A Cross to Kill is not only a riveting story of suspense, it’s also a deep exploration of the moral quandaries that face those who choose to follow the Prince of Peace in a violent world. One of the biggest questions John must face is whether there is ever any legitimate justification for the taking of another person’s life. Is killing ever justified? “The Scripture could not be clearer that we are not to murder, and Jesus goes further by condemning any hateful thought toward a fellow human. There is much more Scripture to consider on the issue, but the answer to the question is not cut-and-dried,” Huff admits.
Q: A Cross to Kill is your first book release. Tell us about your journey to become an author.
Storytelling is something that’s been a part of my life since an early age, though I wasn’t convinced I could actually be an author until much later in life. I would write stories every day using toys, sometimes turning those stories into drawings and, on occasion, writing ideas down. I spent my high school years telling stories through video, even helping develop narrative projects with my home church. Yet I still wasn’t motivated to sit down and attempt to write something longer than a five-minute screenplay. That changed right around the time I finished college.
I was an avid reader growing up, and after finishing my undergraduate degree, I started consuming full-length mystery and suspense novels. The problem I ran into was that many of the authors I enjoyed did not hold to the same worldview or values that I did. And whenever I found a thriller that did, I was often left wanting. So, I decided if I couldn’t find the type of book I wanted to read, then I should try to write it. It took many years of learning the craft and discovering the right story before I was able to sit down and not only start but successfully finish a full length, action-packed suspense story that I was ready to share with readers.
Q: Introduce us to your new series, and specifically A Cross to Kill. What inspired the story?
I love letting real-life events inspire fiction, and my new series is no exception. When I first started developing the story line, there were a handful of high-profile executions of journalists at the hands of terrorists overseas. What made these executions unique to this era was the fact that videos of the killings were spread across the internet. As these tragic events were taking place, I found myself wishing someone had intervened. Thus, the rescue attempt at the beginning of A Cross to Kill was born.
The other aspect of real life that inspired the story was my own experience in ministry and the reality of how unique that calling is in the life of a person. I not only spent time in local church ministry myself, but my father was also a rural church pastor during my early elementary years. I loved the idea of capturing the fish-out-of-water experience of someone who did a very different job now finding himself learning what it means to spiritually care for a group of people. I also have to admit, I’m greatly inspired by the thrills of action franchises such as Mission: Impossible, Jason Bourne, and James Bond. I want my series to take the Bible and the Church seriously while offering the same kind of jaw-dropping action those novels and films excel at.
Q: The main character, John Cross, is a small-town pastor with a top secret past that the members of his church would find hard to believe. What are some of things John left behind in his former life?
John didn’t just leave behind a past filled with poor choices and immoral behavior. Almost immediately, we get a sense that he performed actions in his role with the CIA and on behalf of his country that he is unable to forgive himself for. At a key moment in the story, we discover that John’s marksmanship was put to use by his superiors in unpleasant ways. You’ll have to read the book for all the details, but what I can say is John can’t help but evaluate his actions through a rigid view of Scripture, and as a result he’s struggling to believe God could truly forgive him.
What I find interesting is the theological question surrounding his previous life that he’s finding himself at odds with. Is the taking of a human life ever justifiable? There’s much to unpack with that question, but when we first meet John, he’s not yet taken the deep plunge into his theological training and therefore has very black-and-white opinions on complicated issues. This creates a conflict within him as he struggles to cope with the memories of his time with the CIA and strives to live under the forgiveness of God in Christ.
Q: What events led up to John finding and following Christ?
John’s conversion has already happened when A Cross to Kill begins, but later in the book we get to hear his version of it. It’s a rather unconventional story, but that’s what I like about it. The fact that his conversion happens while he’s on assignment is such a great picture of the two competing forces in his life, that of his ingrained training and his newfound commitment to Christianity.
The short version is that after performing operations of a lethal nature with the CIA for so long, John lost his sense of humanity. While tracking a target in Spain, he ends up in a cathedral during a Catholic service. Unable to understand the liturgy, he still found himself drawn to the religious symbols. Compelled to know more about the man hanging from the cross, he forgot about his target, found an English Bible at a local shop, and devoted himself to knowing more. While everyone’s story is different, John’s story is one of God reaching down with an irresistible draw to set aside an undeserving man for His great purpose.
Q: What are some of the faith struggles that John faces along the way that readers can identify with?
I know there are faith struggles John faces that readers can identify with because they are ones I struggle with even to this day! For one, John can’t seem to shake loose from past habits and hang-ups. Sometimes those habits can be used for good, but more often than not John finds himself fighting to walk in faith and love and not let his flesh take control when things go awry. Much of the Christian life is about this same battle. I am at constant odds with the desires of my flesh, and at times I have sympathized with the ancient monks who punished themselves to try to defeat their own impulses (a practice called flagellation, and one which John has adapted in his own way).
Another faith struggle that I know many readers can identify with is the difficulty of accepting God’s forgiveness for not only the sins we’ve committed in the past but the sins we will commit in the future. John struggles to believe God could forgive him for what he did while in the employ of the CIA, and that affects his ability to pass forgiveness on to others. This is something I myself have also found difficult. It’s not hard to believe God might forgive a single mistake here and there, but after failing again and again and again, it’s easy to expect a limit to God’s forgiveness. That’s when we can become trapped in the erroneous belief that faith is not enough and that we must work to retain God’s favor.
Q: Writers usually write what they know. Is there any
of you in John Cross?
If there was, I wouldn’t be allowed to tell you. Just kidding! The more
exciting aspects of John’s story are nothing like mine, and I only wish I had
half of his intuition and skill. It is true, however, that writers usually
write what they know, and I’m no exception. The part of me in John Cross is
less the man and more the day-to-day experience in local church ministry.
When I wrote A Cross to Kill, I was on staff with a Southern Baptist
church in Central Virginia, though it was a much larger church than Rural
Grove. So much of what John experiences with the church and its members is
based on real experiences from my time on a church staff as well as from
growing up as a preacher’s kid in rural Tennessee churches. The congregants we
get to know are not based on individuals as much as they are amalgamations of
wonderful people I had the opportunity to get to know through the years.
Q:
The book description states that A Cross to Kill is not
only a riveting story of suspense, it’s also a deep exploration of the moral
quandaries that face those who choose to follow the Prince of Peace in a
violent world. Can we talk more about the moral quandaries?
A big moral quandary John faces, and I believe many of us wrestle with, is
whether there is any legitimate justification for the taking of the life of
another person. Is it ever right to kill another person? The Scripture could
not be clearer that we are not to murder, and Jesus goes further by condemning
any hateful thought toward a fellow human. There is much more Scripture to
consider on the issue, but the answer to the question is not cut-and-dried.
The debate always seems to yield the same “yes,” “no,” and “sometimes” answers.
I didn’t want to try to provide a rigid response one way or the other in the
novel, but I did want the characters to wrestle with the question and answers.
Naturally, they probably wouldn’t ultimately agree. But for John in particular,
what the characters decide drives the decisions they make when faced with
danger. This is what we have to understand about the issue ourselves: if we
believe Scripture gives a clear answer, whatever answer that might be, we must
be prepared to let that answer influence how we respond to particular
situations and issues, regardless of how unconventional and perhaps even
countercultural that may be.
Q:
Is it possible to truly put our pasts behind us? How should we respond when our
previous mistakes and decisions don’t stay in the past?
I don’t believe it’s possible to truly put our pasts behind us, and I don’t
think that’s ever been God’s intention. We see many times in the Scriptures how
God seeks to remind His people not only of the good they’ve experienced but
also the bad. The past is not meant to be forgotten but to shape our response
today. And that can be both the pleasant memories as well as the painful
regrets we carry from before.
When we remember God’s goodness in our past, it is cause for celebration and
worship. In much the same way, when our previous mistakes and decisions come
back into our present, it is a moment for us to acknowledge how God continues
to be good in the midst of a broken world. We see His goodness in the fact that
those mistakes are still covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, and there’s
nothing we did then or could even do now to change that. When our past mistakes
return and remind others of pain we may have caused, it’s important to not only
acknowledge God’s grace and mercy but also seek reconciliation and restoration
to the best of our ability. Ultimately, when we humble ourselves before the
Lord, He is faithful to do a work in us and in others so that even in our
shortcomings He can be glorified.
Q:
Without giving away too much, what can readers expect as the Shepherd Suspense
series continues?
I’m so excited to continue the story with these characters, and I can’t wait
for readers to pick up the next books in the series. One thing that is true
about the Christian life is that a lifelong pursuit of Christlikeness includes
many ups and downs. We won’t find our sanctification complete this side of
heaven, and so neither will my characters!
For John, he may have crossed a hurdle with accepting God’s forgiveness for his
past, but that doesn’t mean he’s dealt with every decision he’s made leading up
to becoming the pastor of Rural Grove Baptist Church. And John’s not the only
one with a complicated past. The thing I’m most excited about sharing is the
action-packed twists and turns that promise to keep the characters on their
heels and the readers up past their bedtimes.
Andrew Huff spent ten years in local church ministry as a youth pastor
and creative arts pastor before pursuing God’s calling into creative
storytelling and media production as the product director at Igniter Media, a
church media company (ignitermedia.com).
He is a two-time finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW)
Genesis Contest for unpublished authors (2014, 2017) and also won the best
screenplay award at the 2015 48 Hour Film Festival in Richmond, VA.
Huff holds a bachelor of science in religion degree from Liberty University and
a master of arts in Christian education from Dallas Theological Seminary. He
resides in Plano, TX, with his beautiful wife, Jae, and their two boys.
Learn
more Andrew Huff and the Shepherd Suspense novels at www.andrewhuffbooks.com. He can
also be found on Facebook
(@huffwrites) and Twitter
(@andrewjohnhuff).