The Reverend Henry Maxwell is the principal protagonist in the novel, and he is the prime mover of each plot event. The pastor of the First Church of Raymond, Henry Maxwell is married to his wife, Mary, though the pair have no children of which to speak. Rev. Maxwell is a kind and gracious man who is genuinely dedicated to the members of his parish church, though he has at times struggled with apathy and a desire to please rather than speak the truth in love.

When the homeless man dies in Reverend Maxwell’s, the reverend’s whole life’s purpose and work is thrown into stark relief when viewed against the backdrop of the radical call of the Gospel. From that moment on, he determines to live his life by the dictum, “What would Jesus do?” and to challenge others to do the same. When the novel begins, the reader is introduced to a serious man dedicated to the craft of sermonizing, intent on providing the city’s best preaching. He is quickly disabused of the notion that eloquence and rhetoric are the principal goods in life when the reality of the lives of the poor and downtrodden in his own city breaks in upon the niceties of his upper-class parish.