CRC Minister Probes Gang-member Murder

Experiences he had working as a Christian Reformed Church minister among gangs and others living on the darker side of Grand Rapids, Mich., helped to form the inspiration for Terry Hager's first mystery novel, Death On the Night Watch.

The book features Rev. Robert Vander Laan, a Christian Reformed Church minister "who prowls the streets of Grand Rapids with a heart for its alienated citizens. Dark and gripping, with a sprinkle of humor, the story portrays an unconventional minister, often at odds with his church," says a news release.

Hager, who worked for many years in youth ministry, then as a Christian counselor, and is now retired, sets his book in the turmoil and social unrest sweeping Grand Rapids and other cities in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Readers interested in the Dutch American community and the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 70s are included in the target audience, says Hager.

"I started Death on the Night Watch about 10 years ago," says Hager in an interview. "I wanted to write a mystery because I love mysteries. For the setting, I wanted to use my first ministry experience after seminary at the Grand Rapids Youth Ministry because it profoundly shaped my faith and my life."

The Youth Ministry was an interdenominational ministry founded by the Rev. John Allen from Park Congregational Church in downtown Grand Rapids.

"I worked with a motley and diverse crew of staff and volunteers, most of whom weren’t Christian Reformed and from whom I learned so much," says Hager.

"I also spent time with gang members, hippies, and other alienated people on the streets, in our Drop-in Center, and in the bars and coffee houses. They, too, taught me a great deal. I wanted to at least try to give all these people something of a voice."

The plot pulls Vander Laan in right away, forcing him to make an important decision. “When the cops all too quickly nab the wrong guy—the head of the Lost Souls Gang—for the murder of a gang member, Rob must decide if his calling includes solving the crime.”

As he does probe the murder, says the news release, "local businessmen consider Rob's street people a threat to their livelihood, and the cops are deeply suspicious of Rob's ministry. What’s worse, Rob's mother never misses a chance to urge him to become a real minister."

Reverend Don Recker, a retired Christian Reformed pastor says, "Author Terry Hager strips away the facile stereotypes attached to the Dutch Calvinist minister as he exposes the world of Reverend Rob Vander Laan. Rob's 'congregation’ represents the polar opposite of the refined, polite, and orderly Reformed church society of the 60s. Non-preachy, real characters, enjoyable read."

Another reviewer, Karl Westerhof, who writes for the CRC's The Network, wrote on Amazon.com: "There is a loving and compelling picture of community here, made up of relationships that are deep and wonderful, as well as some that are bent and malevolent. The writer obviously celebrates both the urban community as well as rural realities. The story moves neatly from city to farm for the climactic scene."

Hager grew up in Hudsonville and spent his ministry years in Grand Rapids. A graduate of Calvin Seminary, his first ministry was among the alienated youth of the city. He now devotes himself to his passions of writing and travel and has published many travel and RVing (recreational vehicle) articles.

"Writing Death on the Night Watch was a joyful experience for me, despite some of the evil depicted in the story. It was also a chance for me to revisit the 1960s and 70s, a unique time in the history of our country, and to celebrate all that was good and great about that era," says Hager.

Before he retired to live his dream of being a fulltime RVer so he could travel and write, Hager began freelancing, writing articles for travel and RV publications. Over the years he has sold more than three dozen articles related to his travels and RV lifestyle such as, "Born to RV with No Mechanical Genes" and "Leapfrogging to the Last Frontier."

Fiction-writing was new but highly satisfying for him. When he wrote, he tended to do it with himself and his own interests and reading tastes in mind, not wanting to gear the book to a particular audience at the expense of not telling the story he wanted to tell. The book, however, does carry a message.

"If there's a message in the book, it’s the same as the message we on the Youth Ministry staff tried to convey, even if we rarely put it into words; the simple Gospel message: God loves you; now what the heck are you going to do about it?" says Hager. The book is avaialble by clicking: Death on the Night Watch.

Hager will be in West Michigan from early April through June 23. To arrange a book signing or interview, for a review copy or a photograph of the author or the book cover, contact Terry Hager at 616-916-3044 or 616-283-6942 or by e-mail at [email protected].

"Now that Death on the Night Watch is finished, I hope, first of all, that readers will be entertained, that they’ll have trouble putting the book down, that they’ll want more," says Hager.