Philip Gulley's Harmony series follows the daily lives of Quaker pastor Sam Gardner and his small town Indiana flock. Much of the humor in these novels comes through recognizing others -- or perhaps ourselves -- in the idiosyncrasies of the church and/or community members. In this fourth novel in the series, Sam, during a time of self-reflection, realizes that he has spent his career trying to please people by saying what they want to hear instead of speaking from his convictions. The contents of the novel suggest that Gulley has gone through a similar process. In the previous novels, Gulley illustrated church politics through controversies over church facilities or special events. In this book, Gulley addresses controversial political and theological issues in a way that might alienate some of his faithful readers. Although there were some very funny passages in the book, I sensed undercurrents of frustration and anger that detracted from my reading pleasure. ( )

Quaker pastor Sam Gardner is back, and the fundamentalist members of his congregation are testing his patience. He must hide his Progressive Christianity magazines and his true self for fear of offending the outspoken members of his flock. I really enjoyed this book. I would not think pastors like Sam Gardner existed if I had not met one in my lifetime. (Actually, he was a priest. I attended the Catholic Church until he left. His sermons were so cerebral and reasonable and full of comfort!) The Harmony novels are gentle comedies, and I look forward to reading more in the series.

The fourth full novel in Philip Gulley's Harmony series details Sam Gardner's fourth year as pastor of the Quaker church in his hometown of Harmony, Indiana. The same quirky characters fill the local church, leading to laughter and no small amount of consternation for Sam and his wife.

Unfortunately, this novel seems less lively than the first three books in the series. There is a particularly humorous episode relating how miscommunication leads to someone driving through town during his own funeral service, but otherwise the laughs and the tears seem a little more contrived and a little more ho-hum.

Gulley himself is a fantastic writer, and the writing itself is strong, with an easy to enjoy pace and style (though interestingly, Gulley decides to have Sam narrate this novel himself, unlike others in the series). But the stories have a little less zing, on the whole. In some ways, this can be characteristic of life in the church -- things can even out after the pastor has been around for a while; it also can be characteristic of a novel series that is losing steam.

Not that there aren't pleasures in Life Goes On. Sam again faces some personal challenges, which are interestingly dealt with, with some unexpected participation from some others in the church. And the lovely single Deena Morrison, who seems somewhat out of place in the town, finds a suitor in a visiting (and handsome) medical doctor.

If you've spent time with the people in Harmony, you'll want to visit with them again. But the slightly empty space in your heart will be the recognition that this visit was not as special or as memorable as the previous ones. ( )