Raspberry Kisses (The Bakery Romance Series Book 1) (14 page)

His dad leaned back into his chair, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Linda Tucker, since this is your first meeting, you are unaware of how we start. You may state your business after we’ve opened the meeting with a word of prayer. Also, you cannot speak until we’ve given you permission to do so.”

Her mouth stretched into a thin line while she narrowed her eyes at his father, clutching her handkerchief. A few of the women chuckled, and Linda glared at them.

His dad focused on him. “Martin would you like to lead us with a prayer?”

Linda’s mouth set in a thin line. “You’re asking him to lead—”

His dad scowled at Linda. “If you don’t follow the protocol, you will be removed from this meeting. You may not speak until you are invited to do so. Understood?” Linda and his father focused on one another until Linda glanced down at the floor, mumbling.

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.” said his dad, leaning forward.

“I said I apologize.” She wiped her mouth, still staring at the floor.

He gestured toward Martin. “Martin, please start with prayer.”

Martin stared at Linda. Linda continued looking toward the floor, her hands bunched around her handkerchief. This was the most contrite he’d ever seen her act. What was she hiding? There was no way she’d called this meeting to simply spout off the same lame reasons as to why he should not be lead pastor. So, something else was going on, and he just wished he knew what she was planning to do before the meeting started.

Martin bowed his head. “Lord, please help us to discuss this matter calmly. Please let your Holy Spirit guide us and help us to say the right things, help us to not hurt the feelings of others. Lord, please be with this group as we discuss the future of this church. Amen.”

Everybody said their
amen
s and his dad started the meeting. “Linda, you may speak after I tell you this: What you’ve been openly doing is wrong. You can’t imply that my son is a womanizer, demeaning his character, if you have no proof about that.”

Martin breathed deeply, sitting up straighter in his chair. He smiled, relaxing his tense muscles. Maybe things would work out after all. His dad knew how to take charge, turn a bad situation around.

“Your son wasn’t so holy when he was younger,” she spat. “He’s no saint.”

Why did she keep mentioning his past? Granted there were things he’d done before he’d been saved, shameful things – stuff that his family knew nothing about. He’d been too ashamed to tell his parents about his mistakes, and if his actions were known to the congregation, how would they react? What would they say? Should he come clean and tell them about what he’d done? He still carried some shame from his past relationships, which is why he faltered about starting something with Rhea.

But, did he want to come clean about his past now, when Linda was accusing him of being a womanizer?

Perhaps it was time to give his own direction to Linda. “You know that people can change. Since I’ve been saved, I’ve done my best to follow God’s word and bring people closer to Him.”

His father nodded. “Linda, your implications have caused disharmony among members, and you’ve caused my son great distress. Just because he’s not married does not mean he’s a womanizer. I’m letting you know that if your behavior continues, we have the right to remove you from this church. Just keep that in mind.” He nodded toward her. “You may speak now.”

“Humph. Well, if you kick me out then you’ll be making a big mistake.” She leaned closer to Doug, her eyes narrowed into thin slits. “You threaten to kick me out, I’ll stop with my generous offerings. What do you think about that?”

She gave a little nod, folded her skinny arms in front of her chest. Martin winced. The church treasurer had mentioned that Linda’s huge weekly offerings had done a lot to sustain the church. They’d begun their homeless ministry since Linda’s generous offerings had started. Would he have to place limitations on his homeless ministry if Linda were to stop her offerings? He glanced at the transplants from her old church – they’d brought much to the coffers, too. If they were to leave, what would happen to the church?
The church would survive.
The thought came to him, clear and strong. But, he had to have faith that would happen.

How would their leaving affect his candidacy for the pastorship? It may make his journey to be pastor easier if Linda were gone, even though the church would be greatly affected by her missed offerings. 

Martin had also discovered that Linda had footed the bill for the food at the impromptu meeting at Claudine’s restaurant. She’d purchased all of the food for the women, encouraging them to order whatever they wanted. This whole situation was spinning out of control. So, what else could Linda do to attempt to harm his career? Did she intend on creating more disharmony within his church? If so, why?

Linda nodded her head again, indicating she’d heard his father’s words. His dad continued. “If you stop giving, then we’ll have to deal with that. We’re pleased with the offerings from you and all of the new members,” Doug scanned the table, “but, this church is not all about money. Actually, I’m insulted that you’d try and manipulate the situation by threatening to withhold your finances. I feel like you’re bribing us to keep you as a member.”

Her hands shook and her thin lips quivered. “No, I’m not.” Her voice quivered and a vein popped up in her neck. “I just meant that—”

“Sister Linda, I’m known to be a patient man, but, talking to you today is trying to my nerves. We need to stop wasting time and get to the point of this meeting.”

When Linda remained silent, he continued. “It has recently come to our attention that some members of the church are interested in recommending other candidates for the lead pastor position.”

Linda cleared her throat. “Our bylaws state that the congregation can suggest candidates for an open pastor position.” She finally glanced at Martin for a few seconds, then shifted her attention back to his father. “I heard what you just said, Pastor Doug, but I can’t help the way I feel. I think an unmarried male lead preacher is just asking for trouble.”

One of the deacons stood up. “Sister Linda, you can’t base your opinion on what happened at your old church.”

She cut her eyes at the deacon. “If the Holy Spirit tells me to do something—”

The deacon sat back down. “The Holy Spirit isn’t telling you to do this.”

“How are you going to tell me what God’s telling me to do!” She jumped up and walked toward him, and another deacon took her arm, gently tugging her in the direction of her chair. Several attendees gasped, and many of them stood, coming toward Linda. Soon the room was a mass of people arguing over what needed to be done.

His father quieted the attendees down and leaned toward Linda. “Did you have somebody else in mind to lead this church?”

Linda smiled, as if warming up to his question. “Yes, I have a grandnephew, Michael Tucker, who pastors a small church. He’s a married family man, and he’d like to broaden his horizons. I think he would be ideal.” She eyed Martin before continuing. “He’s been married for ten years. He’s honest, trustworthy, and all he wants to do is strengthen his relationship with God and bring people closer to Him.”

So, Rhea had been right! Linda did have somebody in mind for the lead pastor position. Martin glanced at Linda. “Your grandnephew sounds like quite a man. But if his main goal is strengthening his relationship with God and bringing people closer to Him then he doesn’t have to become pastor of this church to accomplish those goals. He can do those things at his current church.”

Linda glanced at Martin and opened her mouth to speak, however, his father cut her off. “As you know, we’ll be voting for the new pastor on August 17
th
. Over the next six weeks, our pastoral selection committee will be reviewing applications and interviewing prospective candidates. Our bylaws state that they narrow their selection down to at least two candidates.” He stopped speaking, took a sip of water. “So, you need to tell your nephew about the timeframe. Until we get his information package and application, we cannot pursue that avenue any further.”

The meeting continued for another hour as other church members, who sided with Linda, stated their cases as to why they agreed with Ms. Tucker’s logic.

Martin sighed when his father closed with prayer. When he exited the room, he spotted his Uncle Jesse waiting in the hallway. “You got a few minutes?” he asked.

Uncle Jesse smiled. “Sure.”

Martin led Jesse to his office and closed the door. They sat in the leather chairs in front of Martin’s desk. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to my dad about the meeting yet, but because of Linda’s announcement, I’m starting to wonder if I’ll be voted in as lead pastor.”

Uncle Jesse frowned. “What announcement?”

“Linda Tucker has a married grandnephew who pastors a small church. She wants him to apply for the pastoral position.”

Uncle Jesse frowned. “Whoa. That’s unexpected. But, why should that bother you? The church has been behind you on this mission for two years.”

“Yes, but, I don’t know Linda’s grandnephew. You know all candidates are required to preach several sermons to see if the congregation likes their preaching style.”

Uncle Jesse nodded. “Yeah…”

“Well, Uncle, it’s possible that the congregation might prefer Michael’s preaching to mine. Before Linda made her announcement, I figured I’d be the strongest candidate. But, since Linda and her transplants have become members of my church, I figure that they’d automatically side with Michael Tucker during the vote.”

“You don’t know that. Besides, we don’t even know if the board will select Michael Tucker as a candidate.”

Martin nodded. Maybe he was just letting his nerves get to him, worrying over nothing. He’d always admonish Rhea for worrying too much. The way she furrowed her brow, bit her cute bottom lip whenever something was on her mind, made him want to take her into his arms and kiss her frown away.

He pushed the unexpected thought aside. Why was he even thinking about Rhea now? He needed to focus on his church, and his mission to become pastor with the Lord’s help.

Uncle Jesse stood, walked over to Martin’s chair and touched Martin’s shoulder. “It’s hard to know what God wants us to do all the time. It’s possible he’s leading you elsewhere to preach, but, I doubt that’s the case.” He rubbed his balding head, continuing. “Frankly, I think Linda is just a sad old woman with a lot of hot air in her lungs. She just wants to start trouble and get attention. Other than her friends who joined the church with her a year ago, I doubt she can influence the entire congregation to vote against you.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Now—” Uncle Jesse rubbed his hands together, smiling. “—Trina tells me you met somebody at the retreat.”

“I never said that to Trina. She’s jumping to conclusions.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You know I’m not interested in dating anybody right now. I’ve got too much going on with everything here at the church. Plus, I’m not the best candidate for a relationship.” Although this is the way he felt, he’d been finding it hard to resist Rhea. He’d been conveniently forgetting that he didn’t need to be in a relationship right now. It was just too complicated. Would Rhea even want to be with somebody like
him
? After all, she barely knew him, so if she knew about his past, it wouldn’t surprise him if she didn’t want to speak to him again.

Jesse touched Martin’s shoulder. “You’re still thinking about all that wild stuff you did in college?”

“With all Linda’s resistance—based on my
past—
it’s hard not to.” How could he ever forget those wild college years? Or his son?

How old would his baby be if he’d lived? Around fifteen? And even after college, his dating life had been horrible. After suffering through two broken engagements, he felt called to a life of singleness, for the time being, serving the Lord. But, thoughts of Rhea kept slamming into his mind at the most weird times. He made no effort to think about her, yet, he thought about her anyway. What was up with that? Maybe the Lord was guiding him to try and see if he could actually date Rhea. Was that possible?

“Uncle, you know about the doubts I experienced in college. Linda keeps mentioning my wild younger years, but I have no idea how she knows about my college life.”

Jesse shrugged. “I think it’s strange, too, but she’s probably just going with the assumption that lots of men are wild when they first go to college. You’re a well-liked assistant pastor. Since she can’t find fault with your present life, she’s going back to your past, dragging the skeletons out of your closet.”

Martin recalled his wild college years after he’d left home for the first time. He’d indulged in drugs and alcohol, experiencing the freedom of being away from his strict parents.

During those tumultuous years, he’d been too ashamed to go to his parents for help, so he’d called on Uncle Jesse, and he’d been there for moral support. So if anybody understood, his uncle did. But he’d never made Martin feel condemned. That’s the kind of pastor Martin wanted to be. If only he could forgive himself.

“Martin, if you really like this woman Trina mentioned, then you should take it slow. Be friends and see if she’s open to the idea of spending some time with you.” Jesse patted Martin’s shoulder.