Beginnings, episode 2: Behemoth

Carol Benson stared up at the giant stained-glass window, the new five story wonder that graced the worship center at her home church.

Not really her home, she knew. Home was several hundred miles away, but she had made Grace Baptist close enough to home.

She had done it for Savvi, switched churches. Carol herself had been happier in her little church of a few hundred people rather than the Herculean monster she now attended, with its ten thousand members. Apparently, they were so successful that they had considered leaving the denomination.

In her experience, that would not end well. For Savvi's sake, she hoped they didn't try it.

"C.C!" rang a familiar voice, and she peered around into the face of her two adopted kids.

"Savannah. Lewis. Where have you been? The service is about to start."

"Do I have to stay, C.C?" Lewis whined. "This is one of those political sermons."

"It's not political. It's church business."

"And a 12-yr-old doesn't get to vote. Shouldn't I find something more useful to do with my time than participate in an exercise in futility?"

"You are such a nerd," grinned Savvi. "Who uses phrases like that?"

"People with a brain," he retorted.

"But you should listen to this one," Savvi contradicted. "We're going to vote on whether or not to stay in the Convention. There will be a lot of drama. The pastor is talking about taking them to court."

"That's a rumor, Savvi," Carol chastised. "You shouldn't spread rumors."

"I'm trying to get him to stay. Will you, Lou?"

"If you don't call me Lou. Fine, I'll stay."

Savvi waved at Mel who sat with her parents, and she smiled a cluster of other youth who hovered near the door, no doubt waiting for an opportunity to slip out unnoticed.

She hadn't seen Jack - his mom couldn't always bring him on a Sunday night - so it was just her, Lou, and CC.

Though Aunt Carol had spun several tales of drama in church meetings, they had not yet attended one at the "Big Church," as CC called it. At the smaller church, they had kept the kids out. Generally left the older teens to monitor the younger until people quit shouting at each other and the littles could be let in for a closing prayer.

Savvi acknowledged that she wondered just how much yelling there would be in a crowd that large. It wasn't a Sunday morning's attendance, in the several thousands, but it was probably over a thousand people.

A thousand people trying to discuss the state of the church.

This should be interesting, she simpered as she slipped into the back pew beside her brother.

As she had expected, there were a couple of speeches. Different pastors sharing there perspective on things.

There was a marked lack of contention, though. Or even dissent, she realized.

If she thought about it, the youth pastor had given the same type of speech as the minister of music. She leaned over to CC. "This isn't a meeting...this is a sales pitch."

Aunt Carol's brow had knit, concern obvious on her raveled features. "I'd say you're right. Does this church have any accountability to its members?"

Their attention riveted back to the stage when the pastor finally rose to his feet. "What a blessing!" he oozed. "I hope you will take advantage of all the new programs that the budget has allowed us to develop, and I hope they bless you. Now, for the final order of business, we have the vote on the matter of the convention."

"The 'matter' of the convention," Savvi mouthed to Carol, but Carol just shrugged.

"As you have no doubt read in the bulletin, the board of directors of our church has voted to bring litigation against the convention for its interference in church business."

A titter of whispers broke out around the back arc of the sanctuary, who were apparently being as surprised by the news as Savvi and Carol were. "Now we bring this matter to you as a body. Those in favor of going forward with the suit, please stand."

A decent contingent of bodies rose in the front of the room, but by no means a majority. Maybe a third?

"Those opposed?" he prompted. Slowly, the majority of the back rose, with several in the front joining them. It was by far the greater number.

"The motion carries," the pastor smiled his perfect smile under his perfect hair, and Savvi gasped in shock.

"Like hell it does," Carol murmured.

"Aunt Carol!" Savvi chastised as Lewis snickered, but no one could her the sound because a general murmur had broken out all around the back arch of the space. Most of them just grumbled as they made there way to the exit, but about thirty people seemed to coalesce into a mob that marched toward the front.

Before they could reach it, someone dispatched a contingent of ministers who intercepted them and began the job of appeasement.

Savvi knew how to get around them, though. Kids almost always did, and no one paid too much attention to kids anyway. It didn't matter that Savvi had reached her 18th birthday a month before - she was still part of the youth group. A smile her, a wave there, and she found herself in the short line of friendly faces that waited to speak to the head pastor.

It wasn't that Savvi was unfriendly; she just had a question.

"Well, hello, Savannah!" Pastor Griffith gushed. "What a blessing to see you?"

"Thank you, pastor. Can I ask you a question about a scripture?"

"Certainly, sweeheart. What is it?"

"I thought First Corinthians said not to sue Christians in a secular court?"

The smile faltered, and Savvi blinked her surprise. There was a rage in that face that she would never have suspected, and she found herself stepping back a step as he raised his finger to her face.

"Are you telling me that if a group of people who called themselves Christians sat down in the front row of my church and claimed they were going to take over, that I couldn't sue them?"

Savvi didn't know what to say. She had honestly expected him to have an answer - some deep spiritual explanation that reassured Savvi so she could go spread the word to all and calm their fears. Instead, she found herself stumbling backwards as concerned assistant ministers shoved a few friendlier faces between the pastor and his wayward teen congregant.

Shellshocked, Savvi floated away from the stage, too stunned to make any progress anywhere. CC caught up to her and latched onto her before she made it past the second pew.

"I thought he might hit me..." she mumbled. "I had no idea I was saying something wrong."

CC narrowed her eyes in a glare. "What, exactly, did you say?"

"I just asked him how he could sue the convention if First Corinthians said we should sue fellow Christians in a secular court."

CC guffawed aloud. "No wonder you set him off - serves him right. Savvi Wright, don't you worry a bit about what happened. You were right, and he was wrong."

The words didn't exactly help. Savvi hated to upset people, and she had really upset him. Not only that, she felt the wrongness of the way the vote had happened, and she couldn't afford to lose faith in her pastor. She loved her church, and she believed that Pastor Griffith genuinely cared about people.

Besides, his sons were wonderful people. None of them had rebelled and turned into licentious lushes, like so often happened with pastors' kids. He must be real to make really nice kids.

Still dazed, she forced herself to relax her expression, and after a few deep breaths, she was able to moved to Mel and leave her aunt and brother behind. It wasn't like she could do anything about it, so she had to let it go.

It was the beginning, though. The first sign she encountered that said things in her church just didn't add up.