THE MONSTER WITHIN
Hell’s Angel to God’s messenger
By Brian Greenaway. CWR. 180 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 853 457 401
This is from the ‘really nasty violent guy is converted’ genre, in the Nicky Cruz tradition. It tells the story of how Brian Greenaway emerged from a childhood marked by profound emotional abuse by his mother before graduating into the violent world of the Hell’s Angels.
Two previous books by Brian are now out of print. This latest book covers most of that material, but gives a rather more reflective perspective as Brian has just retired from full-time prison ministry. It’s a simple read and a bit of a page-turner.
The book is richest when Brian opens his heart: he recalls that his mum never expressed love and never laughed. I think the book would move from quite good to great if he had developed the effects that his divorce had on his ministry and the reaction of the church to his situation. He has clearly been hurt by the church and reflects that his future ministry could be with ‘hurting people, including those who have been hurt by the church’. An observation is that often those who have been hurt by an institution are not always in that objective place to offer solid advice. Many will be intrigued by Brian’s scars, hurt and lack of trust and perhaps we should offer him a safe place to explore these further in another book.
There is a DVD which can be bought to accompany the book.
David Meredith,
recovering Pharisee (with a bit to go), Inverness
