John Lovejoy took his new position as head elder seriously and immediately made a list of people to visit. Many of them had stopped attending church altogether, and he hoped to show the church that he was a strong leader who could bring people back into the fold.
Sarah planned to go with her husband when he visited the backsliders. “What about that Franklin woman with six kids?”
John rolled his eyes. “I don’t know Sarah. Did you forget the elders visited her as a group two years ago?”
“A lot can change in two years.”
“Unless one is committed to absolute rebellion.”
“What do you mean?”
“Molly’s the one who left her husband. He came to us with a broken heart, and we begged her not to break up their family, but she was so determined that several of us wondered if she might be demon-possessed.”
“Something must’ve been wrong for her to leave her husband and care for her six little children alone.”
“Exactly! Hey, what about that single doc who works with Lexie? He’s visited our church a couple of times.”
“Oh, wouldn’t that be wonderful if he became a member and they got together? I’ll bake a batch of homemade bread, and we can take a loaf to him.”
John made a list and checked it twice, making sure it contained no heretics or openly rebellious dissenters.
After setting a time for visiting the next weekend, Sarah went to help Katie’s class with an art lesson, and John went to play golf with Pastor Owen.
Ben pulled into the church parking lot with satisfaction. When he decided to work for himself, he’d been worried he wouldn’t get enough clients to provide for his growing family. Now, thanks to the pastor’s recommendation, he was treasurer of one of the largest churches in town. This job with Stonyheart Church would boost his income and he’d probably gain even more clients as soon as members realized he was open for business.
Ben had barely glanced through the books when he discovered that his brother Nick was no longer returning tithe. Tithing was serious business at Stonyheart Church. It was required to be a member in good standing. Keeping their income for themselves was deemed selfish and signaled a lack of faith. Those who didn’t pay tithe weren’t allowed to vote on the church board or lead in front of the church.
Nick was a popular leader of the children’s church. It was a family tradition—their father and grandfather had once led the young people, too. But if word got out that he was keeping his tithe to himself, he could lose his position and disgrace the entire family.
Ben shook his head. First, Nick couldn’t keep his marriage, and now he wasn’t returning tithe. How did he expect God to bless him? He wondered if Pastor Owen realized Nick had stopped returning tithe. He decided to keep mum about this until he could talk some sense into his brother.
When John met up with Pastor Owen at the golf course, he shared his list. He was surprised to see the pastor pull out a pen and cross two names off the list.
“Neither of these people would be good members considering their past. We need to protect the church’s reputation.”
John stared at the crossed-off names. One was Molly, and the other was an immigrant family. “I understand the history with Molly, but Sarah’s been helping the Lopez family, and she’s looking forward to visiting them.”
“Well, John, how many Spanish-speaking members do we have?”
“They speak English too.”
“Come on, you know what I mean.”
Caught off guard by what appeared to be a racist remark, John wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d been waiting years to get this head elder position, and now, in less than a week, it seemed he was no longer compatible with the Pastor. He considered the church’s pecking order and shuddered at the thought of Sam Butcher getting the job, so he figured the best he could do at the moment was not make any waves and sort of settle into his new position.
Ben stopped by his brother’s new bachelor pad to pound on the door. It took a minute for Nick to hear his knocking because he was running the vacuum.
“What’s up?” Nick barely smiled, and Ben could tell he was depressed.
“What’s up with you? Why are you vacuuming?”
“The guardian ad litem is coming to inspect the place and watch me with my kids to make sure I’m not abusing them. It’s ridiculous.”
“That’s ridiculous. Everyone knows you’re a good dad.”
“Except my ex.”
Ben wasn’t sure how to bring up his reason for visiting.
“Nick, I realize things are hard for you right now, but we need to talk. When I was looking at the books I realized you haven’t paid tithe since Abby left.”
“What’s that to you?”
“As the treasurer, I’m supposed to inform the church board whenever someone doesn’t turn it in. The policy is that you can’t vote or hold a church office unless you pay tithe.”
“I understand your job, but I don’t think God punishes people for not returning tithe.”
“Well God might not, but the church does. And you could lose your opportunity to lead your kids in children’s church.”
Nick coiled the vacuum cord. “Look, I don’t care. To be honest, I’m not sure I even believe in God.”
Trying not to show his surprise, Ben said, “You don’t mean that—you’re just discouraged because your wife left.”
“Maybe, but I’m not sure God answers our prayers, and if he doesn’t, what’s the point of praying or teaching that to the kids?”
“Hold it, I think you’re overreacting. I just came to warn you that I can’t cover for you for long.”
“Then don’t cover for me at all.”
His brother seemed to be getting angrier by the minute and Ben decided to leave.
“Hope things get better for you. See you after church.”
John always dreaded telling Sarah bad news. He decided to wait until after supper to bring it up, then tell her quickly—like pulling off a Band-Aid.
“Hey, Honey, I spoke with the Pastor, and he doesn’t feel comfortable with us visiting divorcees and immigrants.”
Sarah was loading the dishwasher. After organizing the plates, she put the soap in and turned it on before slowly turning to face her husband.
“What kind of church doesn’t allow divorcees and immigrants?”
“They aren’t a good fit for Stonyheart.”
“Who says?”
“The Pastor.”
“Is that in the church manual? The Bible? Where does Pastor Owen get his authority?”
“Sarah! Be careful how you speak—the man is God’s anointed.”
“I take my marching orders from Jesus—not Pastor Owen, and if you won’t visit them, I will.”
Feeling whiplashed by his wife’s defiance, John didn’t know what else to do except use his authority over her.
“Sarah, I forbid you to visit them.”
Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “Well, John, in 32 years of marriage, you’ve never used your authority over me. Is this what you want?”
He tried to smooth it over and hide his nervousness. “Honey, I’m just saying that I’m the head of this house, and you need to listen to me. Not visiting those people isn’t my choice—it’s the pastor’s, and he’s the authority God has placed over both of us.”
Sarah bit her lip. John hated it when she bit her lip because it usually meant she was going to do something he disliked.
“I’m not the head elder and the pastor can’t take any positions away from me because I don’t have any.”
“Sarah! What about that umbrella illustration we saw at the couples retreat? You know, where the husband shelters the wife, the pastor shelters the church, and Jesus covers all of us?”
Sarah snorted. “Nobody stands between me and God. I think I’ll go visit Molly right now.”
With that, she grabbed her keys, slammed the car door, and was gone.
Meanwhile, Katie was having second thoughts about kissing the pastor. What was she thinking? She had never in her wildest dreams thought this would happen. She preferred men her age, and she’d never even seen the pastor as attractive. She decided she’d set the record straight as soon as she saw him the next week and tell him it better not happen again.
Across town, Lexi worked the evening shift in the hospital emergency department. She never knew what she was going to find at work. It had been a rough night. A young teenager had tried to take their life. After pumping the stomach and watching the vitals, staff waited to make sure the child was okay.
The mother’s wailing only added stress for the staff and child, so Lexie was asked to take her to another room where she could calm down. As a young nurse, Lexie had never heard such anguished sobs before, but she brought the mother a cup of coffee from the break room and together they waited.
Lexie had once held a man’s heart in her hands. She’d stopped to assist with an accident on the freeway. The medics arrived and took over and the man lived to call Lexie his angel. Lexie knew he was lucky she happened to be in the right place at the right time. She told him a heavenly angel must’ve arranged it.
Now, staring through the glass at the sleeping child—almost as white as the sheet they were lying on, she wondered where their angel had been. Did God’s angels leave non-binary teens to fend for themselves? She shuddered to think of all the people committed to saving a child’s life in the womb, yet judging if a child couldn’t live with the gender they were assigned at birth.
The child lay silent, while the mother and Lexie waited. Her heart hurt for them both. Lexie imagined the shame this teen must have felt to try and take their own life—all because their classmates had called them names over something they had no control over. What was wrong with the supposedly good Christian parents who’d taught their children to make fun of people different from them? Where was the love?
After another hour, the doctor stepped into the room. ”Vitals are positive. I think we got this one in time thanks to your quick thinking, Mom. We will have a social worker come in and explain what we need to do next. Most likely an inpatient rehab for teens.”
As the doctor left the room, the mother let out a sob and Lexie handed her a box of tissues.
The mother looked up. “Hey, don’t I know you? Aren’t you from StonyHeart church?”
Lexie smiled with what her father called the twins' “million-dollar smile”—partially due to their orthodontia bills and the beautiful results.
“Yes, are you one of the new families?”
The mother held out her hand. “Yes. Barbara Sanford. We came to live with my parents after the divorce.”
“I imagine it’s hard to be the new kid in town,” Lexie spoke matter of fact.
Barbara’s eyes filled with tears again. “They’ve always been different and I was afraid this move would be hard.”
Lexie reached out and squeezed the mother’s hand. “I believe God can help.”
Barbara smiled. “I’m so glad we talked. I wasn’t sure if Stonyheart was a safe church for people like my Harper, but if others are like you, we’ve come to the right place.”
Lexie’s lips smiled while she swallowed the acid in her throat. She wasn’t sure Stonyheart was a safe place, but this wasn't the time to share her opinion.
(Info section coming soon)
Hi Friends,
Tell me what you think about this story. Is it relevant to the time we are living in? What do you think about this family and this pastor? Have you met people like them before?
This book “Religious Narcia” is still a work in progress and I’ve decided to focus on the story first because that’s what people are saying they want to read.
Thank you for your support and participation.
Stay free,
Cherilyn
It’s hard for me to read this and not stick out my foot and trip some people or conk some hard over the head . Definitely very currently relevant . Triggers.