Letters From the Minister

The Minister was safe behind his desk in his well-appointed office.  He had always had an idea of what he wanted his home study to look like.  He was a traditionalist in that manner.  Deep, dark, manly wood surrounded him with several bookcases filled with biblical commentaries as well as several novels and autobiographical works.  His library was very impressive in terms of balance.  One could find works as traditional as Ernest Hemingway and as contemporary as E. Lynn Harris.  He had loved Hemmingway since he had read “The Pearl” in his 9th grade English class.  The other course he loved was Geography, and his love for discovery and travel was also well represented.  A myriad of framed photos and artifacts from India, Asia, Central Europe, and Africa were strategically placed on the walls.  Not only were there religiously referenced pieces but also works of art that could be appreciated by any non-discriminating generalist who simply admired something appealing, and respected the creative efforts of the artist. He prided himself on his open-minded approach to life, and that was one of the many reasons he was such a sought after minister.  The people to whom he preached embraced him as he focused on understanding them first and then offering them the gospel.  Unlike many of his contemporaries, he was not an unbending fundamentalist who forced his convictions and belief on anyone.  He believed in the persuasive power of the Gospel, and felt it was imperative that he addressed the obvious needs of the people before offering them solutions for the souls.  A biblical story he often referenced was one in which Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 hungry people. In it, Jesus understood and serviced a very basic human need; hunger, before attempting to levy life-altering mandates of spiritual and moral behavior.  “A sandwich before salvation,” was the way he sermonized the thought.

The church he pastored was growing by leaps and bounds.  His impressive style of preaching and teaching was establishing a national reputation, thus increasing an already weighty travel schedule. Something else was also growing by leaps and bounds, an inner appetite that searched for satisfaction far beyond his weekly sermons.  His struggle to satisfy that hunger often ate at the very fabric of his psyche.

Angela burst through the double doors of the office, interrupting his pen mid-sentence.  She could do that. It was called the ‘boundary-free privilege of a black, female spouse!’