EXCERPT: My Father's House

My Father's House
Dijorn Moss

ISBN# 13: 978-1-60162-970-8
Genre: Christian Fiction
Copyright: 2007
Published date: October 2008
Where Can it be purchased: Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Walmart, Amazon, etc.
Website: http://www.dijornmoss.com/

What happens on Sunday is only a glimpse into the life of Pastor Timothy Wells and his congregation. Pastor Timothy Wells always had a heart for ministry, but he never thought that his passion would lead him to the Senior Pastor position at Gethsemane Community Church. The decision severs the church with a bitter Associate Pastor and his conniving wife deepening the divide. Seen through the eyes of a gospel artist, a drug dealer and other members of the congregation. My Father's House is Timothy's journey to become the leader that Gethsemane needs in its darkest hour.

CHAPTER TEN

Dennis arrived home from work with a desire for a warm shower and a home cooked meal.
“How was dinner?” Dennis asked his wife, Renee.
“It was fine, the kids ate and I put them to bed.” Renee crossed her arms. “I couldn‘t make the chicken because I didn‘t have enough seasoning.”
“How come you didn’t call me while I was out?” Dennis glanced at Renee. “I would’ve picked some up for you?”
“I did, but your phone was off.”
“That must’ve been when I was in a meeting,” Dennis sat on his cucumber green couch. His shoulders felt like he had just removed two 75-pound bags of sand. The balls of his feet were tender and the calices on his hands made it difficult for him to make a fist.
“I don’t know how many I ordered,” Renee ran her fingers through her hair.
Dennis put the bill on the coffee table. “Must be nice!” He glanced up at Renee wearing her usual baby blue t-shirt and gray sweats. Renee had purchased a certain skin product online that caused an allergic reaction on her face. Permanent brown spots stained some parts of her face. The product ruined her caramel skin, but at times her deep imprinted dimples made up for her defects. With the right make-up treatment, the spots were non-existent; only behind closed doors did she unveil her dark secret. Dennis thought that it was monstrous to hold such a horrific thing against Renee, but he could not help but to feel somewhat physically detached from his wife.
“Well, your dinner is in the microwave,” Renee said.
“All right, I‘ll get it in a second. ” Dennis looked up and Renee had her hand on her hip, a sign that she was irritated. “What?”
“Nothing!” Renee said as she folded her arms.
“Renee, I’m not in the mood. I’ve had a long day, so tell me what’s up?”
“Dana called today.”
Dennis knew that Dana’s phone call would push dinner back at least an hour. Dana and Renee both ran Sunday school and her departure fro Gethsemane had a profound affect on Renee temperament.
“What was she calling for?”
“She’s leaving Gethsemane.”
“That’s unfortunate,” was Dennis’ reply.
“A lot of people are leaving,” Renee added “It’s because of the preaching now.”
Dennis’s head started to throb at the mere mentioned of church. He leaned back on the couch and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I know a lot of people are leaving! I found out the other day that the Mitchell’s are leaving too,” Dennis said.
“Pretty soon you’ll be able to hear a pin drop at Gethsemane. It’s a darn shame too.” Renee shook her head.
“Don’t say that!”
“What? It’s the truth!”


“You don’t know that. Let’s just wait to see what God is going to do. In the mean time, let’s go get something to eat.”
“Are you planning to not talk about this?” Renee asked
“There’s nothing to talk about. What’s done is done.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Nothing!”
“Nothing?” Renee unfolded her arms.
“There’s nothing I can do. Timothy taking over as head Pastor was a decision handed down from Ananias.” Dennis said.
Renee pulled her hair back behind her shoulders. She reached in her left pocket and pulled out a black scrungy. She slid the scrungy halfway on her left hand as she put her hair into a ponytail.
“And what does that say about your years of service?” Renee started in. “After all that you sacrificed for that church so that Ananias could give his life’s work over to a kid; An inexperience kid on top of that!”
“He’s a descent preacher,” Dennis said.
“Oh please, it takes more than that to be a Pastor. It takes leadership. What congregation is going to follow a Pastor that’s at least ten years younger than them?”
“He has potential,” Dennis shrugged.


“And you have experience. We all thought you were next in line. You’ve been with this ministry for eleven years. There is no one more qualified to take over this ministry than you.”
That fact alone ate away at Dennis on the inside. He put on a good show of humility, but inside he wanted nothing more than to be Pastor, and the boards announcement of Timothy as Pastor was a slap in his face. But what made it worse was that Timothy’s promotion came in part because of a large endorsement by Ananias.
“He has to do what the spirit of God is leading him to do, and if that means Timothy taking over as senior pastor, then that’s God’s will. He may not look like a pastor, but neither did David look like a King,” Dennis reasoned.
“He has to do what the spirit of God is leading him to do, and if that means Timothy taking over as senior pastor, then that’s God’s will. He may not look like a pastor, but neither did David look like a King,” Dennis reasoned.
“Don’t preach to me!” Renee walked over to the love seat and sat down. “Who knows what mindset Ananias was in when he made that decision, and since he’s been discharge from the hospital no one has seen him.”
“Why are you so upset about this?” Dennis asked.

“Why aren’t you upset?” Renee retorted.
“You complain enough as it is that I don’t spend enough time with you and the kids. You want to add being a pastor of a church on top of that?”



“At least I know that you would be happy instead of moping around pretending to be humble. I’m the only person in that church that knows it gets to you to sit there Sunday after Sunday, wishing you was in that pulpit.”
Dennis stood up tried to walk away, but Renee stepped in front and pushed him.
“What do you want me to do?” Dennis threw his arms up.
“I want us to leave”
“I’m not leaving,” Dennis said.
“I’m not staying;” Renee leaned back and crossed her arms.
“What did you say?” Dennis walked closer to Renee.
“I’m not going to sit here and watch you continue to kill yourself for a bunch of ingrates.”
“You’ll do as I say,” Dennis pointed at Renee.
“Or else what?” Renee poked her finger into Dennis’s chest.
Dennis yanked Renee closer to him. “Woman, I’m not in the mood! Unless you want me to go to jail tonight, don’t touch me!”
“Let go of me!”
Dennis released his grip and Renee stabbed Dennis in his back with her fingernails as he walked towards the keyboard next to the cobblestone chimney.
“That’s right, walk away. That’s what you’re good at doing. You can’t stand and face anything,” Renee said.


Dennis began to play a slow melody in efforts to regain control of his emotions and drown out Renee’s raspy voice. Her words felt like needles being inserted into his brain.
“Let me go to the board and talk to them. They can override Ananias decision,” Renee said
“Do you know how crazy that sounds?” Dennis asked.
“They know that there are a lot of people that would follow you if you started your own church. The board won’t let Timothy destroy Ananias’s legacy.”
“I’m not leaving unless God tells me to leave,” He closed his eyes and began to play “Amazing Grace“. He visualized an eagle perched on a mountain, prepared to take flight. Renee slammed her hands on the keys and interrupted the image.
“You’re not going to ignore me!” She shouted.
Dennis yanked her hands off the keyboard. “Stop it!”
Renee pounded her hand on the middle of the keys. This time, Dennis knocked her hand away. “I said stop it!”
Renee tried a third time and Dennis jumped up and made his way around the keyboard. Dennis pushed Renee against the wall. He wrapped his hands around her frail throat and punched the wall next to her head.
A sharp pain shot through his hand. Dennis reveled in the fact that he evoked fear into his wife.
“Dad!” Elijah said from the end of the hallway, still in his bedtime clothes.
“Go back to bed honey; everything is okay,” Renee said with a cracked voice.
Elijah did not move, and at this moment, Dennis was more terrified than both Renee and his son. “Did you hear your mother? Go back to bed.”
Dennis loosened his grip and Renee wrestled his hand away. She rushed over to Elijah and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she escorted him into the room. Like a fugitive with only seconds before the police knocked down the door, Dennis grabbed his keys and his coat and ran out the house.