block, a screen door banged. You've been there haven't you--and long to go back? Let master storyteller Philip Gulley take...

"When Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner is asked by the ill Unitarian minister to oversee a wedding in his place, Sam naturally agrees. It's not until the couple stands before him that he realizes they're two women. In the tempest of strong opinions and misunderstandings that follows the incident, Sam faces potential unemployment. Deeply discouraged, he wonders if his pastoral usefulness has come to an end. Perhaps it's time for a change. After all, his wife...

In an eventful year spanning two Easters in a small Midwestern town, witness Sam Gardner suffering a crisis of faith; follow the marital woes of Wayne Fleming; learn of a secret illness and a surprise lottery recipient; and laugh at the marvel of Dale Hinshaw's ill-hatched Scripture-Eggs ministry.

"Sam Gardner has been pastor of Hope Friends Meeting for just four months when ninety-eight-year-old member Oilve Charles passes away. What's more shocking news is that Olive has left her entire estate--worth nearly one million dollars--to the meeting. At first the gift sounds to Sam like a godsend. Yet as word of the unexpected windfall spreads, it stirs up a storm of conflicting opinions among the church members as to how the money would best be...

Philip Gulley argues that the major societal problems of the twenty-first century are a direct result of new homes not having front porches where family and friends can gather and share laughs and stories about the "good old days".

"Bestselling author Philip Gulley offers humorous, small-town storytelling as he follows the foibles and follies of Pastor Sam Gardner. Thanks to an unexpected windfall, Sam Gardner's congregation (with the exception of a few malcontents) is eager to expand their meetinghouse. But before building can commence, the County Environmental Board and the Department of Natural Resources put the quietus on the plan. A colony of endangered Indiana bats have...