PRESENT DAY

Wilson took a bite of the cookie. “When is your appointment with Doctor Bello?”

“Next week Thursday.”

“Alright. Did you already tell Josh we’ll need him to drive?”

“I was hoping you could take care of that.”

“Babe, at some point, you and that young man are going to have to get along. It’s been tough trying to mediate between you two.”

“Wilson, stress is not a good thing for pregnancy, so I’m going to go ahead and let that one pass right by.”

Wilson went silent for a little while as Ellen finally got to the end of the one cookie she’d been nibbling on. She picked up another one.

“Three years, Ellen. Three whole years of our lives. All about to be reduced to nothing because your brother-in-law has a problem with me. How am I meant to process that?”

Ellen reached her hand out and touched his. “Just have the meeting first. Then you’ll know what the actual plan is. Right now, all we have is educated guesses. You need to stay steady till you know everything.”

“Babe, we may not know but we definitely know. You’ve been in this organization long enough. Does it really feel like the reality will be different from what we’ve assumed with what we know?”

The silence that followed was Ellen’s admission that he was right. She finished up the cookie in her hand and took another. “Kusi may be a bastard, but he’s a bastard who is number two to the main man on this continent. As long as he is in that position, you will always have to make nice with him. I know you; you never will. Honestly, I’ll be more than glad to be away from him and all this drama. Besides, its not like the church treats us like royalty. Look at how many fights we’ve had with the media team, with the choir, with Josh. The more I consider it, the more I agree that we all need a break from each other. Everything has gotten strained, babe. Maybe this is not so bad after all.”

“Not so bad? Which of the names we’ve heard have the grace or the capacity to do what we’ve done in such a short period? Do you remember what this place was like when we first got here? And now its going to be that way again. It feels like wasted effort already.”

Ellen moved over to the sofa Wilson was in and held his hand. “That’s the thing, Wilson. It’s not wasted effort at all. Look at how much you’ve grown. Do you remember what it was like the first time you preached here? Do you remember what this place looked like? And now see all the work you’ve learned how to do in order to get the church of your vision. Now you know what it takes to build a church literally from the ground up. Which of the others can say that? As for this place, the only thing I can tell you is that in the end, it is very much God’s house. You’re going to have to trust that He will take care of it with someone else if we really are to leave.”

“But that’s the thing though, Ellen. I raised most of the young members here in the faith. They are my assignment. Am I to abandon them?”

“Babe, phones are still a thing. There’s no law that says you can’t communicate with any of them.”

“Babe, you know that’s not all there is to it. What if they become unhappy like I know they will, and then they start to complain to me? What if they ask me a question and I give an answer, and then they ask the new guy and he gives a different answer? He might be their new pastor but you know they will always see me as their father. Who do you think they would believe? How do you think that would play out?”

“Babe, the same God that has given you grace to manage them now will give you grace to deal with those situations. You have to remember, it may have been your hands that did the work but it was really God’s grace that made it happen. Now, would you please let a pregnant girl spend time with her husband watching a show?”

Wilson looked at her and kissed her on her forehead. Then he took the TV remote and turned the TV on.

***

“They ghosted me? What the hell? How do you ghost someone who’s applying to be a driver for the summer? A damn driver!”

No one in the world could be more frustrated than Erasmus at this moment. He’d spent the last month applying for any and every job he could find, and none of them had gotten back to him. He had five days until graduation, and he couldn’t even be fully happy because the future was looking bleaker by the day. He’d just found out that the summer driver job he’d thought he was overqualified for had not responded to him, yet an acquaintance had gotten it. He was happy for the person but he was also frustrated that the hirers never got back to him so he could stop hoping.

He opened up the bottle of sparkling wine he was saving for after graduation and took a big swig. He wasn’t an alcohol drinker, but he was more than happy to imbibe some juice, soda or sparkling cider. He also took one of the many chocolate bars and paired it with the drink.

His struggles with finding a job were beginning to affect him, and faith was not proving to be the safe harbor it once was. Then again, he’d long since forgotten what the voice of God sounded like; he hadn’t maintained a consistent prayer life since the massive fall of the Christmas before. Even worse, he was not sure he could get back because he’d tried and failed too many times.

He downed the entire bottle of sparkling wine and opened up another one. He also gorged on the chocolate like a hungry bear on fish and opened up another bar. He was halfway into the bottle of wine when he got a phone call.

He looked at the phone. “Goddammit! Now? Your timing sucks, dad! Ugh!”

***

FOUR YEARS AGO

Everyone in the auditorium was crying. Everyone.

From the caretaker pastor and his family to the most recent entrant into the church, everyone was wailing and crying out to God. Most of the choir, all on their knees, could barely look up, let alone muster any words. The only person who was able to sing at all was the worship leader and she was barely conscious. The band kept playing but anyone who paid enough attention could tell that they’d basically become human robots. Their hands were moving, but their brains were nowhere present. The atmosphere was rich with the presence of God; even unbelievers could taste it. No one knew what time it was, and no one cared.

Wilson continued to pray in tongues on his knees, mixing in worship with the prayer. He was completely undone. The sight of the room when he walked in had almost deflated him. The church only had fifteen people in it if the band and the choir were counted. He almost lost hope in his mind, but his spirit seemed to be rejoicing. So when he was finally called to preach, he decided to abandon his pre-planned sermon and simply let the spirit flow.

That was four hours ago, two hours past closing time. At a point, he was mentally worried that they would leave because time was up, but he looked up and no one even seemed to know where they were. Everyone was caught up in the worship, crying out, wailing, weeping, rolling on the floor and kneeling in worship. Literally no one was on their feet.

He tried to recompose himself, but then he got slammed into the ground. So he lay there, continuing to pray in tongues and worshipping. He received a vision of the next two services, which made him go even deeper into the prayer.

***

At the conclusion of the Sunday service, where the spirit had wrecked everyone for the third time in as many services, Wilson was relieved. He’d been completely nervous all three services, and the Lord had backed him every single time.

He was concluding his final one on one prayer with one of the congregants when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure leaving through the back. The figure looked a lot like that of the archbishop, but the person was already out of sight by the time Wilson saw them.

He finished praying for the congregant and blessed him, then the caretaker pastor came to take him to the office for refreshment.

“My brother, you should be heading a branch somewhere.”

“Quaye, take it easy oo. I’m just here on assignment; I’m actually on my honeymoon. I can’t wait to get back to my wife.”

“Ei, broda nie! I remember the feeling of being on honeymoon. I also remember all the activities.”

“It sounds like you need to go back with your wife so she can chop your money proper.”

They both laughed.

“Seriously, Wilson, you need to be leading a church or establishing a church somewhere.”

“Quaye, that’s not my mission right now.”

“Then make it your mission. Look at the effect you had on our church this week. Do you know the last time we had overflow on Sunday? Do you know the last time any member came up to the pastor for prayer? If you don’t come back, this flailing church will surely scatter.”

“Bro, word on the street is that Carlson is supposed to take over. Which makes sense if you ask me. I learned he’s the longest tenured pastor here. It’s only right that he gets the opportunity to right the ship.”

Quaye gave Wilson a quizzical look. “Don’t you know how things work in this church? You don’t get to right a ship whose wrongs you were there for. Have you not noticed that the only head pastors at the branches who have been there long are the founders of those branches? And even then, the chances of them getting moved are not low. Trust me, Carlson is never getting higher than his current post. I will be more than happy to report all the good work you’ve done these past services, and the change you have brought within such a short time.”

“Quaye, I know how the inside of this church is. I beg, I don’t need anyone saying that they made me a pastor because I married into the family. I’m thankful for the work that God has done through me here, but now I want to go back to my wife and continue where we left off. That’s my focus right now.”

Quaye’s wife came in with refreshments for both of them as he said, “Well, I tried. God knows I said my own.” The men proceeded to pick their choice of refreshments and continued to chat.

***

PRESENT DAY

“Dad, you don’t understand. That’s not how it works here. I can’t just go into a company and demand a job; they will call the police to arrest me. I also can’t just do any kind of job because it puts my visa in jeopardy. Please believe me, I’m doing the best I can! … No dad, that person who told you she knows of a job didn’t know anything. I tried her avenues; none of them worked. … How does her age factor into- … Dad, again, that could put me in unnecessary-”

Erasmus spent the next six minutes putting the phone as high up in the air as he could while blocking the speaker so he heard nothing. He didn’t want to be rude and hang up the phone, but he was very much done being told he was being lazy and spoiled.

This man never called him to say hello and only spoke to him when his mother called. Now he wanted to come and rain hellfire on the wrong target simply because things were tough at home? Did he think that Erasmus didn’t know that? He’d been living off Gatorade and peanuts for the last five weeks! Erasmus was done.

As to whether or not he would get a job anytime soon was in the hands of God. As he let his father drone on with his old man tirade, he decided to check his email, and the first thing he saw brought him hope beyond belief.

The eighth email he’d received was from a job he’d applied to a year ago. He opened it, and hit mute on the phone as he screamed in absolute delight.

They’d invited him for an interview.

It wasn’t a job, it wasn’t much, but it was an interview. Someone had finally answered him!

He put the phone on the table, reduced the volume all the way down, and began to thank God for showing him mercy and kindness.

***

FOUR YEARS AGO

As Wilson left the church with the driver, he pondered over the past week. He’d fasted all week, only eating after this last service, hoping that God would validate him.

God had done way more than he could ever have imagined. He’d operated in healing, in miracles, and in the prophetic. He wasn’t even sure how the sermons had gone, but the power that was manifested through him was enough testimony of the work God had done through him. At least he was sure that no one would have the mouth to say he married for clout once they’d heard of the works.

Not bad for a first time preacher, he thought.

He was about to call Ellen when he got a text from her.

“JUST SPOKE WITH MY FATHER. WHAT DID YOU DO AT THE CHURCH? CALL ME ASAP!!!”

Man, if Jay hasn’t left our appetites begging for more. As this story unfolds and we see more of Wilson’s past (a serious display of God’s anointing, no doubt), so many questions linger. Is Archbishop Rhamses really going to remove him from his position? What plan does he have for him? And what about Erasmus? What’s his role in all this?

Listen, Season 2 is gonna have to give us some satisfaction right here. So much to unpack and understand…