mike burke is relatively new to cms and his role is liasing with churches. life is full of surprises and it turns out that he has just written a novel – daydream believer which he handed me a copy of the other week. the subtitle is one clergyman's ministry goes parabolic. it follows the tale of a rev kev birley who is in his forties, a widower, and who finds himself increasingly frustrated by the church of england he is a leader in and its mediocrity. it's painful in places with observations that are no doubt born out of mike's own twenty years as a vicar. if you've seen the tv series rev you'll get the drift. the observations are both amusing details – bad coffee, storage heaters and custard creams, but also cut deeper than that. through the tale mike explores through the story of kev how faith has somehow got disconnected from real life and what to do about it. in his case he takes a sabbatical and through his love of music and touring with a band begins to reconnect and find healing. without giving away the ending this journey forces him to confront the question in relation to church – should i stay or should i go?! perhaps the deepest issue this got me thinking about was around the challenge there is for vicars being themselves in their communities. i have often wondered in some models of church who the vicar's mates are, or who he/she is able to be themselves with. there is often an odd sort of role and set of expectations created.

i enjoyed the read. it's quite niche – i suspect that church leaders will identify with it and enjoy it but it's also a creative way in to a coversation around the challenges the church faces in relating to the wider culture. i confess it's a book that if i saw in a shop i would be very unlikely to pick up because of the cover. hopefully you are less shallow than me and will get past that…