“I thought you were going to fight him, Jordan,” Trent said. “You got right in his face and everything.”
“I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I just wanted them to know that insulting my friends isn’t ok. I’ve never been in a fight my whole life.” Jordan replied.
“You could have taken him,” Trent said. “I believe in ya’.”
“I made the right move in leaving. Something wasn’t right and I think we should stay away from them.”
“What do you mean?” Mark asked.
Jordan looked at him. “I can’t say for sure, but I felt something evil around them and I wanted to get us away from it as fast as possible.”
14
Convert got into his truck and pulled out of the driveway. He was nervous, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was excited or if he was scared. He figured that it was a mixture of both. He thought about Jack and Marie as he made his way to Truth Community Church. He reflected on how much he loved them and how good they always made him feel. At the same time, the way they acted tonight bothered him. There was an underlying sense of sadness and they were not open about it with him. It was as if they were trying to shield him from something. On the other hand, they could just be having a bad day like anybody else.
Convert put those thoughts to the side. He had more important things to think about, namely, what he was going to say to one hundred fifty to two hundred students. He really didn’t want to mess up. He wanted to make an impact for Christ. He knew what the purpose of his life was and, after living almost fifty years for himself, he really wanted to use the time left that God gave him to do what was right. He was truly thankful that Aaron asked him to do this. Jack had been Aaron’s pastor as well when Aaron was younger. Jack had always served as a kind mentor for him. One of the reasons Aaron went into the ministry was because of the impact Jack had on his life. Jack’s church was a smaller country church that ranged from one hundred to one hundred twenty people. Aaron had been hired as youth pastor to a church of over a thousand. Convert would be speaking to more people tonight than Jack did on a normal Sunday. It humbled Convert to think about that. In his eyes, Jack was a better preacher, and better man in every way, and yet Jack had referred him to Aaron. Jack was always more concerned about the message of Jesus getting out, than having to be the messenger himself.
Aaron and Convert had a pretty good friendship too. They met regularly, at least once a week, for lunch with Jack. Afterwards the three of them would walk the streets of Galesburg and pray for the city. It was always an encouraging time and Convert wouldn’t trade it for anything. Truth be told, Aaron loved those times too. Convert really didn’t want to let either of them down so he was really praying that tonight would be a success.
Convert pulled into the church parking lot and started walking to the door just as he saw four teenagers locking up their bikes to the bike rack. They were talking about who was going to beat each other in something called “Jousting” tonight. Convert could tell from looking at them that they were close friends and were really excited for this event. The guys had just got everything locked up and started running to the door. The red-haired and heavier set kid wrestled with each other to see who could get inside first while the one with the glasses made sure something was working right on his phone. The forth one, who had brown hair, and stood a little taller than the others looked at Convert with a shade of embarrassment. “Sorry about that,” he said. “We didn’t mean to get in front of you when you were heading in.”
“Oh, that’s no problem,” Convert replied smiling. “You guys are excited to be here and that’s good.”
The boy went to the door and held it open for him. “Thanks for coming tonight. Pastor Aaron has been really excited to have you here. My name is Jordan.” He held out his hand to shake Convert’s.
Convert was genuinely surprised and pleased by Jordan’s politeness as he shook his hand. It was good to see some teenagers acting more mature than less. “Thank you very much, Jordan. I’m glad to be here.”
“Hello, my name is Josh,” said the kid next to Jordan as he held out his hand as well. “I’ve been looking forward to hearing you.”
Convert couldn’t help, but silently give thanks to God. Thank you, Lord for putting these two here to give me the encouragement I needed. “Nice to meet both of you. Who are your other two buddies that ran in ahead of you?”
“That was Trent and Mark. They really aren’t rude like that, but they sometimes act before they think,” Jordan replied.
“Well thank you guys. I’m going to try and find Pastor Aaron in here somewhere. I hope you guys have a fun night. Don’t kill each other jousting.”
Convert walked into the church and headed for the gymnasium. He figured Aaron would be there instead of his office. He walked through the hallways and could hear the music coming from the gym. Aaron really put his heart into these events and Convert loved to see that kind of passion in ministry. As he entered the gym he could see that this was going to be a fun night for the kids. Tables were set up in half of the gym with various games to play. The kitchen, which was attached to the gym, had counters filled with food and pop. Decorations were set up everywhere and they, of course, had to do with football. On they other side of the gym was a stage that was set up, presumably for him, and in front of the stage was the jousting apparatus. It was a giant inflatable pad with two platforms set up in the middle of it. He could see Trent and Mark climbing on to them while wearing helmets and holding gigantic cushioned sticks to which they immediately started beating each other with. He couldn’t help but to laugh at the sight. He would have loved to do that as a kid.
“Convert!” He heard shouted from behind him.
He turned to see Aaron walking toward him smiling. “It’s great to see you! Thanks for being here! What do you think?”
“I think this is amazing!” Covert replied. “You and your crew sure know how to put on an event.”
Aaron shook his hand and gave him a hug. “Well, let me show you around. I’ll introduce you to our staff and then we’ll go and pray before the students get here.”
“I met a few of them coming in. You’ve got some good kids here.”
Aaron looked over at the guys jousting. “Yeah, they’re good guys and they really enjoy being here. It’s a blessing to have them. I may have to show them who the real jousting champion is later tonight.”
“You’re braver than I am. I wouldn’t step on that at this age, but then again you aren’t an old man like me.”
Aaron laughed as they made their way to meet the other leaders. Convert realized that this was getting real. The night was here and pretty soon this gym would be packed with kids. His nervousness began to increase, but deep down he felt a genuine peace. He was where God wanted him to be.
15
At 9:30, the game was already over. The Galesburg Fire had won in another shutout: 56 to 0. The rain held off for the game, much to everyone’s pleasure, and now the city of Galesburg was elated that the football team had clinched the home field for the playoffs. As usual, Clayton Stoneking was worshipped by his adoring fans. He signed autographs, took selfies with other classmates, and was interviewed by local and national television outlets.
Aaron was ready for everyone to arrive when the kids started to show up. There was plenty of laughter as different students battled each other with the jousting sticks. Cookies, candy, popcorn, and chips were disappearing from the counters. Music was blasting and everybody was having a good time. The excitement from the football victory made everything even better.
“Alright, Mark,” Trent said. “It’s time to battle for real and to show everyone who the true jousting champion is!”
Mark was excited and nervous at the same time. He really enjoyed jousting, but he knew that Trent was better than him. Did he really want to be humiliated in front of everyone else? He knew that if he didn’t
get up there Trent wouldn’t let him hear the end of it. He really had no choice. He had to do it and just hope that he didn’t get too embarrassed. “Let’s just get this over with,” Mark mumbled as he slowly climbed onto the inflatable pad and made his way to his pedestal.
“Don’t worry,” Trent replied grinning. “I’ll make it quick.”
Mark and Trent put their helmets on and grabbed their sticks while a group of their classmates watched. Aaron’s friend, Tom, who had been officiating all the matches, asked them if they were ready. Trent enthusiastically shouted “I was born ready!” while Mark just nodded his head.
“Joust!” Tom shouted and Mark and Trent started swinging at each other.
Trent started aggressively, which immediately forced Mark to maintain a defensive position. Mark got about one hit in for every five that Trent did. Mark crouched low to absorb another blow when he accidentally slid his foot off the back of the pedestal and fell as Trent landed a solid blow to his back.
“Yes!” Trent cheered as he held his stick above his head as some of the students cheered for him. Mark picked himself up and made his way back to the pedestal. You had to win two out of three times and Trent was up by one. It was just as he was climbing back up that he saw something that made him feel even more humiliated. His crush, Julia, was there, just like Trent had mentioned earlier, and she was watching the match. Mark could feel himself blushing as he realized that he looked like a fool in front of the girl he liked, even though he wouldn’t admit that he did to his friends.
“Come on, Mark!” Trent shouted enthusiastically. “Just one more to go!”
Mark really didn’t want to continue on, but now he was even more trapped than he was before. He couldn’t quit in front of Julia! They both got ready and put their guard up waiting for Tom to start the match.
“Joust!” Tom shouted and Trent started in again swinging wildly at Mark. Mark did the best he could to block again, but he noticed that Trent was more aggressive than even before. At one point Trent lurched forward with a shot, but his momentum brought him forward causing him to step onto Mark’s pedestal. “You’re out, Trent!” Tom shouted. “You’re not allowed to leave your pedestal. Point goes to Mark!”
“What?” Trent shouted. “That’s lame. I was whooping on him!”
“You know the rules,” Tom said. “You’re tied up one to one. Next match determines the winner.”
Some of the kids cheered for Mark as they laughed at Trent carrying on. Trent loved the attention. It was as if he was playing the bad guy in professional wrestling. He loved riling people up. Mark quickly shot a glance at Julia and couldn’t believe what he saw. She was smiling at him and clapping with her friends celebrating Mark’s point. Wow! Mark thought. She’s actually cheering for me!
Mark straightened up on the pedestal with renewed vigor. Maybe he could win this! Trent stared straight at him. “You’re going down, Carter!” Trent called him by his last name. That meant business.
“Are you ready?” Tom asked. “Joust!”
This time Trent was a little more guarded, but he still started swinging. Mark, with his renewed confidence, started swinging back and was actually landing some good blows. Both of them were holding each other off well when suddenly Trent shouted to Mark: “It’s time to end this!” At that moment, Trent planted his feet and swung his stick like a baseball bat at Mark’s head. Instinctively, Mark crouched down while the stick whipped over him. The momentum of the swing sent Trent twisting around opening up his side to Mark who at that moment took his stick and planted it right into Trent’s abdomen. The combination of the missed swing and well placed shot by Mark sent Trent flying off of the pedestal and crashing in a dramatic fashion on to the inflatable pad underneath. Everyone watching erupted in cheers and laughter as they celebrated Mark as the winner!
Trent laid on the pad with his arms stretched out as Mark held his stick up high celebrating his victory. The greatest part of it all was that Julia was cheering for him too. Mark stepped off and gave high fives to his classmates as he got down. Even Julia congratulated him! Mark was about as happy as he could be. Trent played up his loss like he had been severely injured as he slowly slid himself off of the inflatable pad while asking for a doctor. His classmates laughed since they knew that this was Trent acting as Trent does. Trent crawled over to the wall where Mark was putting on his shoes.
“You beat me. I am at your command,” Trent said theatrically. “I can no longer show my face amongst the people.”
“That was fun,” Mark said. “I honestly thought I had no chance against you.”
“You did good, Mark,” Trent replied as he started putting his own shoes on.
“Why did you get so aggressive, though? You practically beat yourself.”
Trent chuckled to himself as he tied his shoelaces.
“What’s funny?” Mark asked.
Trent looked at him grinning. “I couldn’t let you look bad in front of your girlfriend.”
“What do you mean?” Mark asked sheepishly. “What girlfriend?”
“I saw Julia watching you and I know you didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of her so I helped you be the hero instead.”
“You mean you let me win? Why?”
“There are some things more important than a stupid jousting match. Consider it my gift to you. Merry Christmas!”
“I could have beat you…”
“And you did. And she got to watch you do it.”
Mark looked at Trent and understood.
“Thanks for making me look good, Trent. That was very nice of you.”
“No problem. Don’t tell anybody else, though. I have an image to uphold.”
“What image is that?”
Trent just smiled. “Let’s get some food. Jousting makes me hungry!”
16
At 10:15, Clayton Stoneking entered the building. Everyone cheered as they saw Clayton and his football buddies come into the gymnasium. People started chanting “Fire, Fire, Fire” as they gave high fives to their grinning superstar. Convert was taken aback by the enthusiasm of the kids in the room. It looked as if Clayton was walking down the red carpet. He legitimately was treated as if he were a Hollywood celebrity.
Aaron walked up to Convert and said, “It’s almost time for your message. Once everyone calms down I’ll gather them together in front of the stage.”
“This is kind of crazy isn’t,” Convert replied. “I’ve never seen such adoration over a person.”
“You’re right. I’ve never experienced it either, but we have the opportunity to witness to a lot more students because of him. Let’s hope they come to know Jesus because they came here tonight.” Aaron said.
“I hear ya,” Covert replied. “As Jack likes to always say, ‘Make the most of every opportunity.’”
“You bet! See you in a little bit. I’m going to go greet those who just came in”
There were almost two hundred students gathered there tonight and Convert could feel the pressure. He felt so disconnected in a way because everyone else was so much younger. Even the youth group leaders, who were in their twenties, seemed like kids to him. He was happy to share his story, but he looked forward getting back home afterwards.
At 10:30 the leaders started to deflate the jousting set up, much to the groans of the students, and Aaron got on stage asking if everyone would gather around and have a seat.
Convert’s heart began to race as he knew his time to speak had come. He was not a public speaker. He liked being behind the scenes. This was not his forte.
“I want to thank all of you for coming tonight,” Aaron said as the students started to settle down. “It really is great to see all of you here and congrats to the football team for another awesome victory!”
The kids clapped and cheered in response.
“I want you all to know that none of you ar
e here by accident. My staff and I have been praying for you and we want you to know that we are truly happy you are here. We hope that you find this place to be a place of love and we hope that you will come to know the source of where that love comes from. That source is Jesus.”
“I am very excited about tonight because we have a very special speaker with a powerful testimony. He has a life story that is sure to have an impact on you. My hope is that you will truly listen to what he has to say and that you take it to heart. He is a man that goes by one name and even that signifies the kind of person he is. So, if you would, please give a warm welcome to Convert as he makes it to the stage.”
The students clapped for him as he sheepishly made his way through the crowd up to the stage. As he went up, Aaron shook his hand and said, “Thank you for doing this. You’ll do great. I’m praying for you.”
“Thank you,” Convert replied.
Convert went to the front of the stage and looked at everyone else. All eyes were on him. With shaking hands he took out his papers, which he had written his notes on, and put them on the music stand in front of him. Help me, Jesus, he silently prayed as he began to speak.
17
“I want to thank all of you for coming here tonight and I want to thank Pastor Aaron for this opportunity to speak to you. I’m not an up-front person and I’m not the greatest public speaker, but I want to let you know about how Jesus changed my life. It’s so important to me that I’m even willing to get up here and talk about it. I hope what I say tonight will have an impact on you like Christ had an impact on me.”
“Growing up, my life was one of abuse and neglect. My mom and dad lived together. They even got married, but just because you got both parents, though, don’t make it a happy home. My dad was a drunk who cared more about the women in the bars then he did for my mom. My mom didn’t miss him too much because she was often too high to care or even notice he was gone.”
The Scarlet Plan Page 5