Dear Bill
Chapter twenty-seven
Next assignment, a novel, Pulpit Power.
It all started with thoughts, fun thoughts, silly imaginative thoughts. Week after week and month after month they just kept coming. I had no idea I was building a book. A novel? Me? You gotta be kidding.
Pulpit Power demonstrates the power of the pulpit, power to change an ordinary into a remarkable, power to mould an entire congregation into something better or something worse, power to amalgamate or divide.
My story occurs at Bryden Falls, skirting the Canada-U.S. Border, somewhere in western Canada. Bryden Falls Community Christian Center has an impressive baseball team. Since there was no serious canadian competition nearby, Pastor Mac, a competent pitcher, challenged the American Men’s League south of the border. After some scoffing at the audacity of a canadian team challenging americans at their own game, they allowed the Challengers into their league, and they usually ended the year last place. But not this year. The Challengers had a chance to make the playoffs for the first time ever, and had their sights on winning the coveted championship, which would nullify the shame accumulated over several years. So anyhow….
The story begins when Roo – Reuben Tanner, plumber, usher, skilled back catcher – asks the pastor – Pastor Mac – for permission to speak to the congregation two successive sundays, claiming he had a message from the Lord Jesus. Never before had Mac heard of a layman requesting permission to use the pulpit. When Mac refused, Roo appealed to the board of elders. Crusty Donald Williamson, a retired pastor, immediately concurred with Pastor Mac, as did the entire board. Until…. until young David Tomas asked…. Why not? So anyhow….
That lead to quite a discussion, a heated debate really. Why shouldn’t Roo be allowed to speak to the congregation? Does the bible forbid such a thing? Suppose Roo really did have a message from Jesus? Would saying no to Reuben Tanner be saying no to Jesus? One of the elders was so agitated he abdicated his position on the council. So anyhow….
The board threw the matter back onto Mac, Mac consented to Roo’s request, asking him to give his first of two messages on the same sunday Mac was to be the keynote speaker at his denomination’s bi-annual leadership conference. Because this conference, though a thousand miles away, happened to be due south of Bryden Falls and therefore in the same time zone, Mac and Roo were scheduled to give their respective messages at exactly the same time. While sunday morning found Mac encouraging pastors of congregations less successful than his Bryden Falls Community Center, Reuben – petrified Reuben – was given his very first public sermon to Mac’s congregation back home. So anyhow….
On returning home, Mac turned on the phone messager. “You have twenty-six messages”, the mechanical voice droned. What!? Twenty-six messages! “Message number one: ‘Pastor Mac. Donald Williamson. I guess Vivian told you about the service yesterday. Get back to me right away!’ ”…. “Message number seven: ‘Pastor Mac. Sheldon Waters. Hope you had a good weekend. I guess you know by now we’ve got serious problems. I think we are facing a church split. I think we better call an emergency council meeting. I want you to know I am with you.’ ” No! No! No! A church split? I’m gone one weekend and my church is rendered in two? So anyhow….
They had their emergency meeting, Mac and his Vivian got into a nasty fight, Donald Williamson secretly contacted the denomination’s superintendent, Roo was in deep remorse, Mac was reluctant to break his word to Roo by disallowing a second message, Superintendent Johnston demanded a solution, both the church board and the congregation seemed hopelessly split. And to add to the chaos the Challengers faced a team for last spot of the playoffs, and Mac’s closest friend Tree – tall, ex-marine, superior pitcher for the Grizzlies – was planning a suicide after losing his family to booze. So anyhow….
NOTE: Pulpit Power, a full-length novel, is available at www.larryjones.ca