“Hm, I have no idea why I’m doing this,” Becky murmured to herself, seated behind her steering wheel, “but well, let’s see how this goes.”

It was Sunday morning, and as was the norm for her, the plan was to sleep in for as long as possible. But she had woken up around 7 o’clock, with a rather odd urge in her soul.

An odd and overwhelming urge to go to church.

Becky had not been to church in ages; her mother’s passing had effectively spelled the end of her time as a churchgoer. She couldn’t really explain it, but the desire and feeling for church just evaporated from her spirit once Madam Marian was laid to rest. Despite many attempts by her friends, she had stuck to her new way of life, and had even clashed with Nana Asor and Delasi a few times over it. As a result, they had all stepped back and let her be, seeing there was no point in pushing the matter.

That urge, though, had been so strong, she could not ignore it, even though she had obviously done that. She had dismissed it, scoffed at it, rebuffed it… but it remained strong as ever.

So she was currently on her way to Shalom Temple. She didn’t feel like returning to her family’s Assemblies of God branch, and besides, the invitation Bishop Gordon had extended to her personally was overdue. So why not take it up?

She glanced over at her phone and shook her head. The WhatsApp notifications kept chiming on it. She had told the squad that she was going to church, and of course, the reaction was one of shock and amazement, with everyone asking what had entered her that morning, as well as proclamations of gratitude that God had finally dragged her to church.

Of course, the squad never missed a chance to jump on her back, and they were happily doing so with their reactions.

Whatever. She had no idea what was ahead of her, and she wished this inkling wasn’t that strong. She really wanted that sleep, and after staying away from church for so long, she had zero enthusiasm for it.

But well, she would see how things went, and hopefully, this wouldn’t happen again.

***

The atmosphere at Shalom Temple was a pretty joyful one. Church was packed to capacity, and at the time Becky arrived, were happily singing songs of praise. Obviously, with the choir occupied, she couldn’t get to see Delasi. She did catch the eye of Bishop Gordon and his wife, who looked delighted to see her. On one hand, she was pleased to see how happy they were at her presence. On the other hand, there was no way she was dodging the ‘first timers’ call. Having to move to the front of the church was not on her to-do list for the day at all.

But well, it wouldn’t last long.

Now the pastor who had prayed over the first offering had handed over to another pastor, who looked ready to begin a song ministration. The choristers rising from their seats to take their place at the stand gave credence to that.

“Hallelujah, people of God, let’s give a clap offering unto the Lord,” the pastor encouraged, with the congregation responding by duly clapping. “We give glory to the God who is great in mercy and lovingkindness towards us. His tender mercies are renewed every morning, and it’s the reason we are here. Amen?”

“Amen!”

He nodded at the instrumentalists, who then started.

The congregation cheered in excitement as the sound of the song became familiar to their ears. And Becky couldn’t help but get excited herself.

“Great Is Your Mercy!” she whispered to herself excitedly. “Haven’t heard it in ages!”

As the pastor began to sing, the entire congregation joined in with utmost delight. For the next minute or so, the entire auditorium was filled with joyful voices, all acknowledging the goodness of their God.

Then, the pastor called out some names.

“Steven, come! Delasi! Lovia! Irene! Sister Akpene!”

Everyone seemed surprised, including her own husband, as Akpene got up from her seat and walked across the stage to join the choristers. Sure, with the song on deck, everyone knew a few choristers would do solos. Akpene, however, was a surprise.

Nonetheless, there was excitement in the air. Becky had taken out her phone and was recording it all, eager to capture this moment.

Steven started off, and the cheers and screams were loud as he totally killed his turn. Becky nodded as he sang. “Oh, he’s good. Really good.”

Next was Delasi, and more cheers erupted, especially with her impressive runs and riffs. Becky joined in the cheers. “Sing, Delasi, sing!”

Lovia followed, and she didn’t have any runs or riffs to offer; just a passionate belting out that everyone loved. Becky nodded. “She’s got some Cece Winans vibe about her. Dunno how, but… it’s nice.”

Next was Irene, and she hit the spot as well, her voice sweet but powerful. Becky had a mischievous grin all the while she sang. “Eish, Clarence. This your geh can sing ooo. Chale!”

Then it was Akpene’s turn.

Nobody knew what to expect, but they did not see what came: a rendition so goosebump-inducing, it was like she had borrowed the voice of one of those Black American church singers. The runs and riffs were piercing but powerful, and the passion with which she sang was unlike anyone had ever heard from her.

The cheers were the loudest. People were on their feet, including Bishop Gordon, who had covered his mouth with both hands and appeared genuinely shocked, even to the point of tears. Becky was also on her feet, truly in awe of what she was hearing. “Herh! Bishop’s wife has killed it! Whaaaat! I didn’t know she could sing like that!”

Eventually, the pastor leading the song took over once she was done. But the truth was that it was slightly hard to get things back on track; Akpene had just set the church ablaze, and everyone was absolutely buzzing. As the singers returned to their seats, she got the biggest set of cheers.

Bishop Gordon, who was making his way to the pulpit, grabbed her hand just as she passed by him and pulled her along as the congregation continued to cheer and clap their hands. Facing them, his eyes dry, he grinned and shook his head as he glanced at her, a shy look on her face.

“People of God… in fact, my mind borst. Herh! I’ve known this woman for almost ten years now, and God is my witness, I’ve never heard that from her! Herh, Akpi, so you’ve been hiding this from me? Is that how you are?”

Becky couldn’t help but laugh along with the rest of the congregation.

***

“What was the order from God concerning the brazen serpent? “…it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” You see that? They had to look at the brazen serpent to live. Not do some good stuff in order to be healed from the poison. And such it is with the gospel. We are saved by grace through faith. What we must do to be saved is believe. Believe that the One who died such a gory death on that cross stood in our place, so we don’t have to face His wrath, but rather be at peace with God. And we must come knowing that it is the only hope we have. The cross of Christ is of no benefit to the person who doesn’t think much of it. You can be sure that some of the Israelites didn’t believe as they looked at the serpent on a pole, and it didn’t work for them. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”

Over an hour later, and Bishop Gordon was just about wrapping up on his sermon. Becky had to admit, she was quite impressed. His sermon was on the brazen serpent in the book of Numbers, and its parallels with Jesus and His death and resurrection. He was as good as the head pastor of her old church: solid knowledge of the Bible and a knack for teaching it as simply as can be.

I’m definitely not planning on doing this again, but if I had to get up and go to church again, I’d definitely come here, she thought to herself.

“So, people of God, with this glorious mystery revealed unto us, let us continue to lift up this Reality. Jesus is the only cure to the poison that surges through the veins of humanity as the walls of sin and rebellion keep many from seeing the true light. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to open the eyes of many to the realness of this sickness and the lack of a cure aside from believing in the Son. Our deep philosophies and stuff cannot cure us or restore us back into fellowship with God like it was originally supposed to be. Only Jesus can! Only Jesus. Rise to your feet.”

As the congregation obeyed, clapping as they did, Bishop Gordon continued pacing up and down the stage as he began to pray.

“O Jesus… we worship You this morning. You are the Great and Beautiful One, the Lord of all the earth. Superior, unrivalled, unequalled, unmatched in all ways. You are the blessed and only Potentate. King of kings and Lord of lords. The One who dwells in light unapproachable, the One whose presence brings the entire of creation to its knees…”

As he prayed, everyone picked up the signal and began to lift up their voices as well. Whether in a natural language or in tongues, people were engaging their Creator, and the aura was quickly picking up heat.

Five minutes in, and the praying had not ended. No sign of a prayer rounding up the teaching for the morning; only people delving deeper into prayer.

Becky didn’t know how to feel. Just when she was hoping the service would end quickly, so she could rush home, the atmosphere was turning on its head. Bishop Gordon was rapidly switching from praying in English to tongues, and growing more fervent and passionate by the minute.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things! To him be glory forever! Ohhhh, shalabatazia-za!”

It was a hotbed of prayer at this point. The instrumentalists were also sprucing the place up by playing their instruments. The presence of God was palpable, like an electric charge that coursed through the sanctuary and ignited hearts and souls with divine fire.

Then, Bishop Gordon, who was on his knees at that point, burst out into song. “Yeshua! Hamaschiach! Lion of Judah! Agunechemba!”

The congregation followed, singing along. And in no time flat, the auditorium was properly turned upside down. People were on their knees, singing their hearts out or crying out loud. Others continued to pray passionately. It was more than clear that the Spirit had taken control of affairs from this point.

Becky growled inwardly at this. Ugh, for fu… sorry, this is church. For goodness sake, this is not what I wanted to experience…

Five minutes later, and Bishop Gordon rose to his feet, looking like a man not in control of himself. Nobody needed to tell you what was going on: the Spirit was at work in him. Without a word, he descended from the pulpit and began to move among the worshippers, his hands outstretched in blessing.

As he laid hands upon a number of them, the power of the Holy Spirit flowed through him, causing some to tremble, others to weep, and many others to fall to the ground, overcome by the weight of His glory.

Delasi and Irene were just two of the many worshippers that were on the ground, slain by the power of God.

Apprehension immediately rushed through Becky’s veins at the sight of this. No, no, no, no, no. not this. Anything but this. Chale, I didn’t come here for them to be pushing me to the floor and making me scream…

Then she saw Bishop Gordon, backed by two pastors and a few ushers, walking right toward her.

Her heart pounded within her chest with terror. Just as she had been dreading this, he was coming her way.

What would she do? What would she say? How should she react?

He stepped up to her, that fiery look in his eyes. “Young lady, how are you doing?” he asked, in the most solemn tone.

She nodded nervously. “I-I… I’m fine,” she responded nervously.

He patted her on the shoulder, then leaned to speak directly into her ear.

“The Lord is saying something about you. I don’t know why He’s saying it, but I’m doing as He tells me. He is saying that, after this service, there is a phone call you will receive. Whatever you are told to do, just do it. No matter what.”

Becky could feel her stomach rising up into her throat. She had a pretty good feeling she knew what that call would be about.

And already, she knew she was nowhere near ready to do whatever it would be.

“That is it. That is what the Lord is saying. Answer that call, and do what you’re asked to do. I don’t know what it’s about, but that’s what He’s saying. And He knows why you should do that. So please, yield yourself to His command. Understood?”

She nodded slowly.

He tapped her on the shoulder again, then moved away to the next row, where he laid hands on one lady and instantly got her screaming out loud. Those screams, though, were like a mouse’s whisper to her ears as she got lost in her thoughts.

What the hell is this? Is God telling me to reconcile with that rubbish excuse of a man who calls himself my father? Really? After all he did to us? After refusing to acknowledge all he’s done? He gets a free pass? And I’m the one supposed to just do whatever he says? Really?

Mmmmm, well, we know something she doesn’t. What’s happened with her father, by the way? And what exactly would that call be about?