Bro. Bill was working late in his office touching up the sermon he was preparing to deliver to his congregation the next morning. He was a bit anxious about using just the right words, so as not to have anyone think he was aiming this message directly at them. It was time to preach a message on unity and he couldn?t preach about unity without touching on forgiveness. The atmosphere around the church had become a bit thick and he couldn''t really put his finger on it. Though nobody had spoken any complaints to him, he couldn''t help but feel that there were some undercurrents stirring. Bill and Judy had moved to their new field of service just seven short months earlier. He simply tried to assure himself that the honeymoon stage was over and this was just the normal atmosphere of ministry.

He began to allow his mind to drift with thoughts and images of the good ''ole days when ministry was fun and exciting, from new discoveries to optimistic challenges. It seemed as though criticism simply rolled right off, like water off a duck?s back. As he imagined what a church in perfect unity and harmony must look like, he wondered if there was ever a time in history when churches reflected that beautiful picture of unity and joy. He began to get lost in his daydream, as he imagined what it must have been like to pastor a church back in the day when pastors were a leading voice in the church and community. He mused about a day when pastors were treated with respect and admiration. SLAM! Bill snapped out of his daydream state as fear and sudden panic clinched his heart and mind. What was that loud noise? Was someone else here or did something fall? Bill thought to himself. It sounded like the outer door down the hall and around the corner.

He quickly rose out of his chair still a bit shaken from being snapped back to reality. He looked around quickly to arm himself as he went to investigate the noise. Unfortunately, all he had available was a stapler and a letter opener. He decided against either and simply uttered a quick prayer while convincing himself that he could handle whatever it was that spooked him. As he quietly opened the door to his office, he heard the sound of footsteps and then another door close which sounded like the door leading into the sanctuary. He decided to go back to his desk for the letter opener just in case then turned and headed out into the hall with slow quiet steps like a hunter stalking its prey, only Bill felt like he was the prey. As he cautiously crept down the dimly lit hallway, he could see a faint glow of light coming from beneath the door to the sanctuary. Even though he felt a cold chill, he reasoned with himself that it must simply be someone who forgot something and didn''t want to bother him.

He heard a faint noise in the sanctuary and began to step a little quicker to the door leading into the sanctuary. He placed his hand on the door knob and hesitated. He pictured in his mind charging in boldly with authority rather than the fear he was sensing inside. He took a deep breath and prepared to charge in when another noise caught his ear. He heard a motor start up outside, so he hurried to a window to see if he could get glance of who it was parked outside. He could barely see the tail lights as they sped off down the dark country road. Feeling a bit more secure, he cautiously headed back toward the sanctuary to see about the light. His hands were trembling and his breathing was loud and heavy as he reached for the door handle.

As he went in, he saw that the light over the pulpit had been left on. Looking around to make certain no one else was lingering, he headed over to the light switch to turn it off. On his way a glint caught his eye from some object standing in the center of the pulpit. He turned towards the pulpit to see what was reflecting the light. His heart began to pound so loudly, he could have sworn it was reverberating throughout the auditorium. As each step took him closer to the podium and he climbed the steps to the stage, his heart sank in horror at what he saw. His skin began to crawl up his back, causing his head and hands to tremble. His hands gripped the sides of the pulpit.

He couldn''t believe his eyes as he blinked to make sure that it was real.