"We can't afford another trip to Boise," Josh had said very positively to Evalyn on Tuesday night. "Counting your trip in August, that would be over $1,500 we've spent. We're keeping the airlines running, single-handedly. I'll just phone."
Evalyn hadn't said anything.
"I can't do it by phone,” he said Wednesday morning. "I need to talk this out in person."
Evalyn still hadn't said anything.
"But we can't afford it," he said, but less positively.
"Can we afford not to?" she asked.
He caught a noontime flight.
***
At about the time Josh was leaving for the airport, Bill was meeting with Reverend Deans. At about the time Josh was landing in Boise, Reverend Deans was walking into Paul's office. He had called ahead, so Paul knew who to expect, but not what.
"I understand you are an elder in your church," Marshall Deans began, almost without preamble. Paul said yes. "Am I also correct that you are not directly involved with Reverend Felton's so-called ‘small group'?"
Paul nodded, but the "so-called" had alerted him. "I know about it, but I haven't been attending," he said, cautiously.
"What do you know about it?" asked Deans, pointedly.
Paul had had enough of questions without explanation. "Hold up a minute. Maybe you better tell me what's on your mind."
"What's on my mind is that your pastor is leading part of your congregation into false doctrine, and you either don't know what's going on, or you know and you don't care!"
Paul started to protest, but Reverend Deans kept going. "As if that wasn't enough - more than enough! - he's corrupting some of my congregation, as well. You should have taken this to the Board before now."
Paul thought he was seeing a faint glimmer of light. "Hold on. Have you by any chance been talking to Don White, or maybe Herb Curry?"
"I never heard of either one of them. What I'm hearing is from my own youth pastor, William Deacon. Unfortunately, he has been meeting with your pastor and has been dragged into this heresy."
"Heresy? What in the world are you talking about? I don't know William Deacon, but I know Josh Felton, and he isn't into heresy! You're overreacting."
Reverend Deans stared at Paul for a moment. “Overreacting, am I?" he asked, quietly. "Do you call it overreacting being concerned when my youth pastor tells me that God spoke to him aloud in a woman's voice? Do you call it overreacting when I get concerned because my youth pastor tells me that he sang in a foreign language he didn't know?" His voice had been rising steadily. "Do you call it overreacting when he tells me that a whole group of alleged Christians sang together - no, more likely gabbled away together in strange languages and sounds?" His voice got quiet, but cutting. "If none of this seems strange to you, Mr. Grayson, I sincerely apologize.”
Paul stared at Marshall Deans. Oh, Lord! Josh, what are you up to, now?
* * *
"Ev, this is Paul," said the familiar voice over the phone.
"I know, Paul. How are you?"
"I've been better! Is Josh there?"
"No, I'm sorry. Josh is in Boise."
"In Boise? What's he doing there? Will he be back for prayer meeting?"
"No, Paul. Emily and the Duchers are going to lead it."
"Oh, hell! Ev, what's happened to Josh, anyway? Has he entirely lost his senses?"
Warning bells were going off in Evalyn's head, but she thought she saw the problem. "It's okay, Paul," she said, reassuringly, "Pete and Donna will be there. It'll go fine. Josh left rather hurriedly, or he would have told you." That's it, we've violated church protocol, again!
But Paul was talking over her thoughts. "! don't care about that! I've got to talk to him; can he be reached?"
Ev was completely puzzled, now. "I suppose so. He's visiting my mother's pastor. But, Paul, what's the matter? Can I help?"
There was silence on the phone for a moment. "Thanks, Ev, but I think I better talk direct to Josh, first. Can I have that number?"
She gave it. He hung up. She started to pray aloud - urgently - half in English, and half in words she didn't know.
***
Josh was not at the Thomases when Paul called. He left a message for Josh to get in touch with him just as soon as possible. As he hung up, the phone rang.
"Well, Paul, he's really done it this time. Demon worship, now!"
"Oh god, Don! Did that crazy pastor get to you, already?"
"He sure did, and he was hopping mad. He said you wouldn't listen to him. Well, I listened, and I didn't like what I heard. Don't you think you're taking friendship a little too far?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Look, Paul, I can understand your defending your friend when there was some question - some little question, anyway - about what he was doing. I didn't agree, but I could understand. But, Paul, the man is over the edge. He's possessed, and is trying to take our people with him."
Paul found himself shaking like a leaf, and he couldn't respond.
"Paul, you still there?"
"Yes, Don, I'm here." Paul tried to regain his equilibrium. "I’m trying to reach Josh, now.”
"Reach him? Where is he?"
"He's in Boise."
"Boise. What's he doing there?"
"Visiting Ev's mother's pastor." The minute he said it, something clicked. It clicked with Don, too.
"Say, isn't he one of those ‘holy rollers'? Isn't that how all this got started in the first place?"
Paul couldn't bring himself to answer.
"Paul? Paul, this is it! No more fooling around. I know this is prayer meeting night, but I'm calling an elders' meeting for seven o'clock this evening, and we're going to do what we should have done, before. He's out!"
***
"Bill! I didn't expect to hear from you until tonight. Are you at work?"
"Yes, but I wish I wasn't. Deb, I think we've got some really bad trouble."
His voice was quiet over the phone, but she could tell that he was trying hard to keep it under control. "What's wrong, Bill? Can you talk now?"
"Yes, there aren't any customers right now." He paused. "Deb, I went to see Pastor Deans, you know."
"Yes, I know."
"Deb, he almost went crazy! When I told him about last night, he said the whole thing was satanic!"
"Bill!"
"He said that what we did was the same as devil-worship - that we had been tricked and misled by Satan."
She didn't respond. "Debbie?"
"We weren't," she said, very quietly, but positively.
It was just what he needed. "I know," he said. All his agitation was gone. "We couldn't have been deceived. Everything we did was praising God. Why would Satan want to do that?"
"He wouldn't.”
"No, he wouldn't."
They were both quiet. "But I don't understand it,” Bill said, finally. "And I'm worried about what Pastor Deans might do."
"Me, too. I'm going to see Evalyn. She'll know what to do.”
* * *
Like Paul, Evalyn had tried to reach Josh, but he and Milt weren't at home, yet. “Is something wrong, Evalyn?" asked Lucy Thomas. "You're the second one to call in just a short time."
" Yes, something is wrong, Lucy, but I don't know what. It has to do with the church, but that's really all I know. Just pray for us, would you please?"
"Of course, dear. And don't worry; God knows how to handle these things."
Evalyn smiled at her end of the phone. It could have been a cliché, but they both knew it was absolutely true. "Thanks, that was just exactly what I needed to hear. But please, Lucy, have Josh call me before he calls Paul."
She hung up the phone, and leaned back in her chair. Tears filled her eyes as she began to pray. "Dear Lord, I know she's right - that I don't need to worry. Still, I feel so helpless, not even knowing what I'm supposed to be praying about. Help me!”
She closed her eyes, and her mind seemed to clear. She sensed a voice inside her asking the question, what would Jesus do? As the voice spoke in her mind, she seemed to see Jesus in the wilderness, pointing His finger and saying with confident authority, "Get thee behind me, Satan." That scene faded, and she saw Jesus addressing a vast crowd of people, saying "blessed are those who acknowledge their need for God." Then the crowd was gone, and in her mind there was only her and Jesus, His hands clasped tightly around hers and His face smiling down at her. She heard Him speak her name, over and over, as bells rang...
"Ev, are you there? It's Debbie."
She opened her eyes, and with an effort pulled herself back to consciousness. The doorbell rang once more, and Debbie's voice came muffled through the front door. Evalyn let her in.
"Oh Ev, did I wake you? I'm sorry, but I did need to see you. I think we have trouble."
Debbie told what she had heard from Bill, and Ev knew that there could be no other reason for Paul's agitated call. It'll be war this time, her mind said, but she felt quite calm.
"Tell you what, Deb. Josh won't be able to make it home until tomorrow morning, but let's get together as many of the group as we can tonight, to talk about last night. I think everybody who experienced it knows that God was in everything that happened, but we need to look over the scriptures together. I know some of them, and I think Josh will have more to tell me when he calls."
"But Ev, tonight's prayer meet... "
"They'll have to do without us, sweetie. We're in a fight now, and it's not a fight with men and women, but with powers and principalities!"
***
Josh called an hour later, obviously anxious about the phone messages, but just as obviously overflowing with the fruits of his visit. Evalyn found herself smiling as she told him what should have been very grim news. His voice sounded like he was smiling back at her.
"Okay," he said. "It's all okay. Milt and I have spent the last three hours going through this. Here's the ammunition."
She wrote down the scriptures as he said them, and listened to his comments on each one. When she finally hung up the phone, she felt like a warrior going to battle - flushed with anticipation of the confrontation, but confident that she was stronger and better prepared than her adversary.
***
Josh called Paul's office, and got Betty. "Sorry you couldn't come last night," he said.
"I just couldn't make it." He voice was strained.
"I know, Betty. Don't worry, things are going to be better, believe me."
"Thank you, Pastor,"
"You're very welcome. Is Paul in?"
Paul was clearly agitated. "I think you've done it this time, Josh. I don't think I can help you, anymore.”
"That's okay, Paul. I guess we knew all along that this couldn't be done, halfway. It's been getting harder and harder to follow God's leading, and ‘play church’ at the same time."
Paul felt something like cold shivers pass through him. It seemed like he could feel Josh's confidence through the phone lines. "Josh, I've got to tell you that, even though I don't understand what you're doing, I know it can't be demonic. I know you. I trust you."
"Thanks, Paul, That means a lot to me."
"But don't you see, it doesn't matter what I think. This is completely out of control, now."
"You're wrong, Paul, on two counts. One, it matters very much what you think. I respect you more than anyone else I know. And two, it's not out of control. God's in charge here. It may get a little messy locally, but I've got to believe that real good is going to come out of this."
There was a long silence. "What can I do to help?" Paul asked, finally.
Josh hesitated, but not for long. "Paul, the best thing you could do would be to bring Jenny to our house tonight. Some of the others will be there to talk and pray this all out. I can't be there, but Ev's ready.”
Paul thought of Don's board meeting, and about his own confusions and mixed allegiances. "I don't know if I can do that, Josh."
"I don't know, either. But pray about it, won't you?"
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