"The Gospel" ** (out of four): Writer-director Rob Hardy's telling of "The Prodigal Son" set against the backdrop of politics within the black church. Aside from mediocre writing, sloppy direction and uneven acting, it succeeds.

After the death of his mother, David “D.T.” Taylor, a promising gospel singer, turns to a career in show business and becomes an R&B sensation. When his estranged father, a Pastor in a Southern church, takes ill, David must return home to confront the family, friends and community he left behind. This is the foundation for “The Gospel”, writer-director Rob Hardy’s promising but flawed take on “The Prodigal Son”.

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