Chapter 10 – Spice up the Journey to Heaven!
“I understand you do not agree with my decision to invite Gable to minister at the Church this Sunday.”
“Who is Gable Sir?”
“Khan, I should think by now you have an appreciation of your role in this ministry. Pastor Alexander Oscan said you criticized the invitation extended to Gable Lander, the comedian to minister at the thanksgiving service on Sunday.”
“Oh that. Sorry Sir, whatever I said to Oscan was on a very different subject. He raised the issue of some ministers colouring their sermons with jests and I said it was inappropriate. At no time was the subject of the upcoming service broached during our discussion Sir.”
“Okay. I give you the benefit of the doubt. By the way, have you arranged for press coverage of the distribution of food items to orphanages?
“No Sir. I had no idea you wanted the gesture publicized. I thought….”
“You are not to think for me Khan. If you cannot handle such a simple assignment, I wonder what you would do when the mantle of leadership of this church is handed over to you.” It is about 10 am. I want a feedback by 5p.m. or I will get one of the junior pastors to handle it. You may go Khan.”
As he walked out of Bishop’s Hegel’s office, Pastor Paul Khan hummed a tune to himself. He knew he had to keep his emotion in check. This time, he resolved not to share his encounter with any of the pastors. He walked briskly to his office and picked up his car key. Thankfully, none of his associates was around as he drove out of the premises. He was not surprised about the conduct of Oscan. Almost everyone in the ministry knew he was Hegel’s lackey. What angered him was the fact that he could stoop so low to lie against a fellow pastor apparently to curry favour with Hegel.
On getting to Waiblingen by-pass, he turned into a side road and parked the car. He brought out his address book and thumbed through the pages until he found particulars of the editor of the Stars and Stripes newspaper, Heinz Chapman. He first met the journalist at a parents/teachers association meeting. They chatted briefly before exchanging telephone numbers. He dialled Chapman’s number and was surprised by the warmth with which he was received by the journalist. They agreed to meet at his office located on Nurnberg Road by 3:30p.m.
That done, he drove to the regional office of Deutsche Welle TV on Schmaltz Avenue to solicit the assistance of his friend, Ortiz Zimmermann, its Director. Both of them graduated from Laude High School before they gained admission into separate universities. While waiting in the plush visitor’s room of his friend, Khan pondered on the vicissitudes of life.
He couldn’t understand why everything Bishop Hegel touched turned to gold despite his obvious shortcomings as a Christian leader. Here was a man that had flouted virtually all instructions Jesus gave to his Disciples and yet God allowed him to preside over the largest congregation of Pentecostals in Stuttgart! He smiled when he remembered a remark made by a young man sitting in the same coach with him in an express train during his students’ days at Humboldt University, Berlin
That morning, he left the campus with a heavy heart because his close friend, Peter Osuaze, an African student had been withdrawn by the university authorities for his inability to pay his school fees. He, of course was not in a position to help his friend as his father’s stipends from the church barely sustained his family of five. Still trying to escape from the pain in his heart over his friend’s fate, he buried his head in a novel he picked for the two hours ride.
He was not in the mood to listen to the chatter of other passengers. The rancorous laughter of the young man brought him out of his world. Then he heard the man say something quite profound, “Is there justice in the world? Sometimes, I wonder if there is any unbiased umpire watching over us. I want to believe there is a being in control of our destinies but some occurrences in life make me wonder if such a faith is misplaced.”
Khan looked at the young man and a pair of blue eyes smiled at him. He grinned and returned to his novel. All through the journey, he could not dismiss the comment from his mind. It haunted him even after he graduated from the university and proceeded to the Bible School run by Hegel and his team of pastors. He constantly barraged God with questions along this line but got no satisfying answer.
One day, he was led to read Romans chapter nine. What he gleaned from that Scripture was the fact that Paul the Apostle also wrestled with the imponderables of life and resolved to let God be GOD! “…..Who are you a mere human being to criticize God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, “Why have you made me like this?” (Romans 9:20).
A tap on his shoulder by Zimmermann’s secretary brought him out of his reverie. She beckoned on him to follow her as she ushered him into her boss’ office. His host, a thick set man in his early forties rose to his feet from his ornate table and stretched out his hand in a warm welcome. He smiled broadly and said, “Today must be my day to enjoy special blessing, Pastor. It is not everyday people in our profession rub shoulders with holy men of God.” Both men roared with laughter and embraced before they moved to Zimmermann’s lounge.
After their refreshment, Khan brought out a piece of paper from his pocket and spread it on the table for his host to see. He said, “Ortiz, this is the map of Stuttgart. The circles in red represent areas hosting orphanages that have benefited from our ministry’s hospitality program. Areas circled with yellow are next on the line. My Bishop intends to extent the largesse to them on Friday as part of the end of year thanksgiving ceremony billed for Sunday. We want your station to cover the distribution of gift items procured for this purpose.”
Zimmermann looked at his guest and cleared his throat. He had been waiting for the opportunity to bare his mind on certain happenings in the church. He felt Khan’s visit was the right moment. He cleared his throat again and said, “Khan, you and I have weathered many storms in our respective professions. I admire you for choosing to give God your all. It could not have been easy for you to chuck up everything for the sake of the gospel. I know you used to have this thing for architecture when we were in college. Nevertheless, I want you to know that I am always here for you.
Pardon me if I am a little brash this morning old boy. I do not seem to understand the thrust of the message coming from your church. My concern has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a Baptist. Let me tell you a story related to me by a Catholic friend. Last Christmas, his church mobilized interested members to visit leprosy colonies in Sierra Leone and Gambia, both in Africa. The participants spent their Christmas and New Year holidays with these wretched of the earth.
The beauty of it all was that no media house was informed of the enterprise. Think about it Paul. What would Jesus have done if he had the kind of resources at the disposal of your ministry and he felt like blessing orphanages in Stuttgart? Would he have invited Etos and Deutsche Welle television stations to cover the event?”
Khan caught and held his friend’s gaze for more than two minutes before he said quietly, “My sentiments really. You have not hurt me at all Ortiz. You cannot even begin to understand the private hell I am going through in my church. I could walk away but that will cost me the pleasure of One I hold dear, Jesus Christ. It may interest you to note that your concerns are shared by many people in my church.
The snag is, where do you run to for succour? Where in Christendom has the gospel of gain not taken root? Someone once observed that the world has become one with the church! That is a sad commentary on the state of the bride of Christ. The church should unite with its Head and not the world.
When I drove out of the premises of my church this morning, I was so disoriented that I felt like getting out of Stuttgart just for respite. Can you imagine my Bishop inviting a comedian to minister to the saint of God? Well, some people may justify this by the fact that the jokes are centre around happenings in the church. Where did we imbibe this spirit of entertainment? Who imparted it to us? Is it the same Holy Spirit who through Paul forbade foolish talks and coarse jokes among Christians?
We are to be Disciples of Christ. Was there ever a time he hired comedians or used jokes to get his message across? I also think undue publicity being given Christian philanthropy is in bad taste. This is particularly irksome among Western missionaries and agencies operating in Africa. Should they dehumanize impoverished African people just because they want to elicit sympathy for their programs? Ortiz, every right thinking Christian should condemn this theatre of the absurd.
It is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do not think it is enough for you to sit on the fence and only speak out when it is convenient for you so that you would not be seen as rocking the boat.”
Zimmermann sat with head bowed. Khan’s rebuke hit home and he could not but acknowledge that he had failed Christ by failing to deploy resources at his disposal to fight against the rot in the church. He was not blind to the antics of some ministers that propagate what Khan described as a strange gospel. He felt it was not his duty to speak out, after all, he was not a graduate of any Bible School. He had only commented on the happenings in Khan’s church because he felt his friend needed to be told the truth.
Zimmermann smiled as he recalled a sermon preached by his pastor, Edwin Kluxman on the day his first daughter was confirmed. He had been uneasy when the man looked pointedly at him and said, “Some people believe they are too good to work for God. That is a silly notion because God always desires the best hands in his vineyard. That includes everyone redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are all called to serve wherever we find ourselves. There is nothing secular about the life of a Christian. Everything we do brings honour to God if offered to him in love.”
Feeling contrite, Zimmermann took his friend’s right hand and said, “Forgive me Paul. I have been such a cad looking down on you from my high horse. What you said about the infiltration of the church by the spirit of perversion is true. The situation in the Baptist Church might be tolerable for now, but it could become worse in the nearest future. It is already obvious that we are not immune to the happenings in the Pentecostal fold. I believe it is time for every believer to take a stand for Christ.
I will not put you into trouble with your Bishop by refusing to cover the events lined up for the weekend. However, I can assure you that no one will use my station to propagate falsehood and world oriented values. I see this as a golden opportunity to let the world know that Jesus also has people in high places and we will make our voices heard where it matters.”
With that, both men embraced before Zimmermann escorted his friend to his car. As Khan drove off, he felt elated. The discussion with Ortiz was like a tonic to his spirit. He grinned and said, “Lord, I know you must have arranged this meeting. Thanks.”