Judas Church

Episode 10

Chapter 28

Pastor Taylor found out that Arnold Wexson hadn't stopped with just his influence on Johnnie Dunmoore. Arnold hadn't just left the church all those years ago either; he had left his faith in God and developed his own spiritual guidance ministry, promising his patrons that they would find "the truth and the light within." (Arnold didn't say just how much money this guidance business generated, but Taylor figured it must have been a lot considering the opulent mansion and the rich furnishings within it.)

Beyond that, Arnold had set out to undermine his former place of service. Publishing several "letters to the editor" in local newspapers, Arnold had posed as a disgruntled former member of City of Fellowship Bible Church. He had criticized the church, attacked Bible doctrine, accused the leaders of hypocrisy and more. Taylor remembered the letters well, although he hadn't thought about them much since they stopped being published after about three months. He remembered wondering who the writer behind them could have been. After discussing the matter with the church staff, they had decided not to respond to the letters publicly, but sent out a note to each of the newspapers asking the editors to let the letter-writer know that the church leaders were willing to answer any questions or concerns they had. The church had never received a reply.

During his meeting with Arnold, Taylor had the mind to record the conversation. He took his iPhone out, pretending to check the time, and then put it back in his shirt pocket — upside down with the microphone facing out. After getting one of the technicians in the church's media center to filter out the background noise and raise the volume, he replayed the entire recording for the elders during their next meeting. Now, Arnold's voice came through the speakers in the room where the elders met.

"I'm going to keep coming after you and your church," Arnold said. "I'll make you realize that you don't really believe all the things you say you stand for."

"Nothing you do will ever change what I believe," Taylor said.

"It's not just what I will do, but what I have already done. And, look — you're shifting already. Ferrian told me about your little agreement to keep quiet about his homosexuality. Johnnie told me how you have been avoiding those difficult passages in the Bible."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Taylor said.

"Oh, I think I do," Arnold replied. "And you do too. You always were soft-hearted — not wanting to offend anyone, so you don't preach on those passages that condemn certain sins. I've got a record of all your messages, so I know. Our seminary professors will be very disappointed in you."

"Now that I know what you're up to, I'm going to put an end to it," Taylor said.

"Not sure how you're going to do that without shooting yourself in the foot," Arnold said.

Taylor, himself, wasn't even sure.

"You can't hurt me, can't stop me," Arnold smiled.

"But I can expose you," Taylor said

"Wouldn't change a thing. You know why? Because you're dealing with a man who has nothing to lose."

Chapter 29

I felt uneasy after reading the post from Leon about what was going down in Indonesia. Before I left the office, I tried calling him several times on his satellite phone but didn't get an answer. Maybe he had left it behind when they had to leave the house where the local church was meeting, or maybe it was damaged or destroyed. I prayed for him and his wife before calling Manley.

"Did you hear about Leon?" I asked.

"Yes. Me and Abbi have been thinking of something we can do to help."