"All right," said Paul, "This meeting of church elders is hereby called to order. I see that everyone's accounted for, so I guess we're ready to start."
"Everyone" consisted of the Graysons, Whites, Herb Curry ("Carolyn chose not to come," Herb explained), and Ted and Constance Blacker. The Blackers had just returned from a month in Europe, and so were pretty much in the dark as to the reasons for the meeting.
" I'd feel better if we had invited the Newsoms," observed Ted. "They are members of this board."
"We explained that," said Margaret.
"I realize that, but their omission from the proceedings still smacks of 'taking sides.' We're really only in the information gathering stage, aren't we?"
"Officially, yes," said Herb, "But when you hear what's been going on, I don't think you'll need to know much more."
"Amen," pronounced Margaret.
"Be that as it may," said Paul, "Let's do this right. The fact that Josh is a friend shouldn't give him special treatment, but he deserves the same fairness we'd give anyone else. Now, let's list our concerns, as specifically as we can, and then talk about them one by one. Jenny has agreed to write them on the flip chart."
"Speaking against the Bible," said Margaret, as soon as Jenny stood up.
"What in the world?" asked Connie.
"Let's just write them down for now, and then discuss them," suggested Paul. "What else?"
"Not notifying the board of actions he was taking," said Don. "And holding secret meetings."
"Messing up the Sunday services," said Margaret.
"And missing some services," added Herb.
“Encouraging abortion," said Don.
"Now, wait," Paul started to protest.
"You said we'd write them all down first, then discuss them," countered Margaret. Paul held up his hands in surrender, but he shook his head in frustration. "Any more?" he asked.
"Letting non-members formally participate in church services," said Herb, as if he was reciting. When several members looked at him questioningly, he said "It's in the by-laws; write it down."
Jenny wrote it down.
"Okay," said Paul, when no more suggestions were offered. "It looks like some of these may be easier to handle than others. For instance, not notifying the board about actions."
"What are we talking about here?" asked Ted.
"The one I think of specifically is arranging a leave of absence without consulting us. He did notify one board member - Pete - but that isn't acceptable. Also, although a pastor isn't required to clear his sermon ideas with us, it would have been good business to fill us in ahead of time on some of the far-out ones. Again, he did talk to one member - me - but... Oh, I guess 'secret meetings’ fits here, too."
I wondered what that was about," said Connie.
"Well, as I understand it, Josh and Evalyn have been meeting each Tuesday night with a few people, apparently to go a little deeper into Bible study than we do on Sundays."
"That's not how I heard them described," said Don, darkly.
"Come on, Don, that's pretty far-out hearsay. I talked to Betty, and she told me that the meetings were just an outgrowth of Josh's 'challenge;' a chance to share and study together. You Blackers know about 'the challenge,’ don't you?"
"In general, yes," said Ted.
"Well, as I see it, there's really nothing wrong with small group meetings. Our denomination actually encourages them. So, the issue is that Josh should have discussed it with us before he got a group going."
"And maybe he should have given more opportunity for people to participate, so it wouldn't look 'secret'," added Jenny.
"I don't want to pass over this meeting business quite so fast, Paul," protested Don. "You see point number six up there?”
"I see it, Don, but as ! said before, you really don't know what - if anything - was said about abortion in that meeting."
"And I have it on good authority that Josh Felton said that abortion was not wrong."
"Can you believe a man of God saying that?" asked Margaret, scandalized.
"Not only that," continued Don, "But people in the group were also talking against capital punishment and national defense. I ask you, is that what we want taught in this church?"
"No!" Herb and Margaret exclaimed, in unison.
"Now, wait," urged Paul. "I still say that this is all purely hearsay. It's far different if somebody expressed something like that as a personal opinion, than it would be if it was actually ‘taught’ as church doctrine."
"I agree," said Ted. "I think we should drop that one, unless something new comes to light."
"I disagree," said Herb. "We can't afford to gloss over something like that."
"Where there's smoke... " began Margaret.
"Let's finishing discussing the list," Jenny pleaded. "We can vote later, if necessary."
"Good idea," said Paul, and rushed on before anyone could protest. "What haven't we looked at? ‘Speaking against the Bible;’ let's save that one for a minute. We've hit the ones on not informing us. Okay, number four, 'messing up services.’ I think that one's been pretty well taken care of, hasn't it?"
No one disagreed,
"All right, 'missing services'. What are we talking about here: when he went on his leave of absence?"
"No," said Herb. "What I had in mind was the Wednesday prayer meeting when he never showed up, and poor Emily Johansen tried to salvage the evening. That was a disaster."
"That's not what I heard," Jenny disagreed.
"Well, you heard wrong," rejoined Herb.
"Come on, everyone. Let's get on with it," urged Paul. “Okay, number six, abortion; that one's covered... "
"Not really," Don began, again.
Ted intervened. “Drop it, Don! Paul, anything more?"
"It looks like we're down to 'speaking against the Bible' and 'non-members in services'. You got me on that one, Herb."
"Harry Allen led the song service, twice."
"So?"
"So, Harry Allen is not a member of the church."
"I wasn't aware of that. The Allens have been around forever. Anyway, so what?"
"I can answer that one," said Ted. “Our denomination rules say that no actual business of the church can be conducted by non-members."
"Really? I guess I need to read my regulations. So, you're saying that leading a chorus is an official church act? Okay, I guess I have to buy it. All right, that leaves number one to discuss."
"I thought you'd never get back to it," said Connie. "I'm dying to know the background of that one!"
"That one is the result of. one of Josh's Sunday evening teachings. He seemed to be saying that all denominations interpret the Bible to suit their own beliefs, and that there is no real Bible 'truth.' We were all pretty upset about it. Since then, I've talked to Josh, and Jenny and I have discussed it, and I'm convinced we misinterpreted him."
"Well, I'm not," Herb rejoined.
"Nor I," seconded Margaret.
Paul looked at Jenny, who shook her head slightly. "All right, let me try to explain how I see it, now. Josh was merely pointing out that, while there's no question about the basics of Christianity - that Jesus died for our sins - there are a lot of places in the Bible where translation has left the meaning obscure."
"I disagree," said Herb.
"Oh, come on, Herb!" Jenny challenged. "Do you mean to tell us that there is absolutely nothing in the Bible that isn't one hundred percent clear to you?"
Herb backed down a little. “Well, I'm no Bible scholar, but I'm sure there is no disagreement among those who have really studied it in the original.”
"Oh, Herb! Why do you think we have denominations, then?"
"Hold on, Jenny," Ted interrupted. "Let's not get too far afield. But really, Herb, I've got to agree with Jenny. Everything isn't clear in the Bible. If that's what Josh was getting at, I'd have to back him up."
"But the other part is important, too," persisted Jenny. "Josh was trying to show us that denominations are good in that they allow kindred spirits to worship together comfortably. But, also, he was pointing out that denominations have sometimes taken too much on themselves, and have made their individual little beliefs 'the Truth.’ When that happens, they've taken authority away from God."
"And that's what I disagree with," said Margaret.
"But why, Mag?"
"Why, because he's talking against the very church that hired him!"
"But isn't it good when a leader recognizes the difference between God's truth, and local rules and regulations?"
"We picked him," interrupted Don. "He should run the church like we want him to."
Jenny started to protest again, but Paul stepped in. "I know there are some important differences here, but we don't seem to be able to resolve them. Let's get back to what we're going to do about this whole business."
"Well, as your parliamentarian, let me remind you of procedures," began Ted. "First, if we find that there is something we need to confront the pastor with, we go to him as a delegation and voice our concerns. He has a chance to respond. If we're still not satisfied, we officially warn him to change. If he doesn't, we present our claims to the district board. If their investigation supports our findings, one of two things could happen. If the offenses are serious enough, denominational headquarters could remove him from pastorship. The alternative is to bring the concerns before the local congregation, and let them vote to keep him or let him go."
"Thanks, Ted," said Paul. "It looks like we are at the point then of officially presenting our concerns to Josh. So, which ones do we present?"
"All," said Herb, unequivocally.
"Second," said Margaret.
"No, I disagree," countered Ted. "We need to be very certain that we are presenting only facts, and only those things so serious that we would be willing to elevate them to the district board. I suggest we vote on each separately, and only go forward with those we can unanimously agree on."
After discussion, it was agreed to let majority rule, rather than insisting on unanimity. Nevertheless, when the vote was taken, only three issues remained: not clearing actions with the board (the meeting issue was included), missing meetings without making proper arrangements, and letting non-members participate in formal church activities. Additionally, there was agreement that the board wanted services to remain "traditional." They also felt that, even though things had improved, Josh should be warned about future deviations and confusions.
The meeting adjourned at 10 p. m., with agreement that the official notification would be given the next Monday evening. Paul was given the job of alerting Josh.
***
"We seem to have missed a lot," observed Ted, as they got in the car to drive home.
"Is it really serious? Some people are upset, but I'm not really sure why. It actually seems pretty exciting to me."
Ted nodded in agreement. "It's hard to read the different players, especially with no personal involvement. Herb and the Whites clearly have their noses out of joint, but I get mixed signals from Paul and Jenny."
"Especially Jenny, I think. And what does 'Carolyn chose not to come' mean? That seemed suspicious."
Ted raised his eyebrows. "I wish we'd had a chance to talk to the Graysons before meeting with the group, and it still worries me that we excluded the Newsoms. We're chiding Josh for ‘irregularities,’ but we're pretty irregular, ourselves!"
* * *
"Paul, this is out of hand!"
"No, Jen. I admit it was getting out of hand, but now we're back on target. We're following proper procedure."
She didn't respond to that. Her rigid back bending over the sink told him (without having to see her face) that "procedures be damned." He shrugged to himself, but continued to make conversation.
"I'm glad to have the Blackers back. I'm getting pretty tired of the 'three doom-sayers'!"
Jenny relented a little at that, and even smiled as she turned to face him. "Whatever your feelings, you don't think like them, do you? And I really appreciated your stopping all the abortion and blasphemy business."
He smiled back at her. "No, that whole business is clearly off the wall. I'm glad Ted and Connie voted with us on it. Those three get carried away, sometimes." He mused for a moment. "l wonder about the Tuesday meetings, though. Betty's version was pretty garbled. She's really distraught, lately."
"Why don't you go to Josh and find out what's going on?"
Paul shook his head. "I'd like to, but I think we need to play this one out by church rules. Just because he's my friend... "
"Just because he's your friend’ is why you should talk to him, Paul. I know this goes way beyond church business."
He smiled, but shook his head again. "Maybe so, but I need to try it this way. If we can get the organizational things out of the way, maybe we can work out the other, too.”
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