The Book of Joel : Hesperia Publishing : 9798988014201 : 04 Mar 2023 : "This tree was strong once," Lonnie said, pointing to a mottled spot on the trunk. "Then it took the sickness. Not much you can do once that sets in except watch it die. And trees kin take a long time to die. Sometimes years. But they're dying all the while." 16-year-old Joel Emerson Haines is heir apparent to the Austin Life Community Church - a virtual megachurch offering service to hundreds of in-person congregants and millions of online members. To his mother and the lay people, he's the perfect son. In his heart, he knows better. Joel is going through the motions of faith, but is relentlessly pursued by an emptiness that he believes can only be filled with the Lord's love-a love that he doesn't feel. The church's new gardener, Lonnie Lloyd Simpson, is oozing faith. Lonnie gyrates during sermons and wails at funerals in a garish display of just how much he feels the Lord. One day, Joel decides to ask Lonnie h