LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS

A few months had gone by now. I was eleven-years old and things were getting worse at the Vine of Praise Church. Pastor Green had committed blasphemy. The older folks were going to impeach him. The church was now a full-blown holy-roller church. The people were rolling around in the floor during worship. The older church ladies started bringing blankets to cover the young ladies when they stopped rolling. However, Pastor Green scolded the elderly ladies. He came down from the pulpit and dramatically yanked the blanket off one of the teen-age girls and proclaimed, “What the Lord hath revealed, let it shine.” This was the beginning of the end for pastor Green.

A week had past and I was setting on the front row next to the center isle as usual. There were two new men visiting the church and they both sat together behind me. I didn’t know them and it turned out they were both preachers. I will call them Bro. Carol and Bro Bo. Both men became favorite pastors of mine as I was growing up. Pastor Green was not very friendly to them.

The service had started and pastor Green was doing his usual running and jumping. He took a foot launch next to me. He jumped over these men’s head, landing in the center isle, and kept running. Bro. Green seemed angry and jumped over them several times. These men were there to help the congregation get rid of Pastor Green.

Bro. Green was breathing out a lot of harsh things and daring people to disagree with him. He again jumped over their head and landed in the center isle. This time I over heard the two men behind me. One said, “The next time he jumps over my head, I’m gonna lift up holy hands and drop him on his head.” I waited anxiously for the next jump, but Bro. Green must have seen the look in their eyes that they had had enough. After the service, there was business meeting, and the congregation fired Bro. Green. The church was saved and became a good place to worship and serve.

LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS

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