Book picks similar to
Playing Church by Shona


african-american-authors
african-american-literature
christian-fiction
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Joyful Noise: The Hot Mess Choir


She Nell - 2018
    She must pull together four choirs that hate each other for her husband, Pastor Myron Jones’ Pastor’s Anniversary Celebration. The Holy Missionary Mass Choir is filled with characters like Shonda, a single mother of six trying to keep her oldest son alive. Then there’s Donnell, the church playboy who is torn between three women. And no one can forget Mother Willie Mae Odell; whose sole mission in life is to take down Lady Deidra and the choir. First Lady Deidra Jones has a Hot Mess on her hands but will God be able to bring them all together or will they crash and burn like fire and brimstone?

The Family that Lies: Merci Restored


Lakisha Johnson - 2019
    Three years ago, Merci realized she’d been a part of something much bigger than she ever could have imagined. Sure, every family has their secrets, hidden truths and ties but Merci had no idea she’d been born into the family that lies ... without caring who it hurts! Now, years later, Merci finds herself in the midst of grief, a new baby and marriage while still learning how to pick up the broken pieces of her life. All while Melvin is still raising hell! In this special edition of The Family that Lies, there will be questions answered and new drama but I have to warn you ... there will also be tragedy, hurt and of course LIES!

Dysfunctional Family Values


Raegan Dennis - 2018
    The only issue was, somewhere along the line, life caused her to forget how to pray. Raised by a mother that despised her after the death of her grandmother, Mia lost all faith in the God that her grandmother taught her so much about. Kain came along at the right time and saved Mia from her mother's wrath. But when her woman's intuition starts sounding alarms she begins to see Kain for who he really is. Mia knew she could never trust her mother, but when she has to pull her trust away from Kain the heartbreak is unbearable. Secrets are revealed, the drama unfolds, and the only way Mia will get through this is to remember what her grandmother taught her.

The Mothers' Board: Mothers Know Best


Lashaunda K. Jackson-Williams - 2016
     But hold everything! The Mothers’ Board has been quiet for too long, and they refuse to lay down after seeing their beloved pastor vanish. What follows is a rollicking adventure with the mothers sticking their noses in plenty of people’s business and causing a fuss wherever they go—whether it’s breaking and entering a house to search for clues … or investigating the seemingly psycho church secretary. Along the way, the mothers show a heap of God’s love to some hurting folks—and put the smack-down on the devil every chance they get. It’s their church, after all, and mothers know best!

Stuck On You (Stoneworths Series, #1)


Michelle Stimpson - 2016
    Yet when they returned to school in the fall, Braxton made a decision that drove Tiffany to transfer schools and never look back.Now, nearly a decade later, they meet again as business experts vying for the same contract at a prestigious school. In addition to their professional competition, tensions mount as Braxton and Tiffany discover that they have two different versions of what happened to their romance so long ago. Can they overcome hard feelings and pick up where they left off? Tiffany’s father passed away a few months ago, just as she was founding her new project management firm. She wonders if her leap of faith was a good move, and her doubts only increase when she learns that someone from the firm she left is trying to undermine her independent efforts…not to mention her possibilities with Braxton.Braxton thought he might follow his father’s footsteps into ministry. His wild fraternity days caught up with him, however, causing Braxton to give up the idea of teaching anyone to follow the faith he so obviously neglected. Can he win back his own self-respect and the heart of the woman he never forgot?Stuck On You is the first book in The Stoneworth Series by bestselling Christian Fiction author Michelle Stimpson. The family history is briefly established, and then readers are off to experience the Stoneworth family's rich legacy of faith and integrity within the context of contemporary romance. Come fall in love with the family!

Sent From Heaven (Ahsyad Publication Presents...)


Dee Dee M. Scott - 2013
    Left to raise a baby without the assistance of the married father, she has given up on finding a prince on a white horse to rescue her. Enter Cardiologist and single father, Ford Tucker. Dr. Tucker is all work and no play. He has dedicated his life to work and raising his daughter. When Ford becomes Maya’s Cardiologist, he is instantly smitten with her. Sparks fly and the passion’s hot as ever between the two. But just when Ford thinks he has finally found Ms. Right, and Maya thinks she’s found her prince, a devastating secret is revealed that will rock the core of their relationship. Will their bond survive the terrible secret? Or will Ford end up alone and Maya prince less?

Secrets Behind Closed Doors


Lady Lissa - 2015
    Living in a lavish mansion you would think that Pastor Donovan has it all but what goes on behind the four walls of their mansion will rock the world and could destroy his pristine reputation.Craig has secrets from his past that could destroy everything he has been working so hard for should it be made public. First Lady Donovan has an image to protect and she will stop at nothing to ensure that they keep their good name regardless of what is happening to her marriage or her relationship with her daughter. She doesn’t care who she has to run over or walk on to get what she wants.Armani Donovan is stuck between two parents who want different things which cause her to be confused at times. She finds comfort in the arms of her boyfriend but when tragedy strikes will the couple be able to keep their relationship in tact? What will happen if the congregation discovers all the secrets that are being kept from them? Will Craig maintain control of his megachurch or will he lose everything?

The Amish Candlemaker (Hannah's Story Book 1)


Brenda Maxfield - 2019
    But money is tight, and Hannah frets constantly. When Matthew Zook refuses to pay what he owes her, the pressure becomes nearly unbearable. Does Matthew’s son Noah know about this? Hannah prays he doesn’t, as she is smitten with handsome, kind Noah. Still… wouldn’t he know? How could he not? When Noah comes around, offering to do odd jobs for Hannah, her suspicions grow. Just what is his motivation? Is he trying to lessen his father’s guilt or is there something more to his sudden help? Can Hannah trust anything he says? “In the tradition of the works of Beverly Lewis, Cindy Woodsmall, and Wanda Brunstetter, Brenda Maxfield continues to bring you gripping Amish tales of love, hope, and God’s miracles.” Click Above to enjoy this inspirational Christian romance today!

Song of Solomon


Kendra Norman-Bellamy - 2010
    Neil Taylor is an eligible bachelor, living a seemingly satisfied existence as a deacon of his church and director of Kingdom Builder's Academy. But despite outward appearances, Neil harbors secret pains that have caused him to erect a well-constructed wall of defense around his heart. Everything changes, however, when Shaylynn Ford, a beautiful young mother, strolls through the doors of his office. There's a marked difference in their ages, but the years that Separate them are the least of Neil's worries. Shaylynn is his God-given soul mate. Neil is certain of it. But even with all the prayers in the world, how can he get her to love him when she's already wearing a wedding ring?

Church Chick


Michelle Carey - 2012
    In a shallow attempt to move forward, she marries the older Deacon of the church, but is liberated when he dies on their wedding night. Now free to find love and happiness, Sabrina discovers the dark side of love and lust when she is confronted by her new best friend Blair; when Blair thinks Sabrina has stolen the man she loves.

Dinner With a Perfect Stranger / Day With a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering


David Gregory - 2005
    Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.………….."You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."…………. As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever. From the Hardcover edition.

...And Family Drama Just Won't Stop


Daniel Whyte III - 2011
    How will these church families handle the sins of their past and the challenges that life is giving them?Stacy Wilmington is on her way to college when a devastating secret from her father’s past threatens to ruin her relationship with him and causes her to commit a sin of her own. In hiding his past for so long, will Stacy’s father lose the two most important people in his life — his wife and his daughter?Terrence Montague, a man committed to providing for his wife, Stella, and daughter, Monica, finds himself caught up in an illegal drug delivering business that he knows is against the law and against his Christian convictions. Will he choose to love God and be true to his family over loving money?Meanwhile, the new assistant pastor of New Mt. Zion Missionary Evangelical Church, Dwayne Reynolds, believes he has left his past behind…only to discover that it has found him again. Will he choose to face it head on or hide it from the congregation that has come to love and trust his family? In the middle of all this drama, is Reynolds’ son, Jonathan, and Montague’s daughter, Monica. What does the future hold for them?

Pearl in the Sand, Sampler


Tessa Afshar - 2013
    Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well-walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness. A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.

The Last Shepherd


Wilbur Smith - 2018
    Political turmoil during the life of Jesus affected his ministry and caused him deep concern that he was not reaching the people with God’s message of love. Leaders in Palestine had been corrupted with Greek and Roman influence, causing a growing divide between the rich and the poor. Pharisees were fighting the trend by demanding a harsh adherence to Mosaic law laid down in Leviticus, which caused a greater burden on the poor, who could not follow the law of sacrifices for atonement. The people were desperately hoping for the messiah. After Herod Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded, Jesus knew of the real dangers he faced by those in power and by the Pharisees who saw thousands following him as a loss of their influence. After the second year of his ministry, Jesus knew that there were plots to have him killed. As a result, he shifted his ministry into areas away from Galilee and Judea, and he pleaded with people not to call him the messiah, the savior the people had been hoping for. The Last Shepherd is a story of how politics during the life and ministry of Jesus influenced his mission. But the gospels give only two of the events recorded in Luke 13:1–5. This novel records them all.

Only Way Out


Fire & Ice - 2012
    Or could it?After some unexpected bloodshed, Lateasha must be quick on her feet. Even though her plan didn't go accordingly, she is not going to stop until she ruins Trey.