Recently, I have had the pleasure to read Stitched Crosses: Crusade by Joshua Rothe. Having always been a fan of historical fiction, once I first spotted it on Ad Crucem’s website (adcrucem.com), I was compelled to investigate further. I ended up purchasing a copy for myself, with the intention of previewing the book before potentially adding it to our congregation’s bookstore. From start to finish, I was thoroughly impressed with the storyline and attention to detail. It is apparent that the author has a passion for this time in history, a distinct talent for storytelling and character development, all backed by a firm foundation in God’s Word.The book takes us on the action-packed spiritual journey of Markus, an English lord and member of the Order of the Temple. He has built walls around himself to escape from his disgraced past. He even shuts out his love, Lady Mairin. It is not until a fellow knight from the Order of Saint John the Baptist, Sir Charle, delivers a posthumous message from a dear friend of Markus, that he is forced to confront his past and attempt to atone for his transgressions. Markus must travel to the Holy Land to discover what his brother-knight had wanted him to find. All along the way, he is tested both physically and spiritually by the conquerors of Jerusalem, the Muslim armies. Will Markus find what he is looking for? I will leave that for you to find out.The author does a masterful job of transporting us to 12th Century Christendom to join our protagonist Markus in his journey for his life’s purpose. For me, as a Lutheran Christian, certain themes elevated themselves out of this gripping story. First, there is confession and absolution. At multiple points in Markus’ journey, he becomes so engrossed in his past shortcomings that he cannot proceed forward. It is Sir Charle who is there to pronounce absolution to him. Second, we see the shortcomings of superstitions and mysticism. Markus at times seems to be guided more by perceived signs than by God’s clearly spoken Word. As we will find, this particular problem will get our hero in quite a bit of trouble. This struggle for purpose and vocation is what sends Markus on his trek. However, all along, it is the Word and Sacrament that sustains him, not any fleeting “sign”.As a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and a Director of Christian Education in our parish, I firmly believe we should continue lifting up the talented individuals such as Joshua Rothe (Josh Radke) in our midst. Stitched Crosses: Crusade is a great addition to anyone’s library. If you want a more gripping, satisfying read than most of the Christian Fiction (I hesitate to even categorize this as such) distributed from the Big Publishers, I highly recommend you acquire a copy for yourself!