CHAPTER 17 – BATTLE OF THE BRETHREN

©OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE
AS INSPIRED BY THE CREATIVE ONE

Family Meeting

Once leadership calls a “family meeting,” just know the matter don pass choir group chat… I was in that room, o. Front seat. No popcorn, just palpitations.

When they said,
“Leadership meeting … immediately after first service. Boardroom.”
no one needed to ask why.

We all knew.

T.J..

Or let’s just say…The Fire…The Shift…The Unspoken Battle.
Call it anything.
The church had become a pressure cooker, and Daddy G.O. finally wanted to lift the lid.

The boardroom was tense.
The AC was on, but sweat dey people forehead.

Mummy G.O. sat beside Daddy G.O., face unreadable.
Pastor Dan came in last … clutching his iPad like a shield.
Edna walked in with a file. That one always likes props. I was surprised to see Bro Solomon walk in.. He wasn’t the head usher..but then it hit me, the head Usher had put to bed.

I, Mabel, your on-the-ground spiritual CIA, was by Mama’s side as usual, notebook in hand …even though I already knew this gist would live in my head rent-free.

Daddy G.O. started.
“I called this meeting not because I like drama. I called it because God is not an author of confusion…And lately, there’s been too much noise in this house.”

Everyone nodded.
The kind of nod people do when they don’t want to be accused of being the “noise.”
He continued:

“A young sister joined us. She carries grace, yes. But grace that causes division must be examined.”

That line.
That was when I knew …someone had whispered well into his ear. Who else if not Mama…

Then he said:
“Edna… what’s happening in choir?”

Sis Edna cleared her throat like a lawyer in court.
“Sir, the issue is not that we don’t welcome new gifts. The issue is unchecked elevation. People bypassing process…Creating followership without submission.And there’s emotional bias involved…”

She glanced…quickly…at Pastor Dan.

I caught it.

Daddy G.O. folded his hands.

“Is this about spiritual growth…Or spiritual territory?”

Boom.

No one answered.

Then Mummy G.O. dropped her own.

“Sir, the women have started talking…They’re saying we’re favouring one person too much, especially someone who just joined us. That we’re letting her run without shoes while others are still crawling in socks.”

I almost coughed.
What does that even mean?
“Run without shoes”?
Wahala and metaphor dey hold hands in this church.

Then Pastor Dan spoke.

“Sir… I believe she needs spiritual supervision. She’s powerful, no doubt. But power needs shaping.”

Daddy G.O. raised a brow.
“And who will shape her? You?”

Silence.
Pastor Dan shifted.
I wrote “sir is not smiling today” in my notebook.
Then Daddy G.O. did something unexpected.

He turned to me.
“Mabel, you’re close to my wife. You hear what people don’t say in meetings.
What’s your honest take?”

Ah.
Pressure.

I took a breath, just about to speak, when Bro Solomon came to my rescue.

“Sir, can I speak?” he asked, his tone calm but firm.

“Of course… G.O will let you speak,” I muttered under my breath. “Have you forgotten how much your tithe is in this church every month?”

“Please, go ahead,” G.O said.

Bro Solomon cleared his throat and spoke with the weight of someone who had carried this for a while.

“I believe the real issue here is not her presence… but her light. The light she carries is exposing our shadows. It’s not her fault that the people we’ve failed to feed spiritually are now finding food in her presence.”

He paused and let the words sink in.

“Our choir sings lifeless songs …no weight, no presence, just voices. Some of our pastors preach dry sermons. As an usher, I move around. I see our members …they’re not writing anything in their notes. Some of them are even sleeping during service.”

You could feel the discomfort growing in the room, but he didn’t stop.

“To be honest, I had been praying for revival. I gave God a deadline …six months. If nothing changed, I was going to find another church. But now… something is shifting. The plastic experiences are fading. The teens are on fire. People are waking up. Instead of fighting this light, maybe we should pause and ask: ‘Lord, is this You?’”

He said it with wisdom … truly living up to his Biblical namesake.

Room: Dead silent.
Even the AC paused, like it didn’t want to interrupt.

Then, softly, Mummy G.O spoke.

“You think we’re starving the flock?”

Bro Solomon looked her straight in the eye.

“I think… some are full of routine. Not revelation. And when revelation shows up in a new wrapper, they call it rebellion.”

The silence that followed was heavier than words.
And truth hung in the air like incense.
Now! Truly these are the kind of men that you want to usher you to the altar.

Let me branch small like Holy Spirit sidebar…(Let me digress a little…)
You know say I never mention Bro Solomon for some pages now. It’s not that he backslid o ,,,no be that kind story. ( I am sure you noticed I have not brought Bro Solomon up for a while…He didn’t backslide)

It’s just that when he noticed Pastor Dan had started “mentoring” T.J with full chest and extra boldness, Bro Solomon just pressed brakes and entered neutral. (That’s because when he noticed pastor Dan was closing in.. He took a step back)

Baba said: “Make dem no drag me enter love triangle wey Holy Spirit no authorize.” (He didn’t want to be involved in gossips)

But now, see as he just opened mouth and dropped wisdom like spiritual elder wey attend angel conference.

My people, is it me or does this brother still carry small candle for T.J?
Abi na revival dey make his voice tremble like that?
(But from the way he just spoke, it seems this brother still has his eyes and heart on our Sister T.J or what do you think?)

Daddy G.O. leaned back.
Closed his eyes.
Then after a long pause, he said:

“We will not quench what God has lit….But we will test every spirit. We will wait… and watch.”

Meeting ended.

No claps.
No benediction.
Just tension and chair noise.

But that day?
Lines were drawn.

Some people left the room with eyes full of holy suspicion. You could see that Bro Solomon had entered some people’s Black books.
Others left with quiet guilt.
But me?

I left with one prayer:
“God… if this is war, fight for her before they finish her emotionally.”

Wahala be like what?

Wahala be like spiritual family meeting wey look like peace talk, but na hidden war strategy dem dey arrange.
(Trouble is when a meeting called for unity becomes a quiet declaration of sides.)

To be continued… ( TO PAY FOR THE THE FULL ACCESS TO THE E-COPY of this Story, Kindly Chat +234-9069926797 to buy your copy)

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