The Final Sunday

For the next two weeks Danny and Davy would look forward to what was to come at Jones Chapel. But, the day after Reverend Wright and Deacon Palmer visited. A man knocked on Danny’s door.
“Do I have the pleasure of addressing Father West?” asked the man.
“Yes.”
The man then introduced himself as Pastor Watson from Third Street Church of God. Danny welcomed him in.
“Sir, I have heard you try to help churches in trouble. Is this true?”
“We have, on occasion, but first, what kind of trouble?”
“We’re a poor church. We’ve never really been big. But our membership is declining to the point we just can’t keep going.”
“And, how can we help?” asked Danny.
“We own the building. It’s paid for. And we’d like to sell it. I know you’ve bought other churches.”
Just then Davy walked in and Danny introduced Watson and gave him a rundown about what was said.
“Will you be having services this Sunday?” asked Davy.
The man said that they would.
“If Father West agrees, we will be there. Eleven o’clock?”
The man seemed surprised but said they would be welcome and left.
“What was all that about?” asked Danny.
“We’ve got two more guys ready for their own church.”
“Andy and Clark?”
“Right, Andy and Clark. Besides, you and I have made fun of the Holiness for thirty years, it’s probably past time that we see what goes on for real.”
“Okay, we’ll do it, but there’s something about what happened in the last five minutes that’s just not right.”
“What? The man? The church? What he wants?”
“I don’t know, there’s just something.”
“You’re being paranoid. We’ll go Sunday. If we like the place, we’ll listen to what they want to say and go from there okay?”
Danny slowly exhaled and said, “Okay.”
Sunday came and Davy and Danny headed into town. “Strange,” said Danny, “I’ve never heard of Third Street Church of God.”
“Neither have I,” said Davy, “But, then again, is there any reason we should? I’m sure it’s one of the store front churches. The old part of town is full of them.”
“Yea, I had a guy in the congregation at St. Egbert’s who was in real estate. He said the last step of a building before the wrecking ball is a church. There was a lot to that. Somebody buys or rents a building on the cheap, calls himself a preacher and if he can get a half-decent following, he can live off it. That’s why there’s so many of them.”
“Don’t talk too quick. The Methodist Church was just before the wrecking ball and Billie-Bob and Bubba have made it into a fantastic place.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen here,” said Danny as he pointed to what appeared to be an old movie theater with “Third Street Church of God” on the marque.
“Who knows? We’ve never gone into a storefront before. Let’s give it a chance. Open mind, open mind.”
“You’re right. . . open mind.”
The two parked and walked into what had once been the lobby of the old theater. Though the majority of the former fittings still remained, everything appeared to have been freshly washed and cleaned. Other people were walking in and a couple stopped and smiled at the two visitors. Danny and Davy joined the others as they walked inside. In front, there was a stage with a pulpit and some musical instruments. At a few minutes to eleven, four people came out and began playing. Though Danny and Davy weren’t accustomed to drums and a guitar, the music was upbeat and pleasant. As they played, people continued to file into the theater. Then, Pastor Watson walked up onto the stage. “Today, we’re going to have church.”
The people, who by now amounted to well over forty, erupted into a fervent “Halaluah”.
Watson shouted louder, “Today, we’re going to have church.”
The people responded with an even louder “Halaluah”
“Today, we ARE going to have church” shouted Watson at the top of his lungs.
The people began shouting. They seemed to begin vibrating.
“I told my wife that we won’t be finished with church until God gives us a miracle!”
“Yes,” shouted the people.
“I’m looking for that miracle.”
“Yes, Preacher, Yes.”
“The miracle is coming!”
“Yes, Preacher, Yes, it’s coming.”
The next fifteen minutes of the service consisted of Watson shouting about going to church and, expecting a miracle. Davy pulled on Danny’s sleeve and Danny leaned in to hear him. “Is the son-of-a-bitch ever going to say anything?” Davy whispered. “All he’s doing is shouting the same things over and over.”
“Yea, but look at these people, they’re all in a lather. Look at ‘em they’re shaking, and what in God’s name are they saying?”
“I guess, this is what they call speaking in tongues.”
Just then, a slight breeze opened the curtain behind the pulpit. “Speaking in tongues my ass,” said Danny.
“What?”
“Just wait.”
In a few minutes, Watson calmed down and asked one of the people to lead them in a prayer. The very second the man began, everybody began praying their own prayer trying to outtalk the others. It was a clutter of voices. “I hope God can understand that,” whispered Davy. “I know I can’t.”
“God hasn’t got a thing to do with it,” said Danny.
“Wha–“
”Just wait.”
Eventually, calm came to the theater and the people began filing out. Watson stepped down from the pulpit and joined Davy and Danny. Perspiration ran down his face in streams. “Now, that was a blessed service,” said Watson. “I could feel the Holy Spirit beside me in this place. I’m going to miss it.”
“Are you going somewhere?” asked Davy.
“Yes, God has spoken to me and told me that you two are going to buy this church.”
“Really?” said Danny. “Did God say how much we’re going to pay for it?”
“As a matter of fact, it seems he mentioned a number. I believe it was one hundred thousand dollars. Yes, that’s what he said, one hundred thousand dollars.”
“Whew,” breathed out Danny. “I’m sure glad God was into creation and all that holy stuff, because he’s not worth a damn at real estate.”
“Good Lord, Preacher, what you’re saying is blasphemy. God created the land, all the land.”
“This is true, Pastor Watson, God may have created it, but somebody else bought this parcel from the city in a tax sale six weeks ago. That person paid six hundred dollars for it and now you’re wanting a hundred thousand. If God told you we were going to pay that for it, not only is God a bad real estate man, God is a fool.” Danny stood up and shouted, “Is God a fool, Reverend Green, or do you just believe we are the fools?”
“Reverend Green?” questioned Davy. “What has Rever–“
”A breeze blew the curtain apart and I saw him standing in the back. This is a set-up, Davy. Look at the signs. They’re all freshly painted. And those people, I’ve never heard anyone speak in tongues before, but I have all ideas if they’re talking to God it’s not going to be just gibberish and jumping up and down.”
The curtain parted and Green walked out. “Very astute, Father West, very astute.”
“One question, Reverend Green?” asked Danny, “Why? We paid you a fair price for Green Valley Baptist Church. Why?”
“A fair price? A fair price? Have you seen that place lately? It’s packed every Sunday. You’ll get ten times what you paid for that place the first year.”
“Is that how you measure the success of a church, Rererend? By how much money it brings in? No wonder it failed, but the church didn’t fail you. You failed the church. The church isn’t what brings in people. Those guys who are there now would have crowds on an ice flow. You know why, Reverend?”
Green stood there in shock.
“Because they don’t take from the people like you did, they give something to the people. And, by the way, Reverend, one of your people said something in tongues.”
“Tongues, they can’t speak in tongues.”
“I don’t know, what he said made perfectly good sense to me. At least it sure did help us here.”
Green gave a confused look.
“What it sounded like he said was, “Trust in God, but also check with the Register of Deeds.”