Chapter 4 – Dare Me and Face the Wrath of My God
Tinsel Herrmann checked her wristwatch for the umpteenth time. Boris Vogel, her fiancé had given her a 4:00p.m appointment. She wished she had gone along with a magazine to while away the time. Waiting for a man alone in a Stuttgart hotel was like placing an advert in Playboy magazine for a partner. By 5:00p.m., she was beside herself with worry. She dialled Boris’ cell phone but couldn’t get through. She tried his office line and got the same result. She was contemplating leaving for home when her fiancé arrived, flustered.
One look at him was enough to convince her that the time was not ripe for recriminations. The poor man looked the worst for wear! Shyly, he reached out and touched her mane of hair before taking a seat opposite her. She forced a smile and adjusted her chair close to his. He took her left hand and said, “Pardon me honey. I tried to get across but the network was funny as usual.
I had driven out of the church premises when the Bishop’s Secretary called on the cell phone and asked me to return to the office. On getting there, I met a thoroughly angry man of God. He was literarily raving. I had a hard time getting the steam out of the old man. It took more that twenty minutes for him to get himself together.
When he eventually expended his anger, he asked me to draft a suspension letter to be served on Paul, the Associate Pastor. He said the pastor had the nerve to walk out on him over the planned prosecution of a consultant, Lionel Paris who duped the church of four thousand Euros. The man in question was hired to purchase some musical instruments for the church. As the ministry's legal adviser, I was called upon to vet the deal. Although I advised against it, some elders vouched for the integrity of Paris and he got the job.
Frankly speaking, I was pissed off that my counsel was ignored but I held my peace. Paul on the other hand is the kind of person that likes to shoot his mouth off. He is not diplomatic at all. When he shared his feelings on the matter with me, I suggested that he keep his cool and allow the Bishop handle it the way he deemed fit. Paul was of the opinion that we show Paris the love of God by giving him time to pay back the money rather than bringing in the police.
I was almost through with the letter when I had the urge to call Paul and hear his side of the story. What he said really knocked the wind out of me. He claimed that he walked into the Bishop’s office to hear him speaking with Paris on phone. He rained curses on Paris and his parents who incidentally are deceased, provoking Paul to plead with him to exercise restraint. Paul said he was shocked when the old man turned on him and poured invectives on him calling him the son of a prostitute. He said he walked out to prevent an ugly situation.
Honey, I know that must have hurt the Associate Pastor terribly because his mother conceived him out of wedlock. He was Paul Wilhelm before his mother married late Rev Steiner Kahn. His step-father not only gave him a home but later adopted him shortly before his fifteenth birthday.
After I dropped the phone, I went back to see the Bishop and prevailed on him to jettison the sanction on Paul. Well, God intervened early enough for me to be here at your service Madam. Are you famished?
She smiled, her dimpled cheeks adding to her enthralling looks. Holding his gaze, she said, “I could eat two cows, grilled!” Both of them doubled with laughter and picked up copies of the menu before Boris signaled a waiter to take their orders.
While they waited for their meals, Tinsel said casually, “Sweetheart why is there so much turmoil in your church? I remember that five Pastors were dismissed last year for failing to get up from their seats when the Bishop arrived at the venue of a child dedication ceremony at Reutlingen. It was widely publicized by the local media. Please pardon me if I step out of line. Just when does your Bishop exercise the Christian virtue of mercy? I thought a man of God or a Disciple of Jesus should freely dispense mercy to those who wrong him. Honestly, I am not looking forward to joining you in that church after our marriage.”
Boris sat with head bowed, too ashamed to attempt a rebuttal. How do you defend the indefensible? The Bishop had once said that he owed no one any apology for the way he ran his ministry. This was in response to a bad press after he sent a female member out of the church during worship service for speaking in tongue while he was giving the message for the day. While the conduct of the woman was condemned by other members, it was generally believed that the man of God ought to have ordered her to shut up rather than sending her home.
Boris raised his head and said, “You are right honey. I would not want you to join me in my little hell. Some colleagues at the law chamber have prodded me to leave the old man. Don’t get me wrong. I care for the salvation of my soul and I wouldn’t expose you to the intrigues in that church. The fact is, the pay is fantastic and I do not get to see the Bishop often except in the evenings and weekends. I am actually on part time basis with him.
To tell you the truth, I’ve been wondering about the state of that man’s heart since the day I heard him threatening to reset his Secretary’s teeth because the poor woman produced a poorly typed document for him. When he saw the look on my face, he smiled and said, “Lawyer, that’s the way to deal with idiots. You do not give them the opportunity to mess you up.”
Realizing that the man was intent on further harassing his Secretary, I tactically led him back to his office. You should have seen the way he looked at her before he stomped back to his seat. The woman did not even blanch. Apparently, she had gotten used to his insults. Oh, here comes your grilled cow, honey. Waiter, get us a bottle of Riesling. It is the favorite wine of my beautiful lady.”
The waiter looked at the couple and smiled. Apparently, they were not married. Most married couples he knew spend too much time trying to change their partners not realizing that their tardiness only kill their passion for each other. He had been in the business long enough to identify sparks of love that have not been imprisoned by the selfishness and frivolity that characterize most modern marriages.
As the waiter moved out of earshot, Boris said, “Now to the question of mercy, I would have you know that it is not a very popular word with the Bishop. I recall my conversation with him one day after he rained abuses on a journalist he claimed published an article critical of his person. The Bishop and I ran into the journalist at a shopping mall in town. We needed a film projector and the man of God insisted on making the purchase himself.
After we exchanged pleasantries with the journalist, the Bishop held him by the collar of his shirt and said, “I may be a man of God, but I would not fold my hands and allow rats like you destroy my reputation.” I praised the maturity of the journalist because he kept calm and allowed the Bishop to exhaust himself before he casually walked into a restaurant at the mall.
The redeeming factor was that the mall was rowdy and no one paid any attention to us. On the way back to the church office, I said to the Bishop, “Sir, you could have embarrassed yourself back there if God did not restrain that journalist.” I thought he would at least apologize but he replied, “Boris, it appears you are in the wrong profession. I have never seen a lawyer who bothers about morality. Anyway, I know my rights and will not allow anyone trample on them.
Yes, I know you will quote Mathew chapter five verse seven-‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’. How daft can people get to think that Jesus meant that Christians should be door mats for everyone to clean their dirty feet on! I am pragmatic about the study and application of Biblical injunctions. I read the Bible with the eyes and mind of a theologian. I do not accept pedestrian interpretation of the Holy Book.
Tell me, can you turn the other cheek if slapped, in obedience to Jesus’ command in Mathew chapter five verse thirty-nine? I know you cannot. How about the command to love your enemies? You see my boy; people with unrealistic aspiration think they can become more holy than the Jews- God’s ordained people can. Are the Jews turning the other cheek to Islamic militants?
What is happening in Palestine that shows you that love, the kind Jesus spoke about is feasible and practical in this world? You suddenly lost your voice eh? The truth is Jesus’ commands in what is popularly referred to as the Beatitudes would only apply during his millennium rule. Maybe you should enrol in our Bible School my boy. You need to increase your knowledge of the Bible.”
As he droned on, I remembered a comment made by my Sunday school teacher, Jonas Schroeder. He said God chose to write the Bible in the plainest of language so that all could read and understand with the help of the Holy Spirit. I had often wondered why most theologians have little or no understanding of spiritual things. It was not until that day in the car with the Bishop that I realized that most of them could not receive anything from the Holy Spirit because they prefer their own lies to the truth.
Since that day, I tried to think of any valid reason for remaining in the employ of the Bishop apart from my fat pay but could not find any. At the same time, I felt strongly that leaving without the leading of the Holy Spirit might not be in my best interest. I know most employees of the church especially Pastors have similar hangs up. We have to be careful though, not to localize the tendency of some people to manifest the character of the evil one despite their Christian posturing. I have had many unbelievers at the law firm say to me, "What is the point of believing in your Jesus when most people who call themselves Christians are so hateful?"
Just then, the waiter arrived with their meal. They ate in silence and left after Boris settled the bill. As they walked out of the hotel into the moonlit night, Tinsel felt exhilarated. She knew deep within her that God was about to break the link between her fiancé and the Bishop. She had fasted and prayed about the matter. Something was bound to give and God would not allow the Bishop destroy the destiny of His children.
As they got into the car she said, “Tell me sweetheart, does Anna Hegel exercise any kind of influence on her husband? I read in Today’s Woman magazine that she is a complete opposite of him. I wonder how a godly woman like that ended up with Grumpy the Bear.” Boris smiled and whispered, “Sweetheart, God’s ways are unfathomable. Do you think the Bishop cannot be redeemed? Maybe a godly wife is God’s mercy to him.
I can imagine that woman interceding for her husband like Abigail did for Nabal in first Samuel chapter twenty-five. Nabal’s undoing was that he touched David, whom God had anointed king to replace Saul. The sad thing is that God Himself killed Nabal and David claimed Abigail as his booty.”
In response, Tinsel gave a wry smile and said, “I certainly do not wish your Bishop the Nabal treatment. God has a way of dealing with issues on case by case basis. By the way sweetheart, what would you say attract the flock of worshippers to your church despite the obvious lack of Christian graces in its leadership?
Boris gave a deep sigh and tapped the steering wheel with his right hand. He had been expecting that question from Tinsel for a long time. He knew her to be a very inquisitive person and deeply committed to her walk with God. Somehow, he felt he could not beat about the bush on this important issue. He turned to her and said, “Honey, there are many things about God that a finite mind like ours cannot comprehend. I know without any shadow of doubt that He does fill vessels that are surrendered to Him in love. I know one such vessel-Pastor Khan. He has his faults though but he is sincere about his faith. I do not know if that answers your question.
The other side of the coin is the personality of the Bishop. He is a charismatic leader and a great motivational speaker. You cannot take that away from him. Whether what he preaches are scriptural or not is not the issue as far as church growth is concerned. He tells the people what they want to hear and they come back for more every Sunday.
Another important factor is the fact that the Bishop seems to have a way with the Holy Spirit because people fall under anointing whenever he ministers. This does not happen with other pastors including Khan. Do you now understand why he pulls such a large crowd? You may also…”
Tinsel placed her left hand on his lap and said, “I hate to cut in darling. What is the big deal about motivational talks and people falling under anointing? What happens to their lives after they get up from the floor? We had a visiting minister at our church two weeks ago. Our Pastor, Clemens Gouger had briefed the church about his style of ministration before the visit, specifically that people fall under his anointing. Without the pastor’s knowledge, some women in the church banded together to pray that God would shield the entire congregation from that anointing because we were sure it was not from Him.
That Sunday, God honored our faith and not a single person fell throughout the ministration, which lasted for an hour. You may ask, “Why did God allow Pastor Gouger to extend a hand of fellowship to a man obviously filled with a strange spirit? I perceived that He wanted us to be alert to the workings of Satan who in these last days will increasingly manifest as an angel of light.”
As they got to the block of flats where Tinsel lived with her parents, Boris brought the car to a halt and switched off the ignition. He held both of her hands and said, “Honey, thanks for sharing that story with me. I too had some misgivings about some of the things I saw in my church. Frankly, I could not bring myself to discuss this with anyone because I felt so inadequate spiritually. For one, I have never attended a Bible School. I felt that only those that have given time to the study of the Bible should comment on these things. Now I know better. Would you mind if I do not come in to see your parents tonight?
Tinsel smiled to herself. She was elated, knowing that she had won a mighty battle in her quest to build a home with Christ as its foundation.