The Accusation

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The meeting of the Personnel Committee had been scheduled to happen in the upstairs conference room.  However, the crowd began to collect at 6:15.  Jack made an executive decision and moved the meeting to the fellowship hall.  He also set up a microphone, seeing the number of hearing aids in the crowd.

The pastor got to the church building at 6:30 and saw the accumulating numbers.  He went to his office rather than risking engagement in debates before everyone arrived.  He could hear the buzz of the gathering gallery as he tried one last time to relax and to gather his thoughts.  At about five minutes before the hour, he picked up a few notes and headed into the lion’s den.

The Personnel Committee sat at a head table.  All the members wore terrified expressions and spent a great deal of time inspecting their cuticle.  The committee chair was intently examining a stack of papers in front of him.  Bill was in a seat next to the committee chair, drumming the fingers of his left hand on the table.  There was a vacant seat next to Bill.

The pastor wanted to sit anywhere but in that seat.  He remembered, however, a rule of thumb from the Ancient Source of Solace.  “When your every bone is screaming for you to flee from a conflictor, go toward that person.  In a conflict situation, distance is dangerous.  Stay close in, and don’t look like you’re running or avoiding.”

So the pastor sat down next to the man who was intent on having him removed from office.  Bill smiled with the right side of his face and nodded as the pastor sat down.  The pastor looked out at the crowd.  He saw Phil just a few seats away, twisting the hem of his t-shirt into a rumpled knot.  Jack and Martha were a few rows back, sitting next to one another.  His wife, bless her, had just slipped into a seat in the very back row, but in a place where she could catch his eye with a smile.

About forty folks were there who had received his emergency invitation.  They were engaged in animated conversation, and many shot him looks of concerned curiosity.  The pastor could sense that Bill was surprised by this gathering but not really troubled by it.

The committee chair cleared his throat and rapped on the table.  “Thank you for coming to this meeting.  It is, may I say, unusual to have such an audience for a meeting of the Personnel Committee.”  He shot an accusing stare at the pastor.  “But we will do our best to accommodate all our guests.  The subject of this meeting is a charge of misconduct lodged against our pastor.  I will call upon our congregational president to speak regarding that charge.”

It was clear that this part of the meeting had been scripted.  Thus it was even clearer that the chair of the Personnel Committee was somehow in league with Bill.  The congregational president launched into his indictment.

“I take no pleasure in what I am about to say,” Bill declared.  Of course, he could not really hide that hint of a smile he flashed as he spoke.  “I have nothing but respect for the office of ministry in the church.  And it is because of that high respect that I must bring to light certain unfortunate realities.”

The pastor took a deep breath and waited.  There was no telling where this was headed.

“First, the pastor has knowingly continued the employment relationship with our custodian, when our custodian is five years beyond the mandatory retirement age for that position.  I have advised against this practice, but that advice was rejected.”  A disapproving murmur ran through the crowd, but Bill was undeterred.

“Second, the pastor has willingly opened our church facility to persons with known criminal records without consulting the church council leadership or taking appropriate security precautions.”  The pastor noticed that Lil was sitting near the back of the room, dabbing tears from her cheeks.

“Third, and most seriously, I have reason to believe that the pastor has been carrying out an extra-marital affair with one of those convicted felons in the church building.  And he has been doing so under the cover of my own brother’s unfortunate sexual orientation.  For these reasons, I must request that the Personnel Committee consider disciplining and even removing the pastor from his office.”

There was a moment of stunned silence.  Then every person in the room began talking at once.  Everyone, that is, except for the pastor.  He sat and waited for the initial storm to pass.  He had expected there would be some sort of outburst, and he had mentally rehearsed his calm pose.

He hadn’t prepared for the loud and lengthy laughing from the back row.

The crowd quieted down as the pastor’s wife continued to chuckle.  She stood up.  “May I say something?”

The chair of the Personnel Committee rapped his knuckles on the table.  “Quiet, please.  Quiet!  Thank you, madam, for your interest and concern.  But this is a committee meeting, and only committee members and invited guests will be allowed to speak.”  With that last comment he shot a glare at the pastor.  It was clear the chair didn’t appreciate the gathering of the gallery for this meeting.

“No, no!” many in the crowd shouted.  “Let her talk!  We want to hear what she has to say!”  This went on for over a minute.  The motivations in the crowd were as mixed as the members.  It was a combination of righteous indignation and morbid curiosity.  Finally, the chair relented.

“Very well,” he sighed.  “It is clearly the will of the people that we hear from you, madam.  But please keep it short and on topic.”

The pastor’s wife straightened up and looked at Bill.  “That’s the best you’ve got, Bill?  Accusations of marital infidelity?  I’ve lived with this man for thirty years.  I’ve never known him to stray.  Not that he hasn’t been given opportunity.  Women in churches have this fascination with male pastors that is not always healthy.”  At that moment several women in the crowd blushed before they could recover.

“Besides, my husband is no Brad Pitt,” she smiled.  “No offense, honey.”

“None taken,” he replied with half a grin.  What a woman he had married!

“I know you don’t have to be a movie star to get in difficulties with the opposite sex.  But really!  He spends more time with theology books than he does with any woman most days of the week.  This is just a silly conversation.  In addition, we have known this and have always been careful to be appropriate and discrete.  So I can tell you without question that this accusation is without basis and beneath contempt.  Of course, you could simply ask the woman in question.” 

The crowd drew in a breath in unison.  “She’s sitting over there in the corner.”  The pastor’s wife pointed to Lillian, who was cowering in fear.

“Yes!  Yes!” the crowd replied.  “What does she have to say?”

Lillian shook with anxiety and refused to speak.  The pastor’s wife walked over to her and invited her to stand.  Then she embraced the terrified woman and said, “It’s all right, dear.  You can say whatever you need to say.  I’ll stand right here beside you.”