A Home for the Redeemed
by
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Carl did not pray in the small chamber before the service as he did every Sunday morning. He stayed in his office and then waited for his time to speak. When the music stopped, he walked slowly to the microphone and faced his congregation.
“I want to start by apologizing to all visitors and newcomers here and to those who have no idea what I’m talking about. Please bear with me. This is an important message.
“I built this church some twenty years ago, and I have spent the best part of my life taking care of the needs of any person who knocked on my door. I have counseled, married, and baptized. I conducted funerals, visited sickbeds and retirement homes. On top of that, I managed and took care of all the details of this building.
“I have loved you with everything I had.”
Carl’s voice broke. He paused and looked around the room purposefully, making sure every person in the church received that fact.
<>He noticed Brendan was absent. Barb was not there either. He resolutely continued, “I believe some of you are proclaiming that I’m no longer fit to be your pastor.”
A rumble went through the congregation, and a few muffled screams. Some faces had shock written all over them.
A few people braved the crowd and said no out loud, but there was a general heaviness in the air. It seemed the crowd wanted blood. Carl’s heart hung heavy. He swallowed the tears and kept on going.
“We are facing a situation now that has convinced me that I have sinned greatly before God, not in the accusations that you are leveling at me but in the fact that I have not worked harder at producing spiritual maturity in this church.
“I have failed God and failed you. My insecurities and my inability to find role models to teach me how to produce spiritually mature sons and daughters before the Lord has caught up with me. I stand guilty.”
A sea of blank faces was staring back at him. He had their attention.
“A rumor had spread amongst you that I have betrayed God and my wonderful wife, Maria. Stories that I ran away with another woman.
“Can I ask you, my dear friends, who has prayed for me? Who interceded for my soul? Not one of you called me to counsel and help. You went for the jugular, seeking revenge instead.”
He turned to Geena, smiling sadly at her. “Geena, I want to thank you for taking charge of this matter. I was impressed with your insight and your maturity. Thank you. I’m grateful for your leadership in this situation.” Geena nodded.
He turned to his flock again. “I had been feeling an exhaustion for a while now, and I had been seeking the Lord over some matters, including moving on and releasing the church to more capable hands. We will see how this matter resolves. A wonderful pastor—some of you know him—named Pastor Bob Moody is helping me sort through things. I will let you know when this whole affair concludes. Thank you. That is all.”
He could see a few women crying, men looking distraught, others ashamed. He noticed Benjamin and Jane sitting in the back, mouth open, dumbfounded.
Carl walked slowly from the pulpit, took Maria’s hand gently, and led her out of the church, walking with the dignity of someone who no longer cared.
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“He remembered with bitterness how much he had aspired to become a pastor. He had assumed that somehow it would change him. It would make him a different person, a better man. When he earned the title pastor, it seemed everyone else also assumed he was some super being, above the rest, with keys and answers to all life’s problems—the voice of God no less.
He had to admit he believed his own publicity for the longest time.”
Carl is a disillusioned pastor, toying with despair, watching his marriage fall apart. Leading the flock, he still has to counsel those who knock at his door, deal with an attack of the media, and still find a way to love a church that is no longer confident in his leadership. Benjamin is an atheist. His life is shaken by encounters with angels and supernatural happenings. He believes he has a divine message for Pastor Carl. Brendan, a member of the church, used to be a street urchin and an addict. He is a babe in Christ. His transformation is still rocky, and his relapse threatens to shatter those who love him. Can an imperfect pastor shepherd a church? Can the grace of God prevail in brokenness?
About the Author
Sue is primarily a storyteller. She has been in ministry for almost two decades watching the grace of God delivering the downtrodden and the broken. It gave her a perspective on life that is worth sharing. Like most people who are pushing forth for breakthroughs, Sue is a survivor. Her walk with her Lord Jesus empowered her and strengthened her to overcome the suicide of her father, war, abortion, immigration, and heartbreak.