Time to give a boost to an author named K.C. Boyd who has a new book out titled “Being Christian: A Novel.” It’s about a corrupt, power-hungry corrupt guy (did I mention corrupt?) in Texas who becomes a mega-preacher at a mega-church who has sexual issues that ring a bell, sort of a Larry Craig meets Ralph Reed meets Ted Haggard. He uses religion to justify his own sins and lies and the usual hypocrisy ensues.

Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.

Here’s an excerpt, posted with permission:

Two nights prior, Christian dined in a private room at a choice Washington, DC steakhouse with Senator Woody Mapes and Congressmen Edsel Block and Warren Dyson. With a subtle wink that suggested an undefined intimacy between Mapes and the waiter, the senator told the young man, “DJ, bring me the usual.” He turned a dour face Christian’s way and said, resignedly, “Two scoops of cottage cheese and a house salad, hold the croutons, extra tomatoes and dressing on the side.” Christian grimaced, an expression that Mapes saw as sympathetic but was actually a comment on the wink that had passed between the two men. The congressmen yielded somewhat to their desires and ordered filets, but picked at them guiltily when they arrived, all the while drooling with envy as they watched the lusty pastor inhale his bloody, twenty–four ounce porterhouse. These were men of titular power, but somewhere along the way they had lost their zest for life. Deeply covetous of Christian’s joie de vivre, they followed each bite he took, slabs of bread serving as delivery vehicles for the fat–soaked bloody juices. No Catholics here, but who could ignore the Eucharistic symbolism? Whether their abstinence was the product of peptic ulcers or obedience to a cardiologist’s orders, it didn’t much matter. The forced control these dignitaries exerted over their appetites was proof that their power was fleeting.

Overweight though Christian was, he was free to have it all, to lust and to gratify, to want and to take. Unlike these men, he cared little about the number of years he had left on Earth. They might call themselves Bible–believing Baptists but they’d yet to free themselves of their corporeal worries, and for that, Christian pitied them. The security of knowing that Eternity awaited him had liberated him long ago to seek and satisfy his unbridled desires. You might not call him “Senator,” but you could call him sated.

Dabbing at a globule of blood–red gravy splattered across his brand new silk tie, Christian belched unashamedly, looking at the congressmen and declaring, “Let the horse–trading begin.”

Congressman Dyson stepped onto the verbal tightrope cautiously. “Pastor, uh, we asked you here tonight to discuss a highly sensitive matter. Knowing we share significantly overlapping concerns and issues regarding the Middle East, it is our hope you might be willing to work with us—well, not exactly with us—but, shall we say, on your own, but with like goals in mind. Call it something of a silent partnership.”

“Gentlemen I am intrigued. Do go on,” Christian urged.

“It is our hope that you might agree to—and here’s the operative word—independently devise a long-term strategy to point Christian voters in the right direction. Before we go any further, we need your God-fearing promise that whatever is said tonight stays among the four of us. I’ll tell you now, if any of us are ever questioned as to whether this conversation even took place, the three of us will categorically deny it, as well as any relationship between us, lest we have the secularist mobs at our throats. Not to mention we’d find ourselves in the midst of a political firestorm. I hope this doesn’t offend you.”

“Congressmen, Senator, first let me say how honored I am that you place this kind of trust in me. As God is my witness, you have my word that whatever is said here tonight will remain among us. If there is another person alive on God’s green Earth more aware of the delicacy and importance of what we’re about to discuss, I’ve yet to meet him. As you know, up until recently, I have stayed on the fringes of party politics. Sure, I go to the inaugurations and have my share of friends who are politicians, but for the most part, I accomplish my goals from the pulpit and through my TV show. However, I no longer think that’s enough. It has become eminently clear to me that as true Christians, we can no longer afford to stand on the political sidelines if there is to be any hope of saving today’s diseased world. Holding our tongues in the public square is what has brought us to this level of disgrace—this time of shame in which we live—this world littered with depravity and immorality beyond imagination.

“I had already decided on my own that as a Christian, I will be silent no more. Gentlemen, I accepted your invitation tonight in hopes of offering myself to you in any capacity possible because I have come to realize that in your own way, you too, are doing God’s work. I don’t know how much you already know, but the Christian– based strategy you’re alludin’ to is well in place. It has taken decades for the godly to get to where we are today, but I am happy to announce that in an institutional sense, we are so far ahead of the enemy we can’t even see them in our rearview mirror. The Christian political machine that has long been in the makin’—in fact, ever since the Goldwater fiasco—is armed and ready for battle. We’re organized, we have reach, we know how to communicate, an’ we have the funds to back it all up.”

The three men exchanged deeply satisfied glances, their enthusiasm evident.

“Today’s secular world hasn’t a clue as to how deep our pockets really are. If they did, they’d be shittin’ bricks—pardon my French— or at the very least, trottin’ out their liberal shills screamin’ First Amendment. But because we are finally in place to genuinely influence elections by demandin’ our leaders take on a Christian worldview, they’re beginnin’ to realize they’ve much to fear, if only because of the strength of our numbers.

“Senator, Congressmen, I am here today to assure you that there is indeed a vast right–wing conspiracy, praise Jesus.”

The men were mesmerized as much by Christian’s political knowledge as by his zeal. Each was contemplating the enormity of what was always topmost in their minds—guaranteeing their reelection through Christian’s ability to direct votes. What he had just said was nothing short of revolutionary, and the excitement and concomitant power of hitching their careers to his wagon was exhilarating.