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With a fourteen year old pastor’s son, Adam Barnet as their guide, a group of multicultural middle schoolers and high school kids seek truth and resolution regarding the social and spiritual hurdles that impact their lives. The group, as modern disciples, heeds Adam’s messages and witnesses his performing of miracles. Showing that these societal ills such as witchcraft, revenge, indifference, and lust are a temptation regardless of age, and that the beacon of truth doesn’t have an age requirement, Parker paints an interesting story around the examination of these issues through the use of the world’s fascination with the Harry Potter literary enterprise.

The transformation of the characters created the most impact and the reader comes to appreciate young Pedro Morales as he emerges stronger in his faith. Adam’s character was a little hard to take, as unlike Jesus, he never appears to be tempted, making him someone to aspire to but not someone very relatable. Another issue I had was when members of the God Squad decide to break into a suspicious neighbor’s house because of Adam’s spiritual intuition about the house and its inhabitants. At first, Adam steps away from the conversation knowing it’s wrong despite the good intentions, but later encourages the plan. Racial profiling is suggested though unfounded once the break-in occurs. Because he is a preacher’s son, his family is new in town and he wants to protect his father from the consequences if his son is caught in illegal activity, Adam resolves to participate only through the offering of prayer and later when he senses trouble has reached a fever-pitch. When the situation resolves after turning dangerous and the police intervene, the God Squad’s trespassing or breaking and entering seems to be overshadowed by the casting out of a demon, thereby trivializing it to suggest some illegal activity done in the name of a good cause can be overlooked or treated lightly.

As those might suspect from a book that includes full prayers and Bible verses, witchcraft and Harry Potter are deemed unacceptable. Besides the growth of Pedro Morales, most of my enjoyment of the novel came interspersed through the last 70 pages where the Morales family comes to have intelligent conversations with the followers of witchcraft. Even though members of the witchcraft group come to Christ by the book’s end, I came to appreciate Parker’s attempt to suggest throughout the novel the importance of first seeking to understand and then seeking to be understood.  The Reforming of the Potter’s Clay earns 3 out of 5 Sable Seals.

Publisher: Sword of the Spirit Publishing

Format: Print

Price: $12.95

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