Well, we’ve been through it with Sly and his dealing with this toxic church. But now the Lord has given a word, and it’s time to go. A great ending it is! Let’s see how it ends…

“Ah, but Osofo Sly, what are you leaving for? This is where you’re supposed to be…”

“Bro, think this over ooo. You remember what Daddy Rev said about your works counting for nothing if you leave the church. Be wise ooo, yoo!”

“I’m disappointed in you, man. You have no idea how disappointed I am…”

“Ahh, well, the prayers of our Daddy are working, so now all potential fifth columns are being driven away by the Spirit of God, so the Lord can build a loyal church…”

“Sly, I dunno why you’re doing this, but it’s not right. Why are you leaving? Huh? When this is the best place to be? I’m really shocked at this decision of yours…”

Sly smirked as that last statement, which came from his dear crush, crossed his mind.

Many months had passed since that fateful morning when God spoke to him in that dream. From the moment he met with Reverend Gary, who revealed to him that God had instructed him to reach out and prepare him to assist at the Adenta branch, he knew that this was it.

It was time to exit that unhealthy church and move on to another phase.

As expected, though, his decision to leave the Youth Church was not met without fierce opposition. All the above voices were raging at this, and when he calmly and gently told them that this was the leading of the Holy Spirit, they gawked at him and railed against him.

“Massa, this is not any leading of the Spirit of God! This is your own flesh you’re following. What do you mean?”

“Don’t annoy me, okay! Leading of what spirit?”

“Sly, you can’t be serious. Don’t you know you must find out from the set man of the house what your life’s purpose is? Don’t you know it’s probably a familiar spirit if you do it yourself? Come on, what are you doing?”

The hard followers were not pleased at all. Especially when Reverend Gary intervened and informed them about what the Lord had instructed him to do. They grudgingly let him go, but the rancour still remained. According to some sources, ever since he left, Pastors Kojo and Henry constantly made reference to him in some of their sermons as an example of what not to be like. To them, he was an unfaithful and disloyal servant who would soon get his comeuppance. Jubilee too had blocked him on all communication channels and wanted nothing to do with him.

As for Rev. Randy… it would be best not to delve into what he had said about Sly since his departure.

His response? He simply laughed them off and declared, “May the Lord continue to be with them and strengthen them for the work ahead. That’s all I will say.”

Indeed, there was no space for anger, ill-affection or ill-will of any sort toward any of the leaders of the youth church. To him, that was just a phase of his Christian journey that he was glad was over. Of course, the memories were not pleasant, and every now and then, he cringed as his mind brought a few of them to the forefront. But he counted it all joy, and moved on.

Of course, he was also very careful not to speak any negative word about any of them. There was no point in trying to smear them, as far as he was concerned. That would be an ungodly thing to do, and the fact that they were blackballing him to further their agenda of loyalty was not fueling enough to warrant any war of words. It wouldn’t be a battle he could win, anyway, so the most sensible and Christ-like thing to do was to move on.

Besides, he was too happy and fulfilled in his new branch to even begin to consider such an unnecessary action.

Six months in the Adenta branch, and the joy and excitement of becoming a pastor had returned to his spirit. The people were cool to deal with, and were very enthusiastic about growing their branch. The youth wing was also under development, and he would soon be heading that wing, so he was full of joy once again. The opportunity to emulate his beloved Elder Tackie had been presented to him once again, and he was ready to grab it with both hands and make it worthwhile.

As for working with Reverend Gary… it was an absolute dream.

He had had little contact with the man before the day of that call, but the past few months had proven that God had entrusted him to the hands of a wonderful spiritual father. The reverend was a fierce lion when preaching the word of God, but off the pulpit, was one of the gentlest, friendliest, and humblest souls he had ever encountered in his life. He made it a point to know everything there was to know about this young man he was training for the ministry, even up to the point of driving with him to Adukrom, just to meet his parents and form a bond with them. This was definitely a relationship that was meant to last a lifetime.

The other pastors of the branch- Pastor Bernice, Pastor Rita, and Pastor Yooku – were also wonderful and pleasant souls who wasted no time helping Sly feel at home. It was plain to see that these ones were passionate about delivering the word of God rightly, and not about twisting it to suit any funny agenda. Now Saturday evenings were his favourite times of the week, as the four of them and Rev. Gary spent time dissecting whatever word it was that the head branch pastor had for the next day.

Nicknamed ‘the Berean Meeting’, each week had Sly in awe as he and the other three pastors would look at the sermon and subject it to the word of God to ensure everything was in compliance. Not once did Rev. Gary act like he knew better than them or bristle at any objections. He always insisted that the word of God was above all, and as long as they were alive, they were all students of the Bible, so they had the right to point out anything wrong where necessary.

This, Sly fully believed, increased the mutual respect and admiration between them all, as they all learned from each other and were encouraged to diligently study the Bible. Within this short period of time, he had learned so much from these pastors, and they surely had learned a thing or two from him.

There was no doubt about it. Sly had peace. This was home, where his spirit belonged.

I still wish Benjamin would join me here, though, Sly briefly thought to himself wistfully. His good friend had also left the Youth church, but had departed from the House of Mekadesh entirely. It was clear the actions of Rev. Randy in scaring young Francis away from church, as well as the pressure applied in multiplying the cell numbers and some other matters, had scarred Benjamin so badly, he wanted nothing to do with church for a while. Not even the joyful proclamations of Sly in finding a new church home were enough to convince him; he said he would rather stay at home in the meantime and ‘worship God’ there.

Yeah. Benjamin was going through a serious church hurt phase.

Sly shook his head. Chale, all that ridiculousness we were subjected to… so toxic and unhealthy. These sorts of things really affect some people ooo. Hmm, well. All hope is not lost. I’ll keep trying. I know eventually, he’ll come around, and hopefully, he’ll come here and stick around. Coz this… this is a proper family church. No nonsense about ‘worshipping’ men and pleasing men over here. Just a branch of the great House of Mekadesh, fully focused on glorifying the only One who must be worshipped. Absolutely no cap on that…

“Hallelujah!”

The voice of Rev. Gary, who was on the pulpit, brought him back to himself. He responded, “Amen!” along with the congregation, and readied his pen and notebook.

It was Sunday, and it was time for the word to be delivered.

The true and faithful word of God.

That focused on God and God alone.

“So the title of today’s message is ‘God Will Bring His Best’. Somebody repeat after me: let the devil bring his worst…”

“Let the devil bring his worst.”

“Our God will bring His best.”

“Our God will bring His best.”

“And we know who the victorious one will be.”

“And we know who the victorious one will be.”

“Amen?”

“AMENNNNN!!!”

THE END

And that’s a sweet ending! The peace of mind and spirit, flourishing in a church that exalts only Christ, and the Word is above all. Sly’s found his path, and ain’t we happy for him.

Thanks for reading, and as always, continue to enjoy yourself around the State!