Mountain Top(18)

“What about the other guys?”

Bobby lowered his voice. “Park is moving to Charlotte to work for an insurance defense firm. This is his last week. All his work has been shifted to Arnold, who is working longer hours than I am.”

As the other members of the session arrived, Mike greeted them. When they were seated, he asked Milton Chesterfield, the oldest member of the group and the richest man in the church, to pray. Milton’s prayer was as predictable as the opening lines of Genesis. Mike had never heard him utter a modified version.

“Sovereign God, help us to do Thy will in this meeting. Amen.”

The elders followed the written agenda. Mike sat back and listened. First, the financial report. Offerings exceeded the level needed to keep pace with the budget, but two elders urged fiscal caution and curtailing expenditures. Mike didn’t fret. After thirty minutes of discussion, nothing changed.

The facilities report included a presentation by Libby Gorman on the condition of the church cemetery. Some of the older monuments and markers needed repair, and she believed family members should bear the expense of work on their plots, with the church paying for those with no known living descendants. One of the largest plots in the cemetery was devoted to deceased members of the Chesterfield family.

“I think the church should take care of the maintenance for everyone,” Milton said. “I shouldn’t be punished because my family stayed loyal to the church and didn’t move away.”

“I think it would be a privilege to tidy up our family plots.” Libby sniffed.

“What efforts did you make to find relatives?” Milton asked.

“My daughter-in-law spent hours on her computer trying to track folks down,” Libby answered. She held up a sheet of paper. “And I sent out forty letters.”

“This issue is covered by the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution,” Bobby said, winking at Mike mischievously. “Everyone who is dead should be treated the same, especially if the body was transported in interstate commerce. Anything less would be a denial of their due process rights—”

“Thanks for sending the letters, Libby,” Mike interrupted. “Did you receive any responses?”

Libby glanced down at a pad she’d placed on the table. “Uh, eight so far, including four from people willing to pay something if the amount is reasonable.”

The discussion continued for another half hour. In the end, Bobby was the one who suggested an acceptable compromise. Payment for repairs by descendants was voluntary, but if they did so, the church would place a small marker on the plot indicating that it had been restored through a generous gift from the family.

Most of the argumentative steam in the group had been vented by the time they reached the youth group item. However, Mike didn’t try to water down Nathan’s proposal. “He wants to allow students to play electric guitars and drums,” Mike said.

“In the sanctuary?” Libby asked in dismay.

“No, of course not; I would have stopped that myself. The music will be confined to the youth room and only on Sunday nights.”

“It’s important to maintain decorum at all times,” Milton added with emphasis. “Including the Sunday sermon. Mike, you have a lot of good things to say, but at times you get carried away—”

“Let’s stay on the issue,” Bobby interjected.

“The boy who plays drums is Mitchell Gaston’s son,” Mike added calmly. “It’s a great opportunity to connect the Gaston family with the church.”

Milton’s eyes opened wide. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

After a few minutes of discussion, permission was granted, provided the volume wasn’t too loud and no parents complained. Mike didn’t push. An open door was all Nathan could ask for. It would be up to him to sell it to the parents.

“The last item on the agenda doesn’t require discussion, only your approval,” Mike said, straightening his papers in preparation for the end of the meeting. “It involves a fellow minister who needs legal assistance that I’ll provide without charge. I wanted to let you know about it before I did anything. Milton, will you pray?”

Before Milton began, Bobby Lambert put down his coffee cup and spoke.

“What kind of assistance?” the lawyer asked.

“A misunderstanding about church finances,” Mike replied nonchalantly.

“How serious a misunderstanding?” Bobby persisted.

Mike looked at Bobby and tried to send an unspoken signal to leave the issue alone.

“Yeah, give us the details,” Rick Weston, another elder, said.

Mike shrugged. “It resulted in a criminal charge but may be the result of a bank error.”