The Bull Ridin' Preacher by Paul Peterson - Drama - During his 1937 summer internship in Montana, a Princeton seminarian finds that he is ill-equipped for cowboy culture, so he decides that riding in a rodeo is the answer, but in the end it's his relationship with a rancher’s daughter that helps him discover how the biblical concept of loving kindness is the key to transcending culture. 106 pages - pdf, format

SPOILERS, some quick notes...

Good writing and good story development -- filmed, the town and the characters would charm the audience.  I like that we get to know Carl by way of the townspeople's reactions to him and that we're allowed to see the town as having its own order and character. The universal concern for Carl's safety (riding a bull) shows us their generosity and decency since there's little that's really likeable about Carl, their warnings are plainly spoken and sincere.  

(It's irritating that Carl shows disappointment that only a dozen women and one man attend Sunday Service, it seems like he sees no value in ministering to them.)

Carl's various blunders and misunderstandings are presented in a credible way, but to my mind there are too many examples -- by the time he's wandering around looking for the Big Hole the joke has worn too thin.  Just my opinion, of course.

It's very good, I think, that Carl's faith seems real, but of the intellectual, shallow root variety --  and quite dramatic that by the ending Carl's recognition of "God's glorification" is believable and entirely welcome.  

Much of the dialogue is witty and charming and useful to the story.  Wily telling Carl that he has to learn to laugh at himself is my favorite bit.

cm - Thanks for reading. Appreciate the comments. I'm going to take another look at the practical jokes, as per your observation. Part of the reason for the Big Hole joke is from my experience of serving as pastor in the valley. The reaction of people in other places when I told them I was serving the Church of the Big Hole (the actual name) was either toward porn movies type questions or about whether there was actually a big hole there. I used to own the domain name bighole.com as part of a computer business I did on the side. As soon as I gave up the name, it was grabbed up by a porn site.
Anyway, again, thanks for the comments. They are helpful.

Paul you have a real gift. I've read this from beginning to end twice now, and each time I was reminded of characters from Lonesome Dove. That's not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. That's actually quite an accomplishment. The characters are memorable and their story drives them. But as was stated above, the interactions with the other characters in the story does a lot more to illuminate what we need to know about the protagonist.

Quite an accomplishment. I make it through very few scripts, because they spend all their time telling rather than showing.

I'm coming from a film maker perspective, so maybe I'm not the best person to talk to with regard to the writing process. But from the standpoint of making movies, I think this is a winner. If I had a penny to my name, I'd buy it. I would definitely love for this movie to be made. Something tells me that a lot of studios will decide to pass on it, if for no other reason than it is a period piece or a potential franchise.

And by the way, not secondary to me by any means, is the almost total lack of profanity whatsoever. This isn't a movie that has any chance of an R Rating, and with the right casting, could probably do quite well. If all of the big money people pass on it, let me know. I'd make it in a heartbeat.