“Oh, chaleeeeeee! So they still don’t want to come?”

“Still ooo, Sly. The boys are not ready to come. After the way Rev. Randy came to spoil there the last time, they’re both afraid. They said the church doesn’t seem like a friendly, open one, with the way the head pastor was shouting and all, so they’d rather stay home.”

Sly did the facepalm while holding the phone to his ear and sighed. “Good Lord! Now look! The sheep are getting scattered with all this. Oh! Just as you were making headway…”

Thursday evening it was, and Sly was taking a walk around the neighbourhood while chatting with his friend. About a week had passed since his visit to Elder Tackie, and he was still praying about his stay with the Youth Church. No clear sign had come through yet, but he kept on praying, hoping for a breakthrough.

The previous Sunday had not been as vicious as the last one, but it still left him with a bad taste in his mouth. Benjamin and a few other cell leaders had caved into the pressure and forcefully gathered some people into the church to make it look full. Rev. Randy had looked a bit pleased, but openly warned them to maintain the numbers.

It made little difference to Benjamin, however, as the young men he had been discipling were no longer interested in coming to church, clearly still spooked out by the head pastor’s outburst the previous week.

“Chale. I could sense it. The way things were going so well and they kept asking so many questions from the readings he was doing from the Bible. Now it’s been cut off, just like that. Because pleasing man in this church is more important than pleasing God. Sly, I’m pained. Really pained. And what I heard this afternoon in church kraaa is annoying me the more.”

“Ei, why, what’s happening?” Sly asked, his curiosity piqued.

“I was around some of the senior pastors earlier this afternoon, and they were talking about a wedding that’s coming up in a couple of months. They seemed pretty excited about it, so I just casually enquired. Sly, apparently it’s the wedding of our own Pastor Henry.”

“Oh, wow! He’s getting married? That’s… that’s great,” Sly commented. “Thank God for that. But-but who’s the woman?”

“Hmmm, Sly. That’s why I’m annoyed. They told me it’s some lady bi from another church altogether.”

Sly’s jaw dropped, and he was silent for a moment.

“W-w-wait, wait, Benji,” he started after a moment, “are you serious?”

“Dead serious, my guy. Pastor Agbenyega and Rev. Worlanyo are the ones I’m talking about. You know they won’t come and create any false story for anything. They said Pastor Henry is getting married to a lady who isn’t even a member of the House of Mekadesh.”

“Ahhh! But… but-but when Oscar… he… he was dating a girl in Mekadesh, just a different branch. Yet… how…”

Benjamin sighed over the phone as his friend struggled to put words together. “Bro, I know you feel. I know paaa. I feel so angry and so taken for granted. I mean, you impose a rule on us and use a random verse to claim it’s biblical, yet as part of the leadership, you’re not leading the way. Basically, it’s a ‘do as I say and not as I do’ thing. Boy, I’m so hurt.”

Sly remained at a loss for words. This was new. He had many misgivings with the leaders, but this had to be a new low. “Wow. And Rev. Randy is okay with this?”

“Oh, of course. As for Pastors Kojo and Henry, they’re his guys, so anything for them. As for the rest of us, we can’t take a different route.”

Sly was silent for a moment. Then he quietly nodded. “Okay. Well, there’s little left to say, I guess.”

“Yeah, chale. Me, I’m hurt, but well… may the Lord show us the way.”

“Yeah, yeah. May the Lord show us the way to go.”

“Mm-hm. So chale, I’ll… I’ll talk to you later.”

“Sure, sure. Bye.”

Sly put the phone in his pocket and sighed.

Now this was just bordering on hypocrisy.

How in the world was the leadership towing the exact same path they had warned the congregation not to follow? How did they expect to actually gain the trust and confidence of the people if they were living by a different set of rules? Rev. Randy constantly echoed the words of the Apostle Paul, demanding that they ‘follow him as he follows Christ’. Was this really how it was done?

He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time, then put it back in.

It was about 9:45 pm. Time for him to get back to the house and get some personal Bible studies and meditation done before retiring to bed.

“Heavenly Father, all I ask is that You’ll reveal Your way to me,” he murmured to himself. “The murmurings are too many, Lord. Surely, I need to get out of there before I place myself under a curse. Lord, I beg You, speak to me this night. Show me what to do. Do I persevere in this church and wait for You to bring change, or should I leave?”

***

Standing at the entrance gate of the House of Mekadesh, Sly could see the building from a distance. The glorious, massive edifice that contained thousands of people on Sundays and various days of the week. It looked as splendid as ever.

He walked toward the building, moving from the gate to the lawn when he suddenly stopped.

A few metres ahead of him, he saw Jubilee, Pastor Kojo and a few others standing in front of the Youth Hall, busily speaking to each other. He was too far to hear what they were discussing, but it seemed pretty important.

Suddenly, the lights were switched on.

He marveled at the beauty the lights brought to the building. Every part of the edifice was brightened up by a light.

Then his attention turned to the Youth Hall.

There was no light there.

He frowned. “Ah, but how come there’s no light here?” he questioned.

Jubilee, Pastor Kojo and the others were still standing around and chatting. From where he stood, it looked like they were totally oblivious to the fact that the whole compound was lit up, save for the hall in which they worshipped.

“Or is there a problem in the hall or something?” he continued to wonder, as he waved at Jubilee, trying to catch her attention to point it out to her.

She barely seemed to notice him.

“Jubilee! Jubilee! Pastor Kojo!” he called out, waving his hands.

It was like they were deaf; they didn’t even turn in his direction.

“Ei, na what’s going on? How come…”

“Sylvester!”

He turned to see who it was that called him.

It was Rev. Gary Antoh. One of the senior pastors heading a branch of the House of Mekadesh in Adenta.

He beckoned to him with his right hand. “Come.”

As he began to walk toward one of the lighted areas, Sly felt an external force push him in Rev. Gary’s direction. As he moved, he felt a lightness in his steps.

He continued to walk toward Rev. Gary, as the light grew brighter and brighter…

Sly’s eyes opened, and he lifted his head.

It was morning.

He rubbed his face and shook his head. “Chale, that was some serious dream right there,” he murmured to himself. “Very serious dream.”

As he pondered over it, he heard a still, small voice within him.

“You know what to do.”

With that, the meaning of the dream fully dawned upon him.

This was it. After ten days of desperately seeking the face of God, he had received his answer.

“Wow. Wow. Thank You, Lord. Thank you for answe-“

Before he could complete his thanksgiving, his phone rang.

He reached over and grabbed it. An unfamiliar number was calling.

He frowned. But who is this calling me at 6:30 am?

The Truecaller notification appeared, and the name of the person followed.

Sly sucked his breath in.

Gary Antoh was the name.

He looked up to the sky, shook his head, and grinned. “Wow,” he smiled. “That was extremely fast. Well. I hear You, Lord. I hear You loud and clear.”

He quickly answered.

“Good morning, Reverend Gary.”

Well well well!! The Lord has spoken. Sly is getting out of that church. Finally!

Time to see this out…