The Pastor: Beyond the Incipit

The pastor had it all:

The church, a mid-rise Tower of Babel

A mansion on the lake

A private jet

A trophy wife

Exotic cars

He had amassed this great fortune through his evangelical teachings. He had imbued his followers with the, once, radical notion that God rewards “believers” with wealth, which he called “prosperity gospel”.

And so, the fall from grace was that much the harder.

Church collections were massive;

the money seemed endless.

But the church had a large mortgage.

Finances were murky.

Questions were asked:

What happened to the money?

The fall was sudden:

Divorce

Depression

Pills

Alcohol

DUI charges

The pastor had his critics.

But his flock was loyal.

He was once high among them and now he was mortal.

And this endeared him to them.

After rehab, the pastor returned to the church.

He announced his sermon:  The Redemption, Restoration and Resurrection.

The sermon was planned as a testament to hope.

His flock was gleeful, their prayers were answered.

There was great anticipation.

There would be inspiration.

Thousands would come to listen.

True to his word, the pastor preached about the path to Redemption:

We all know of the sins of pride, envy and greed.

We must cleanse ourselves of these sins.

We must bury the past.

And look to the future.

We can do this together.

We can succeed.

The Pastor then spoke of the way to Restoration:

Now… we all know the church is just a symbol.

But the church is our foundation.

It is our home.

It is our sanctuary.

We must not allow ourselves and our church to, once again, fall from grace.

And, the Pastor ended with an admonition for the Resurrection:

I need you look deep into your hearts.

We must do this for the church.

Reach down deep into your pockets, as we pass the plate.  

After all, we have the mortgage to pay.

And they gave; and his Resurrection was complete.

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Author’s note: This story was based on newspaper accounts.

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I wrote this for the Trifecta Writing Challenge Week 42, where we are to write a 33-333 word composition using the word, “radical”, in the context of an extreme point of view.

Your comments are appreciated.