Bert Johnston: 2 books

In Bert Johnston's novel of the 1950s, newly-minted minister Eddie Campbell discovers on his first Sunday in Pear Valley that his leading elder is an apostle of racism. Mr. Melon is not subtle about it. He spews out his venom before the whole congregation, and later repeats it as a report to the presbytery....

When Stacy Blume came down the aisle during a Harmony Temple revival, she confessed to being the pastor's lover. For Dr. Matt Landry, founder of the church, it was a double blow, threatening his marriage and his driving ambition to make Harmony Temple the largest Protestant church along the Gulf Coast. Harmony's...