I tried not to chuckle. She hardly was that in my book. When I think of Jayne’s strengths, I’m sometimes reminded of that old joke about the guy who claimed that he made all the important decisions in his family. “Like what?” the other guy asks.
“Well, like how our country should be handling international affairs, who’s going to win the World Series, things like that.”
“Then what are the minor things your wife decides?”
“Oh, stuff like where we’ll live, what kind of house we’ll live in, how many children we’ll have, where they’ll go to school…just the small stuff.”
I took her in my arms and kissed her on the forehead. “Weak reed? I don’t think so, Miss Practical. You’re the rudder on this little boat we’re sailing. So, wherever we’re headed, we’ll get there safely.”
She shook her head and said, “Well, you know where my strength comes from, and yours, too.” She pulled us both to our knees right there in the kitchen. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I had been putting all my faith in a guy who had great wisdom but was mad at God!
Following our prayers for the Lord’s guidance, we got to our feet in a hug. Jayne looked up at me with a wrinkled brow. “I just have this sense of impending doom. I know that by God’s grace we can cope with whatever might happen, but it’s the tension of waiting for the other shoe to drop that’s wearing me down.”
“Things do seem to be getting out of hand, if they weren’t already.” I took her hand in mine. “We’ve had a lot to deal with in a very short period of time. Otis committed suicide because he was lonely, and I still feel guilty about that. Then this horrendous thing happens to Belvedere, something that will scar these people for the rest of their lives whether or not they lost family or loved ones in that shooting. You and I have lost Flora Stoner, who was one of the best people we’ve ever known, and yet her husband has somehow become our archenemy. I’ve somehow gotten tangled up with the Wootens, doing what I thought was right. Some in the community are looking for blood, Jayne. They’ve already gotten Connie Wooten fired from her job, as though that was going to solve anything. Clifton Stoner was ready to have me fired over the incarnation challenge, and now he thinks I’m in cahoots with the devil, blaming me for Flora’s death and for having the funeral service for the boy. In the midst of all of this, I challenged the people of Incarnation Church to show the world that Christ is still alive, and that completely backfired. Somehow I feel like all of this is converging on us, and who knows what Clifton Stoner will do next.”
It didn’t take long to find out. The phone rang, and it was Stoner.
“I’m calling, Steve, to tell you that you’re fired. We want you out of your house within thirty days and out of the lives of us Incarnation folks as well.”
Although I suspected this was going to happen, I felt nonetheless stunned. I stood in silence, the phone in my hand for a few moments, and then just hung up.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I told Jayne, “It’s happened. That was Stoner. The board has voted us out. We have thirty days.”
Jayne’s hands flew to her face. “Oh no! I know you thought this might happen, but it can’t be! How could they? Surely they could have handled it in a more gracious way. Couldn’t they have just said they think it’s time for you to move on to another church and help you find the right one? Thirty days? That’s not even Christian!”
I drew her to me as she sobbed. “People are people, sweetheart. I’m sure it wasn’t a unanimous vote, but so what? The end result is the same.”
“How can you find another church if you’ve been fired from this one? What about the children? This is so unfair to them. They’ve been through enough with the shooting, and now this.”
Before I could answer, the doorbell rang. It was the minority report from the board meeting—Ann Boronski, Arnie Dixon, and Paul Rivers were at the door. Ann was the only female on the board and leader of the women’s prayer group in the church. Arnie was a farmer and one of the most serious Bible students at Incarnation. Paul was a well-respected doctor in the community and head of the welcoming committee at church. The defeated looks on their faces told the story as Jayne ushered them into our family room and got them seated.
“Oh, Steve.” Paul wrung his hands. “We’re so sorry. We did everything we could, but it was no use. Clifton has the other three members of the board in his pocket, and he was out for blood.”
“Yeah, he just called. Tell us about it.”
Ann took the lead. “You’re aware that Clifton and a couple of other board members showed up at the service for Tyler Wooten. An emergency meeting of the Incarnation Church board was called immediately afterward. It was at Stoner’s house…just him and the other six board members without you.”
Ann was standing on one foot and then the other, with Paul and Arnie fidgeting behind her. I could see this was going to take some time. “Sit down and make yourselves comfortable.”
They arranged themselves around the family room, and Ann continued. “We guessed something was afoot when you weren’t there. Smug would be the best way to describe the look of those who were already seated. They knew why they were there, and the decisions made would please them.”
Arnie stepped into the story at that point. “As soon as the three of us were seated and before Stoner could say a word, Paul leaned on the table with a laser focus on Stoner and asked, ‘Why is our pastor not here?’
“Clifton shook his head and said our bylaws provide for executive sessions when dealing with issues concerning our pastor. So we wanted to know what issues, because we didn’t know of any issues that needed to be discussed behind your back.”
Paul wanted to get his two bits worth in. “That’s when Stoner said we were there to ask for your resignation as pastor. We couldn’t believe it. We told them that you’re the best thing that ever happened to Incarnation and we wanted to know what this was all about.”
Paul was getting up steam. “In his self-assured manner, Clifton told us there were two reasons you had to go. First, he got off on your sermon this past Sunday. He said you are off track by thinking we human beings who have to struggle just to be halfway decent Christians should all of a sudden be Christ to those around us. As he was telling us all this, he was shaking his head, rolling his eyes, and waving the back of his hand at us, sloughing off your challenge as though it weren’t worthy of any consideration. He even pointed out that nobody—including the three of us—came into the fellowship hall after your sermon to talk about it.”
Ann jumped back in. “ ‘Wait a minute!’ I shouted at him. ‘Steve’s one mistake was making the announcement as a part of the sermon. We had no advance warning, and all of us had other plans that couldn’t be canceled that day.’ ”
Arnie leaned forward in his chair, cleared his voice, and took his turn. “If what he had said about the sermon weren’t enough, then he went off on this theory that, as far as he was concerned, it may have led to Flora’s death because he thought she bought into your challenge. Ann gave him what-for about that, telling him Flora defended those children because of who she was and not because it had to do with anything you said.”
Taking a breath, Arnie continued. “Stoner ignored our protests and plunged on with his accusations, saying that we have had a great thing going here at Incarnation with everyone in the community looking up to us. He contends that following your lead is going to lose us members and the respect of this community.”
Jayne and I sat silently, brows wrinkled and frowning, paying rapt attention to our visitors.
Arnie waved his hands and continued the story. “At that point, Clifton came to his second complaint about you as pastor, and that was for having the burial service for Tyler Wooten. He claims that’s not only an offense against our church but against Belvedere itself. As the leadership of Incarnation, it was therefore our responsibility to straighten things out. He threatened that, otherwise, the wrath of this community would come down on us like a ton of bricks. Straightening things
out meant getting rid of you as our pastor.”
Ann jumped in. “The thing that galled us the most was that Stoner was able to speak with confidence about the position he was taking because he already knew that the three board members who sat there like dumb bunnies were already solidly in agreement with him. With his vote, he was assured of getting his way, four to three, regardless of what we thought. That didn’t end the discussion, though.
“We told them you are a great pastor who wants to lead us toward growth in Christ, to be Christ to the world around us. Though that may seem like a big step, it’s the right step.
“Clifton gave us some malarkey about your sermon not meaning anything to those, like him, who live in the real world, and we responded with, what is the Christian faith all about if it’s not being Christ’s people in our real world?”
Paul wrung his hands and took a deep breath. “What’s more, we told them, you’re going to split the church if you ask Steve to resign. Not only are there those of us who believe he is taking us in exactly the right direction, but he is also highly respected in the community. Why the big thing of Steve having the funeral service for the Wooten kid? Why was he asked to do it? I’ll bet it was because he’s the clergyman most people in this town expect to do the right thing in a difficult situation.
“Of course that just set Stoner off again, saying, how could I call that the right thing, pointing out that the funeral parlor could have conducted the service. And so the argument went, back and forth, largely between Stoner and the three of us. But, in the end, there was the four-to-three vote.”
Jayne, still trying to process the callousness of the decision, asked the group, “Is there no appeal to the decision—just thirty days and we’re out?”
Arnie got up from his chair and began pacing. “There was no reasoning with Clifton and the others on the board, but we may be able to mount support from within the congregation to put a stop to this. Steve, you’ve got a lot of support in the congregation, and it’s among those people who are serious about their faith in Christ. We’ll be praying and thinking.”
Ann nodded her head enthusiastically. “Arnie’s right. Now it’s time for us to be Christ to you.”
In the midst of desperation, I had a moment of inspiration. “You’re right. We say we believe in the power of prayer and that we are to be Christ to one another, and now is the time for it. Let’s have an old-fashioned prayer meeting.”
The five of us arranged our chairs in a circle facing each other, and I led off: “Lord, we’re in need of a miracle right now. There’s more going on than we can handle, but You can handle it. Please, Lord, step into this situation and bring peace, understanding, and harmony.”
My prayer got the ball rolling, and we prayed for about an hour. There were heartfelt prayers from everybody, including Hannah. She had slipped into the room when she saw us praying and hopped into Jayne’s lap, with Skeeter in her lap. She spoke in a soft, quivering voice. “Whatever happens, Lord, may we keep Skeeter.”
Chapter 32
When the prayer meeting was over and the others had gone, I pulled Jayne aside. “Hannah’s prayer broke my heart. How are the children reacting to all of this?”
“I don’t think they know how to react. Even though Hannah probably didn’t pick up on why Arnie, Ann, and Paul were here, and Brandon doesn’t know about the call from Clifton, it should be clear to them that your position at Incarnation is in jeopardy. They don’t want to admit it’s true. They can’t believe this is happening. They’re conscious of how highly people think of you at Incarnation, but they don’t know anything about church politics.”
I wanted to go talk to them, but I had something else I had to do, and I hadn’t even decided how to handle it with Jayne. So I didn’t tell her the whole truth.
“Can you let me have a few hours to myself to try to get my mind around all that is happening and what’s getting ready to happen? I know I haven’t been here for you and the children as much as I should have in this crisis situation, but there are just some things I’ve got to work through. I don’t even feel like supper, just not hungry. Can you forgive me?”
Jayne gave me that look. It’s a half-smile below a wrinkled brow. It means “I’m married to a pastor.”
I kissed her, grabbed my coat, and headed for the truck.
It was just getting dark out, and I actually felt a little hungry. I stopped at a drive-through, got a hamburger and lots of coffee, and headed for Sunnyside Trailer Park.
For obvious reasons, I was more attentive to my surroundings than I had been in my earlier visits to the trailer park. Now I was on reconnaissance, a guy on a mission to scout out the neighborhood and protect the innocent. A gravel road led off a paved city street into the entrance to the area. At the entrance sat a yellow and green Sunnyside Trailer Park sign, much faded with age and covered with dust from the road. The trailer homes varied in size and color, although all of them showed their age. Surprisingly, they were situated on lots somewhat larger than our neighborhood. The land was, of course, much less expensive. So, what these people lacked in the niceties that the more affluent neighborhoods had was offset by the additional yard space. Some of Connie’s neighbors used that space for home vegetable gardens, but most of the yards were overgrown in weeds.
The gravel road continued through the trailer park, rutted in some places and mainly dirt rather than gravel in others. Very few streetlights dotted the area. There were virtually no trees.
Connie’s house was the first on my right as I drove into the park. It sat about a hundred feet off the road, and there was considerable distance between her and her nearest neighbors. Some of the trailers had small porches on the front, but not Connie’s.
After driving through the area, I doubled back and out the entrance. Turning my truck around, I pulled off the left side of the road among some scraggly trees. I knew my fire-engine red Dodge Dakota wouldn’t be as obvious in the nighttime as it was in daylight.
Although I parked outside the trailer park, I had a decent view of Connie’s house. I thought I was well prepared to spot any troublemakers who might come into the area and threaten Connie. I also thought I wouldn’t be too conspicuous to inquiring eyes. So I settled down, ate my meal, and waited to see what might happen.
Coward that I am, I was filled with anxiety. What if Mike Troutman and others actually showed up? What would I do? Make some phone calls? I had Philip Treadway at the top of my list. Also Arnie Dixon and Paul Rivers. And Clifton Stoner. Stoner, in spite of everything else, was probably the most influential person in the area, and I didn’t believe he would condone violent action, even against Connie Wooten.
As I waited, it seemed time for shaping my thoughts into prayers. I first prayed for myself and for Connie that nothing bad would happen that night. Then I prayed about the larger situation I faced.
“Lord, it may well be that it’s time for us to leave Belvedere. We’ve had a good life here and, I believe, a good ministry. You know I think I heard Your call to tell these good folks about the incarnation challenge I believe You had laid on me on behalf of them…and myself. Everything seems to have gone wrong since then, but You did not cause what has happened. The people of Incarnation Church and the people of this community are good-hearted people, but as You said in Jeremiah, the heart can be deceitful above all things.”
The weight of my own words brought into focus the bleak future that seemed to be ahead for me and my family because of what seemed like deceitful hearts.
I continued. “Forgive me, Lord, if I am judging Clifton Stoner and others on the board. They think they are doing the right thing, but I believe they are being deceived. Give them a heart to know You, as you also said in Jeremiah, and a new heart, as You said in Ezekiel.
“And Holy Father, I ask You for protection for Connie Wooten. She has given herself to You, but she is filled with pain and doubt and real fear. Give her peace, and show her the way You have for her.”
Having laid myself ba
re before the Lord in my prayers, I had to admit my concern for Jayne, Brandon, and Hannah—and our future—remained paramount as well. “Protect my little family, Lord, and show us what You have in store for us. We want to be in Your will. We want to be Christ to the world around us.”
That wasn’t the end of my praying or my thinking, but I knew I had to focus on what might happen in the hours of darkness ahead. The sound of car tires on gravel heightened my anxiety. Every time a car drove by, my heartbeat increased rapidly. Finally, traffic into the trailer park ended, but when there wasn’t any noise, the quietness brought its own terror. After all, if terror was afoot, wouldn’t it come quietly?
So I sat there for hours, as though awaiting impending doom, playing games in my mind about what I would do and how I would do it. I considered various scenarios, and my imagination took me down some strange pathways. Part of the problem was that I had never had any idea of doing to someone what these guys might have in mind for Connie. It was all out of my range of experience, but that didn’t stop me from coming up with all sorts of evil plots and then trying to decide what I would do to deal with each of them.
It was a nerve-wracking night and left me edgy and even more exhausted than I already was from the events of the day.
Fortunately for me, nothing happened. The night remained quiet and still. The lights in Connie Wooten’s trailer had gone out long before I left at two in the morning.
Chapter 33
Saturday, October 21
I lay in bed late Saturday morning, groggy from too little sleep. Even after getting home in the wee hours of the morning, I still had too much on my mind. My thoughtful wife brought me coffee as soon as she heard me stirring.
She arched an eyebrow. “That must have been some session you had with the Lord last night.” I had a feeling she had found me out. I always had that feeling about Jayne. So, propped up in bed and looking up at her, I took a life-saving sip of coffee, let it begin to have its effect, and confessed.
In His Place: A Modern-Day Challenge for Readers of In His Steps Page 14
